Psychology's Argument of Nature, Nurture, or Both?

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Recommended: the nature vs nurture debate

One of the oldest arguments in psychology is the nature versus nurture debate. This debate focuses on if the contributions of genetic inheritance or the environment plays a role in human development. As always, there are two sides of every debate. In this case, there are the nativists, who believe human development is determined by genetics, and there are the empiricists, who believe that development is the result of learning and the person’s environment. Philosophers from centuries ago, such as Plato, suggested that certain aspects of human life are innate or that they occur because of someone’s environment. However on the contrary, John Locke believed in the “blank slate” on the nurture side of the debate. According to Locke, humans are determined and molded into the people they are by their experiences or learning. There have been countless of twin studies, showing that genetics does play a role in human development, but on the empiricist’s behalf, there have also been many cases, like Oxana Malaya, who was practically raised by dogs because of her parent’s abandonment and started...

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