nature - nurture debate

nature definition

descartes:

• human characteristics, genes, hormones e.g are innate and results of hereditary.

• heritability coefficient: (how genetically determined a behaviour is) 0-1.

nurture definition

Locke:

• behaviour and characteristics are influenced by environmental factors

Different levels of environments: Lerner

• prenatal environment: affecting individual before birth. e.g maternal diet, genetic inheritance

• postnatal environment: influences after birth. cultural, family

interactionist approach

• shaped by combination of gene(nature) and environmental (nurture)

Bowlby theory - interactionist

• attachment type:

• caregiver love/responsiveness: nurture.

• infants innate temperament: nature.

diathesis model

• genetic vulnerability + stressor = disorder.

• tianeri et al: children adopted from schizophrenic mothers + dysfunctional families = schizophrenia

epigenetics

• when something in your environment changes how your genes work without changing the genes themselves.

• smoking/diet

strength - twin studies

• Nestadt et al found higher OCD concordance rates in MZ twins than DZ twins

• suggest nature plays significant role in complex behaviour like mental illness

• highlights importance of an interactionist approach as it ignores environmental triggers

strength- maguire et al

• london taxi drivers had more grey matter in posterior hippocampus due to experience

• nature: brain structure alters

• nurture: navigation through london

strength - social learning theory

• shows that behaviours can be learned from environment through observation

• banduras bobo dolls shows children imitated aggressive behaviour

• supports nurture