PAPER 3 - ISSUES AND DEBATES - the nature-nurture debate

Question 1

What is the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 1

• Considers the relative importance of heredity/genes and environment
• are behaviours caused by innate factors (nature) or experiences (nurture)

Question 2

What are 2 examples of the influence of nature?

Answer 2

• Genetic explanations
• evolutionary explanations

Question 3

What are the examples of genetic explanations for the influence of nature?

Answer 3

• family studies: shows behaviour is more likely to be similar if people are biologically related
• studies of MZ twins snow high concordance for many behaviours e.g. SZ
  Both suggest biological component to benaviour

Question 4

What are the examples of evolutionary explanations for the influence of nature?

Answer 4

• Assumes behaviour giving an adaptive advantage will be naturally selected and passed on in one genes
• Bowlby proposed attachment was an adaptive behaviour as it promoted survival (innate)

Question 5

What are 3 examples of the influence of nurture?

Answer 5

• Behaviourism
• social learning
• interactionst view

Question 6

What are the examples of behaviourism for the influence of nurture?

Answer 6

Behaviourist view was that behaviour is learned through operant and classical conditioning (e.g. Little Albert study)

Question 7

What are the examples of social learning for the influence of nurture?

Answer 7

Bandura agreed that behaviour can be learned directly through conditioning but also learned vicariously
- said we all have the ability to be aggressive but only if we are exposed to it

Question 8

What are the examples of the interactionist view for the influence of nurture?

Answer 8

• Both nature and nurture play a role in behaviour e.g. Fear response is innate and conditioning changes circumstances in which is displayed (little Albert)
• interactions approach embraced by health psychologists who consider, biological, and psychological influences
• diathesis-stress model

Question 9

What is heredity (nature)?

Answer 9

The genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to the next

Question 10

What is environment (nurture)?

Answer 10

• An influence on behaviour that is non-genetic
• ranges from pre-natal influences in the womb to cultural influences
• can also include biological such as what food you eat, influencing grown and mental development

Question 11

What are epigenetics?

Answer 11

• Changes in our genetic activity, without genes themselves changing
• happens through interaction with one environment and rappers throughout life
• can affect our children’s genes
• aspects of our life (e.g. Smoking) leaves marks on our DNA and eon switch genes on or off

Question 12

What are the strengths of the research?

Answer 12

• Adoption studies disentangle nature from nurture, however it’s argued that we choose oi environment according to our “nature” e.g. predisposition to offending behaviour will draw to other offenders

Question 13

What is the real world application to the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 13

Research into OCD has shown a strong genetic component, meaning those from high risk families can receive interventions before the disorder starts, shows ways of avoiding triggers etc.

Question 14

How is the interactionist view an evaluation point for the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 14

• Nature-nurture debate is a false dichotomy
• most likely that behaviours are a result from innate tendencies that are due to our interaction with the environment
• suggest both nature & nurture play a role in shaping behaviour