The Nature-Nurture Debate

Question 1

Outline the nature argument

Answer 1

• View that behaviour is a product of innate factors
• Nativists support this

Question 2

Outline the nurture argument

Answer 2

• View that behaviour is a product of environmental influences
• Empiricists support this

Question 3

Give an example of the influence of nature (genetics)

Answer 3

• Twin/family studies establish the heredity of certain behaviour to investigate concordance rates, the likelihood two individuals will share a characteristic
• e.g. Concordance rates for schizophrenia is about 40% for MZ twin and 7% for DZ twin

Question 4

Give an example of the influence of nature (evolution)

Answer 4

• Evolutionary explanations are based on the principle that a behaviour that promotes survival and reproduction will be naturally selected
  e.g. Bowlby monotropic theory proposed attachment was adaptive as it meant an infant was more likely to be protected and survive.

Question 5

Give an example of the influence of nurture (behaviourism)

Answer 5

• Behaviourists assume all behaviour can be explained in terms of experience alone
• e.g. the learning theory of attachment suggests attachment can be explained through classical conditioning (mother is associated with food as she feeds the baby) and operant conditioning (food reduces the discomfort of hunger and is rewarding)

Question 6

Give an example of the influence of nurture (SLT)

Answer 6

• Bandura proposed behaviour is acquired through learning, vicarious reinforcement and biology had a role in this
• e.g. He acknowledged that the urge to behave aggressively might be biological, but the way a person expresses anger is acquired through environmental influences

Question 7

Why might it be hard to distinguish the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 7

Lerner found levels of environment which include pre-natal influences in the womb through to post-natal experiences, such as social context you grow up in.

Question 8

Give evaluation for the nature-nurture debate (implications on society)

Answer 8

• These contrasting views of human nature have correlated with politics
• ‘Nature’ has been linked with 20th century eugenics (enforced selective breeding) e.g. by the Nazis. Many countries (particularly US) have practiced eugenics by sterilising thousands of people deemed ‘feeble-minded’
• On the other hand, the empiricists view has to led brutal regimes under leaders like Stalin (Soviet Union) who believed behaviour was controlled though conditioning
• Therefore taking either extreme side of the debate can be negative as believing in one element determining behaviour can lead to harmful policies

Question 9

Give evaluation for the nature-nurture debate (difficulties in twin studies)

Answer 9

• There’s difficulties when studying the influence of nature and nurture
• In twin studies, it’s unethical to split MZ twins (as they share the same environment) to only study biological factors. So, twin studies use a shared environment assumption to unpick the influence of nature vs nurture.
• However, this makes it difficult to decipher how much of behaviour is due to genes or attributed to the environment

Question 10

Give evaluation for the nature-nurture debate (alternative explanation)

Answer 10

• The interactionist approach outlines how nature and nurture work together rather than in opposition
• The diathesis-stress model highlights how a diathesis (a biological vulnerability) and an environmental factor is needed for a certain behaviour to develop, such as OCD is genetically inherited by the COMT/SERT gene but triggered by the environment
• e.g. Cromer et al found OCD was more severe in patients who had experienced trauma and even more severe when patients experienced more than one event
• Suggests this is more accurate when studying nature and nurture

Question 11

Give evaluation for the nature-nurture debate (epigenetics)

Answer 11

• The environment affects the expressions of our genes, which is epigenetics. As the material in each cell acts as ‘switches’ to turn genes on or off.
• Life experiences control the switches and these switches are passed through generations
• e.g. twins might differ in weight even if they share the same diet, due to epigenetic material they inherited, which was derived from environmental effects
• Therefore, genetics and environment might be more intertwined than what was thought.