The roles of nature and nurture

nature refers to things you have inherited or are naturally part of you, whereas nurture refers to anything you’ve learnt or behaviours you’ve adopted- or the household you grew up in or influence of teachers and friends.

Most of the way the brain develops is due to nature, but not all.

smoking

• smoking affects the size of the brain as well of the body due to nicotine as it slows down brain growth

Infection

• pregnant women are told to stay away from people with rubella, as it can lead to brain damage, or hearing loss if the infection is caught in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.

• even though infections are biological its still counted as nurture because the infection has come from the babies environment.

voices

• babies have been known to immediately recognise their mothers voice right after birth, showing that the brain is changing before you are born in response to external stimuli.

• they have also been shown to recognise passages in books that were read to them while they were in the womb.