The nature vs nurture debate Flashcards
What is the nature vs nurture debate?
The question of to what extent behaviour is the result of innate, internal, genetic, biological factors (nature) or learnt, social, environmental factors (nurture).
What evidence suggests that behaviour is the result of genetics?
The likelihood of a person with unaffected relatives developing schizophrenia is 0.2-2%, however with affected relatives the likelihood increases. With one parent is 25%, two parents 50%. This implies there is a genetic predisposition in determining gender.
Using a sample of 57 twins Gottesman reported a concordance rate of 42% for monozygotic twins and 9% for dizygotic. All major twin studies consistently report higher concordance rates for MZ’s than DZ’s.
What evolutionary explanations support that behaviour is determined heredity? (nature)
Buss 88 suggested that males have a number of strategies evolved specifically for keeping a mate. Direct guarding refers to protecting and observing mates closely.
E.g. keeping a women out of public spaces.
Negative inducements involve threatening violence against infidelity.
How does behaviourism explain how behaviour is learnt through nurture (the environment)?
Behaviours are acquired through classically conditioned ‘stimulus-response’ associations:e.g. an event in the environment will cause a physiological effect such as a fear.
Phobias for example are maintained through operant conditioning. Avoidance of phobic objects is rewarding through negative reinforcement- we avoid the fear we believe they will cause.
What do most modern-day psychologists believe that behaviours are caused by?
Few psychologists would argue that behaviours are solely caused by nature or nurture. More modern day explanations examine the interaction between the two: for example, the diathesis-stress model in schizophrenia.
What was the three ways in which Plomin identified in which genes and environments interact?
Passive gene-environment correlation
Reactive gene-environment correlations
Active gene-environment correlations
Who identified 3 ways in which genes and environments interact?
Plomin
What is Passive gene-environment correlation?
Children are exposed to environments which correlate with their genetic tendencies.
I.e. children with high IQs are likely to be raised in households by high IQ parents who provide an intellectually stimulating environment. This will allow the infants IQ to flourish and grow.
What is Reactive gene-environment correlation?
Children’s experiences with their environment will be influenced by their genetic makeup.
I.e. infants with an extrovert, relaxed personality will cause friendlier more rewarding reactions from others. This will reinforce the infant’s personality type.
What is active gene-environment correlations?
Children will choose to enter and stay in environments which are consistent with their natural genetic tendencies.
For example, a child with a natural ability for music will form friends with other musicians who desire to play and study music.
This will reinforce their natural genetic inclination. Similarly, naturally aggressive children may end up in environments which reinforce their natural aggression- gang crime or prison.
What are the implications of the nature-nurture debate?
The nature-nurture debate has widespread implications for policy/law-making in relation to crime, education, the family etc.
What was Murray’s ‘The Bell Curve’ (94)?
Argued that IQ is largely genetically inherited and is strongly correlated with that social class status. I.e. the wealthy get rich because of natural ability rather than privilege. Equally, the poor are poor because of natural lack of genetic ability. This suggests that there is little point trying to educate and give opportunities to the working-class as they are genetically inferior in terms of IQ.
