The nature-nurture debate Flashcards
What does the nature-nurture debate focus on?
the relative importance of how much of our behaviour is innate and how much is acquired
What does the nature/nurture debate consider?
the contributions of heritability (e.g. innate influences) and environmental factors (e.g. prenatal influences and societal experience)
What is nature?
the idea that human behaviour is the result of innate influences and that heredity is more influential.
What does the nature viewpoint suggest?
that through the process of heredity, characteristics and traits are genetically transmitted from one generation to the next
What is the nature side of the damage founded in?
the nativist theory that knowledge/abilities are innate
What is importing a nature perspective?
the belief that humans are pre-programmed therefore ‘born this way’.
What is an example of nature?
attachments
What is heredity?
the process of genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to the next.
What does the nurture viewpoint propose?
that human behaviour is the result of environmental influences
What is the nurture side of the debate founded in?
empiricist theory and believes that knowledge comes from learning and experience
What did locke suggest?
humans are born ‘Tabula Rasa’ meaning a ‘blank slate’, thus suggesting all behaviours are the result of physical, mental and social interactions with the world
What does the nature perspective propose?
that the environment and experience is important therefore humans are ‘made this way’.
What are examples of nurture?
-OCD- negative reinforcement
-Family Dysfunction
-Learnt Phobias
What is the environment?
everything outside the body which can include people, events and the physical world
What are the three levels of the environment suggested?
pre-natal, post-natal (e.g. upbringing) and historical and cultural context
