Erikson's Argument Of Nature Or Nurture?

Nature or Nurture?
The debate between ‘nature and nurture’ has been one of the oldest arguments in the history of psychology. Even though both aspects of nature and nurture play crucial roles in human development and are inseparable, this essay aims to establish that nurture -- experience and environmental factors -- are the true origins of our behavior in one’s lifetime.

Nurture represents our surroundings: parents, classmates, colleagues, our cultural values, and society as a whole. Dating back to the year of 1960, John Locke, an english philosopher, invented a term known as “blank slate”. He is commonly regarded of one of the most influential thinkers, and made central contributions to the view of behavioral development. “Blank slate” was based on the assumption that at birth, the human mind is practically blank, in which individuals are born without innate ideas or built-in mental content. Therefore, all knowledge comes from experience or perception that accrues over one’s lifetime. John Watson, a well known

In fact, Erik Erikson’s view validates that social deprivation of certain developmental stages can have a heavy influence on one’s physical, neural, and psychological well-being. The way infants form attachments, for example, is a straightforward example of this. In their early stages of development, they build attachment bonds and unique emotional relationships based on the love and attention they receive. Thus, depending on one’s family environment -- whether a child is born in a nurturing, loving family, as opposed to an abusive, violent one -- these attachments may not develop and can have a serious impact on their growth. This is because the stress hormone system may detect abnormalities, and as a result, will produce severe and long lasting