The topic of nature verses nurture is very controversial. One side argues that humans are the way they are due to how they are raised and the interactions they have throughout their childhood. This side also believes that the way parents raise their children has the greatest impact on who that child becomes later in life. The other side argues that people are the way they are due to the DNA they are born with. This side feels a person does not lose specific personality traits based upon pivotal life experiences. They believes those traits remain a dominant part of a person’s personality. The nature side feels everything in humans is pre-determined in DNA and genetic makeup. This is false. One aspect of this controversy is the debate …show more content…
“Whether or not a teenager takes up smoking is heavily influenced by whether or not his parents smoke” (Eberstandt). Parents are a huge factor, but not the only one. “The best predictor of whether a teenager will become a smoker is whether her friends smoke” (Eberstandt). If a teenager frequently hangs out with other teenagers that smoke, that teenager is more likely to join the trend. This is because children and teens are influenced so easily. In today’s society it can be very hard for teenagers to fit in. If the group of people a teenager is around smoke, the teen may join the trend just so they can be accepted into that particular social group. The teen is even more likely to join the trend if they have parents or guardians who smoke. If teens are surrounded by people smoking throughout their childhood, it becomes normal and the teens do not see it as a bad behavior. If children and teenagers are surrounded by smokers throughout their life, they are more likely to pick up the bad habit themselves. This is because their environment is influencing …show more content…
Children who move frequently are “…more likely to be rejected by their peers” (Eberstadt) and are also more likely to have “…behavioral problems and more academic problems than kids who have stayed put” (Eberstadt). This is due to the fact that the children become over-stimulated and have to constantly adjust to new environments. When a child is constantly being moved around and put into new schools, it becomes extremely hard for that child to make and keep friends. This is because they know that they will most likely be taken away from the new place soon and moved somewhere else. Children who do not have good social skills tend to suffer in society. A child without a continuous home may struggle to uphold the standards that society tends to set for
In a study conducted in 1983, researchers studied more than 350 pairs of twins in order to research if human personality traits were largely inherited or learned. Daniel Goleman, author of “Major Personality Study Finds that Traits are Mostly Inherited,” shares with his audience the parameters and results of this elaborate twin study. Goleman introduces his reader to Auke Tellegen, a psychologist and principal researcher on the long-term study, performed at the University of Minnesota, discovered that the human traits most strongly determined by heredity were leadership, obedience to authority, and even traditionalism. He would surely argue that heredity, more than influence of experience, is more responsible for development in human traits. Tellegen may have substantiating facts that nature is more predominant in a mere handful of traits, but what about the several other traits he failed to test? It is possible for a person who shows leadership and obedience during one part of their life to have an experience in which their obedience and leadership is thwarted. The study Tellegen conducted could not have been without environmental influence. Every single one of the participants, whether a twin or not, had environmental experiences separate from the others. Since every person experiences and responds to environmental stimuli differently, how can several prior years of experience be measured in order to present an unbiased result in this study? Unquestionably, it is impossible. Just as this particular study failed to take into consideration a persons’ prior experiences, it also failed to consider the probability of future environmental factors that could affect the traits Tellegen focused on in his study. Although difficu...
For this debate as you know already, I am totally on the Nurture side. I think kids are born and influenced by the environment. Even though some kids are born and are not influenced by their surroundings, that is usually a rare case. Like all of this, my personality has been changed as I have been just like identical twins have many differences. So with all of this to wrap it up, studies show that Nurture is more dominant and overpowers Nature. When you have children remember how they are raised will affect them in the long
In the well-received novel “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” Mark Twain skillfully addresses the ancient argument about the origin of one’s character and whether it’s derived from his nature or his surroundings. We can best see this battle between nature versus nurture by inspecting the plot lines that follow the characters Thomas a Becket Driscoll, Valet de Chambre, and Roxana the slave. Thomas was born into a wealthy white family while Roxy birthed Chambers into a life of slavery. It seemed as though each would have gone their separate ways into opposite walks of life, but Roxy secretly swapped the children, which destined each to their counterintuitive fates. Through their words and actions, Tom, Chambers, and Roxy have proven the idea that one’s behaviors and desires are a result of his upbringings and the environment he lives in rather than by his innate nature.
For this first analytical essay, I have decided to have a go at analyzing the Nature Vs. Nurture using my own viewpoint as a sibling. No doubt this is a topic that has been debated to mental death already, but I think it is something I will benefit from thinking about. Also, at the end of my main topic, I will quickly address a topic brushed on in the book.
Since the beginnings of psychology the debate of nature verses nurture has been going on. Certain psychologists take the position of the nature perspective. They argue that people are born with predispositions towards certain personalities, traits and other characteristics that help shape them into the people that they become later in life. Meanwhile multiple other psychologists argue the nurture perspective. They believe that people are born as a blank slate and their experiences over the course of life help shape their personalities, traits, and other characteristics.
The quote from the famous psychologist John B. Watson essentially sums up behaviourism. Behaviourism refers to the school of psychology founded by Watson, established on the fact that behaviours can be measured and observed (Watson, 1993). In behaviourism, there is a strong emphasis that the acquisition of learning, or permanent change in behaviour, is by external manifestation. Thus, any individual differences in behaviours observed was more likely due to experiences, and not by the working of genes. As the quote suggest, any individuals can be potentially trained to perform any tasks through the right conditioning. There are two major types of conditioning, classical and operant conditioning (Cacioppo & Freberg, 2012).
Nurture is constituted by the influence of millions of complex environmental factors that form a child's character. Advocators of nature do not believe that character is predetermined by genes, but formed over time. Although often separated, nature and nurture work together in human development. The human conscience is neither innate from birth or entirely shaped through experience, instead, genetics and environmental influences combine to form human behavior, character, and personality traits that constantly change and develop throughout life. The debate on nature versus nurture has existed for thousands of years.
The nature verses nurture debate analyzes genetics and environmental components that contribute to the evolution of one’s self. Both environmental surroundings and inherited genes contribute to the development of individuals. This debate exist due to inexplicit scientific findings and societies urge to uncover why people are the way they are. Scientific research indicates that an individual’s genetic makeup or physical properties are determined by a combination ratio of recessive and dominant geneo and phenotypes. This process of DNA coding plays a key role in an individual’s physical appearance, medical conditions, and addictions. Sarah Mae Sincero, author of Nature and Nurture Debate, further speculates if genetics are a factor in determining
1. How did your parents influence your perception and performance in math and science? Cite an internet site and use your text to answer the following: Do you think that performance in math and science is more nature (due to genetics and biology) or nurture (due to environment, parenting, and society)? Also, are there gender differences, for example, do boys do better than girls in math and science?......(250 words)
Individuals who support nature as the dominant influence will oppose the argument. Naturists believe that genetics and biology determine a child’s predisposition relating to development, they also argue that environmental factors, nurture, have little impact. Twin studies have found a correlation between intelligence and genetics, since twins have identical genes, by measuring their intelligence quotient scientists could establish a connection. “According to the Minnesota twin studies, identical twins IQ scores have correlations as high as .86, 1.00 being a perfect score,” (Hull, Licht, & Ballantyne, 2014). Although this information is valid, it isn’t correct for it doesn’t capture the entire picture. Genetics may influence intelligence determining
Nature vs Nurture is a very long living debate that has been on the minds of many who study motor development. This can be a very difficult topic to choose a side to argue for because both Nature and Nurture have very strong points which prove they influence the development of a person. Nature refers to the genetic makeup and genetic relations an individual has linked to their birth parents. Nature is strictly about the genetics and the way these genetics make up and influence the way a person develops, behaves and lives their life. Nature refers to heredity and the traits an individual will obtain from their parents that have been passed down from generation to generation. Nurture refers to the environment one lives in and the experiences
One of the most well-known debates in psychology is nature versus nurture. Nature is pre-determined traits, influenced by biological factors and genetics. Physical characteristics such as height, hair color, and eye color is all determined by the genetics we inherit. Nurture is the influence of environmental factors. Nature and nurture affects the physical, emotional, and social development of a child.
When it comes to nurture versus nature, the topic of personality development can be very complex. Nature involves physical, genetic history, neuroscience, and biological vulnerability. To nurture is to care for and encourage development. In my opinion, I believe nurture has more important factors when it comes to personality development. Three of the most important factors include parenting, character, and environment. These three factors come together and play important roles when it comes to developing a personality.
One of the hottest debates is and has been nature vs nurture for years, but what is the difference between the two? Nature is what people think of as already having and not being able to change it, in other words, pre-wiring (Sincero). Nurture is the influence of experiences and its environment of external factors (Sincero). Both nature and nurture play important roles in human development. Scientists and researchers are both trying to figure out which is the main cause in development because it is still unknown on which it is. The best position to side with is nature. Nature is also defined as genetic or hormone based behaviors (Agin). Regardless of the involvement in everyday life, or nurture, this argumentation centers around the effect genes have on human personalities. Although it is understandable on reasons to side with nurture, nature is the better stand in this controversy. Reasons to side with nature is because of genes and what genes hold. Genes is what
Nature vs nurture debate is one of the oldest arguments in the history of psychology. It is the scientific cultural, and philosophical debate about whether human culture, behavior, and personality are caused primarily by nature or nurture. Nature and nurture are both equally important. They are the two are major influences that affect the person you grow to be and will determine what your children will be tomorrow. Nature refers to heredity, which are traits and features that are inherited from your parents and ancestors. At birth you, as a person, inherits 50% of each parent 's genetic material that are passed along through the chromosomes found in the DNA. Hair color, height, body type, and eye color are some examples of characteristics