The Nature-Nurture Debate (Issues and Debates)

Question 1

The Nature-Nurture Debate

Answer 1

The degree to which human behaviour is determined by genetics/biology (nature) or learned through interacting with the environment (nurture).

Question 2

Descartes

Answer 2

• Human characteristics are innate
• this includes some knowledge
• behaviour is the result of heredity

Question 3

Locke

Answer 3

• the mind is a blank slate at birth upon which learning and experience writes
• behaviour is the result of the environment

Question 4

Nature

Answer 4

• Behaviour is caused by innate characteristics: the physiological/biological characteristics we are born with
• Behaviour is therefore determined by hereditary factors, the inherited characteristics, or genetic make-up we are born with
• all possible behaviours are said to be present from conception
• Genes provide the blueprint for all behaviours; some present from birth, others pre-programmed to emerge with age

Question 5

How do we assess nature/heredity?

Answer 5

• the heritability coefficient is used to assess heredity
• numerical figure ranging from 0-1.0 which indicates the extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis (1 is entirely genetically determined).
• Plomin (1994) heritability for IQ is around 0.5

Question 6

Nurture

Answer 6

• an individual’s behaviour is determined by the environment- the things people teach them, what they observe and the situations they are in
• also a deterministic view- proposes all human behaviour is the result of interactions with the environment
• behaviourist theories are nurture theories:
—behaviour is shaped by interactions with the environment
• no limit to what they can achieve:
—depends on quality of external influences and NOT genes

Question 7

Environment

Answer 7

• a very broad term
• Lerner (1986) suggests there are different types of environment:
—the mothers physical state during pregnancy
—social conditions
—cultural and historical context

Question 8

Difficulties Concluding the Nature Nurture Debate

Answer 8

• nature and nurture cannot be separated
• environment has an impact before a child is even born
• psychologists therefore now choose to focus on what the relative contribution of each influence is
• twin studies: very difficult to tell whether high concordance rates are the results of shared upbringing or shared environments

Question 9

Diathesis Stress Model

Answer 9

psychopathology is caused by a biological/genetic vulnerability (tendency to suffer) which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental ‘trigger’

Question 10

Epigenetics, Brain and Behaviour

Answer 10

• genes can be expressed and silenced in response to environmental triggers such as diet, stress and drugs
• epigenetic regulation is found throughout the brain and is essential for complex neural processes, such as memory formation

Question 11

Nature Nurture Interaction

Answer 11

• behaviour is often a result of the interaction between nature and nurture
• an individual’s characteristics may elicit particular responses in other people, e.g.:
—temperament: how active, responsive or emotional an infant is influences in part their caregivers responses
—sex differences: people tend to react differently to boys and girls due to expectations of masculine and feminine characteristics
—aggression: displaying aggressive behaviour create particular responses from other people

Question 12

(Evaluation) Nativism is deterministic

Answer 12

-it is an extremely deterministic stance
-provides justification for studies which link race, genetics and intelligence
-Lomboroso was criticised by DeLisi for the racial undertones of his work and links to the eugenics movement

Question 13

(Evaluation) Nativism and empiricism

Answer 13

-the suggestion that behaviour can be changed by altering environmental conditions has led to practical application in therapy
-token economy in prisons- modifying behaviour
-anger management- cognitive behaviour treatment

Question 14

(Evaluation) support for interaction of nature and nurture

Answer 14

Dunn and Plomin (1990) suggests that individual differences mean that siblings may experience life events differently
monozygotic twins raised together do not show 100% concordance rates

Question 15

(Evaluation) Constructivism

Answer 15

(support for interaction)

Constructivism is the idea that people create their own ‘nurture’ by actively seeking environments appropriate for their nature e.g. an aggressive child choosing aggressive friends

Plomin (1994) refers to this as niche picking and niche building and suggests it would be impossible to separate nature and nurture

Question 16

(Evaluation) both nature and nurture

Answer 16

genotype-environmental interaction

Scarr and McCartney (1983)
-Passive interaction: parents’ genes influence how they treat their child
-Evocative interaction: child’s genes influence and shape the environment in which they grow
-Active interaction: the child creates its own environment through the people and experiences it selects