Nature vs Nurture

Question 1

what is Nature?

Answer 1

the view that behaviour is the product of innate biological and genetic factors

Question 2

what is Nurture?

Answer 2

the view that behaviour is the product of environmental influences

Question 3

what were the 2 definitions of environment?

Answer 3

Lerner gave environment 2 definitions
- Prenatal - mother’s physical & psychological state during pregnancy
- Postnatal - experiences the child has

Question 4

what is the middle ground of Nature and Nurture?

Answer 4

Interactionist - where both nature and nurture work together (e.g diathesis stress model)

Question 5

what is an example of Interactionism?

Answer 5

Tienari - found adopted children in disfunctional families & with a family member who has schizophrenia were most likely to develop a disorder

Question 6

How can Nature affect Nurture?

Answer 6

• Reactive (genetic factors influencing environment) - e.g. if someone was depressed due to low serotonin and stop socialising their environment changes
• Passive (childs environment altered due to parents genetic factor) - e.g. parent with addiciton creating unsettled home life for child
• Active (As we grow we pick out experiences and evironments that suit our needs) - e.g. choose a career in drama due to being an extrovert

Question 7

How can nurture affect nature?

Answer 7

• experiences can change our biology - Maguire found taxi drivers had a larger hippocampus due to memorising streets
• Epigenetics (a change in genetics due to our environment interactiong with our DNA) - lifestyle influences mark out DNA and tell us what genes to use or not use (also passes on to offspring)