Nature vs Nurture

Nativism

• term used to describe a stance that agrees with the nature side of the debate

• introduced by Rene Descartes, who suggested that the human soul was born with an understanding of certain key concepts, predispositions, and pre-programmed behaviour

Empiricism

• term used to suggest that we are born without any innate mechanisms

• John Locke argued that we are born a ‘tabula rasa’ (a blank slate) and that we learn from our experiences with the environment

Heredity

• process by which traits are passed from parents their offspring, usually referring to genetic inheritance

• the genetic transmission of mental + physical characteristics from one generation to another

Envrionemnt

• any influence on human behaviour that is not genetic

• this may include cultural + historical influences at a societal level

Epigenetics

• refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing the genes themselves

• it is a process that happens throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment

• aspects of our lifestyle or events we encounter leave ‘marks’ on our DNA, which switch genes on or off

• this explains why factors such as smoking have a lifelong influence even after you stop - they have changed the way your genes will be expressed

Concordance rates

• the degree to which 2 people are similar on a particular trait

• it can be represented by a correlation coefficient

• this provides an estimate about the extent to which a trait is inherited - called heritability

Interactionist Approach

• the view that processes of nature and nurture work together rather than in opposition

• researchers study how nature and nurture interact and influence each other

Diathesis-Stress Model

• this is one conceptualisation of the interactionist approach that allows us to explain behaviours such as mental illness using the model of biological/genetic vulnerability (diathesis) interacting with an environmental influence (stressor) in order to produce a behaviour

Strength (peak)

P - Adoption studies help separate genetic and environmental influences by comparing biological vs adoptive parents

E - If a child is more similar to their adoptive parents, this suggests the environment is the bigger influence

Whereas, if adopted children are more similar to their biological parents, then genetic factors are presumed to dominate

A - However, Robert Plomin argued people create their own nurture by actively selecting envrionments that are appropriate for their nature (niche-picking)

This means nature + nurture interact and cannot be fully separated

K - This suggests that it is impossible to try to separate nature + nurture influences on a child’s behaviour

Despite this, adoptions studies are a key tool for attempting to disentangle these influences

Limitation (pek)

P - some conditions show both genetic and environmental influence, so they cannot be clearly separated

E - Phenyl keto nuria is a genetic disorder that prevents the amino acid phenylalanine being metabolised, resulting in brain damage

However, if an infant can be given a diet devoid of phenyl ala nine, brain damage is averted

If prevention can be achieved through environmental manipulation, it cannot be said as to whether this condition is due to nature or nurture

K - Suggests behaviour is best explained by an interactionist approach between nature + nurture

P - Another limitation is that if nature + nurture are looked at independently it could lead to unethical implications

E- Nativists suggest that ‘anatomy is destiny’ in that our genetic make-up determines our characteristics and behaviour, with little environmental input

This extreme determinist stance has led to controversy, such as linking ethnicity, genetics and intelligence

and the application of eugenic policies that aim to increase ‘desirable’ traits and decrease ‘undesirable’ ones, often through discriminatory and unethical methods, e.g. forced sterilisation, leading to human right abuses

A - In contrast, empiricists suggest that any behaviour can be changed by altering environmental conditions

Behaviour shaping, a behaviourist concept, has had practical application in therapy

Desirable behaviours are selectively reinforced, and undesirable behaviours are punished or ignored

Carried to an extreme this could lead to complete social control by the state for the ‘good’ of everyone

K- This suggests that we must take an interactionist approach to the nature-nurture debate as taking an extreme stance on either side of the debate could lead to serious unethical consequences