Nature and nurture

what does the nature debate say?

human traits are innate

what is epigenetics?

a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code → happens through life caused by things in our environment e.g. smoking, diet

why is it hard to choose nature or nurture in this debate?

nature and nurture are so closely intertwined → environmental influence begins as soon as we are born

nature v. nurture debate is about understanding the interaction between the two

why are adoption studies useful in the nature-nurture debate?

they separate the competing influences of nature and nurture

give an example of an adoption study that could be used for explaining the nature-nurture debate.

tienari et al. (2014) → looked at SZ prominence in 14,000 finnish adoptees and found that many adoptees who grew up in mentally-healthy adoptive households had SZ if their biological parent had it

who conducted a meta-analysis in support of the nature side of the debate with regards to aggression?

rhee and waldman (2002)

what did rhee and waldman (2002) find in their meta-analysis?

genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression

what does constructivism say?

argues people choose their own ‘nurture’ by surrounding themselves in an environment that suits their nature

what evidence does plomin (1994) find that is similar to constructivism?

calls it niche-picking instead of constructivism → people choose their own nurture based off of their nature

who found supporting evidence for the role of epigenetics?

susser and lin (1992)

what did susser and lin (1992) find in their supporting evidence for the role of epigenetics?

women who became pregnant during a nazi-induced famine in WWII went on to have babies who were low-weight and 2x more likely to develop SZ when they grew up