Nature vs Nurture Flashcards
What is nature?
The view that behaviour is the product of innate biological or genetic factors.
What is nurture?
The concept that behaviour is a product of environmental influences. The environment is seen as everything outside of the body which can include people, events and the physical world. E.g behaviourism which presumes our learning is done via classical and operant conditioning.
Why is it better to consider an interactionist approach when assesing nature vs nurture?
In a practical sense, the nature-nurture question is impossible to answer because environment influences a childs life begins as soon as it is born. Nature and nurture are so closey intertwined that it makes little sense to separate the two. For instance, in twin studies it is difficult to tell whether high concordance rates are more the result of shared genetics or shared upbringings. Therefore, now scientists are interested in the ways in which nature and nurture interact. An example of this is the diathesis stress model which suggests that psychopathy is caused by a biological/genetic vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental trigger.
What are epigenetics?
Epigenetics refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing out genetic code. It is a process that happens throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment. E.g smoking, diet, pollution and war leave epigenetic ‘marks’ on our DNA and these marks tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use which may go on to influence the genetic codes of our children. Nativists suggest that anatomy is destiny in that our inherited genetic makeup determines our characteristics and behaviour whilst the environment asre exposed to the smell of acetophone, a chemical in perfume. The mice showed a fear reaction and the rats children also feared the smell even if they had not been exposed to acetophenone before.
Key aspects of nature vs nurture.
-Nature
-Nurture
-The interactionist approach
-Epigenetics
Give a limitation of nature vs nurture.
Nativists suggest that anatomy is destiny in that our inherited genetic makeup determines our characteristics and behaviour whilst the environment as little input. This extreme determinist stance has led to controversy such as that which attempted to link race, genetics and intelligence. This is a limitation because research into this concept could cause ethical implications creating controversy and conflict.
Limitation of nature vs nurture.- shared and unshared environments.
Research attempting to ‘tease out’ the influence of the environment is complicated by the fact that even siblings raised with the same family may not have experienced exactly the same bringing. For example, age and or temperament would mean that a life event such as a parental divorce would have different impact on each sibling. This explains findings that even MZ twins reared together do not show perfect concordance rates which supports the view that nature and nurture cannot be meaningfully separated.
Limitation of nature vs nurture debate.- constructivism
People create their own nurture by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for their nature. Thus, a naturally aggressive child is likely to feel more comfortable around children who show similar behaviours and will choose their environment accordingly. This environment then affects their development.
What is the hereditary coefficent?
Used to assess heredity. Numerical figure ranging from 0 to 1.0 which indicates the extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis.
