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Nature vs nurture in human development
Heredity vs environment debate in development of an individual
Nature vs nurture psychology
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What makes children born into the same family turn our so differently as adults? What is the turning point for some children to become productive citizens and some children to not amount to anything and be a burden to society. Psychologists have discussed nature verses nurture for years. Can heredity, genetics or environment influence an individual to be total opposites while being raised in the same home? Is it heredity, genetics, environment or something different? Is it a combination of the three? Psychologists vary in opinion with this matter. Heredity is the passing of characteristics to children from their parents. This is the method by which a cell from offspring or organism obtains or qualifies as being predisposed to the elements of its parent cell or organism. Heredity is the inherited characteristics on personality, development, and understanding.
Genetics concerning behavior issue is a relative new field that is still being studied. Several traits and personality descriptions, from eye color to ambition, are driven by a group of genes and environmental feedback. Our DNA can possibly be affected by our environment that allows us to react or respond in certain situations.
Environmental factors acknowledge the environment on the inherited traits. Parenting variations can influence a child. If a parent is too harsh on a child, he/she may try to avoid those situations by becoming reserved and shy. This may lead to a person with low self esteem or possibly someone being and introvert. Economic status may affect the personality of an individual by being poor or wealthy. If an individual is poor during child rearing year, he/she may be someone who wastes less as an adult. They may be extremely cheap...
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... exceeds at making crafts and sewing.
I have talked with my mom and grandparents on several occasions concerning the differences in my mom and her sister. They are all short on answers. The only conclusion that my grandmother contemplates is that she specifically mentions that she was given some type of medication while being pregnant with my aunt and not with my mom. Unfortunately, at this age she can not recall what the exact medication was, but she seems to believe that was the one thing that molded my aunt’s personality into the woman she has become. I realize that genetics, environment and heredity may affect an individual but I have yet to figure out what went wrong with my aunt.
Works Cited
Ciccarelli, S. , and J. White. Psychology. Prentice Hall, print.
Geher, Glenn. Evolutionary Psychology 101. Springer Publishing, print.
Psychology today
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.
Some of the development of the individual child is predetermined by what kind of genes they come into the world with. It will determine their temperament, some of their personality, their physical features, and much of their abilities to accomplish the stable or instable conditions presented by Erikson. Due to the environment the child is raised in, certain genes can be turned on and off, and this could make a child either more or less likely to live a good life according to the Erikson stages development theory. Genetics and biology could also account for the development of morality because the capability to be moral sometimes depends on the psychological state of the individual. Cognitive impairments can sometimes affect the development of
How does one person develop into the human that he or she is? Do his or her characteristics depend on the qualities he or she was born with? Or does his or her upbringing mold them into the person he or she becomes? The debate between nature and nurture is one that can be difficult to conclude and thus has been argued for centuries. Sheri S. Tepper explores this issue in her acclaimed novel The Gate to Women’s Country. The narrator of the work, Stavia, lives in a woman-dominated, post-apocalyptic country, where the women’s goal is to breed out the violent and murderous qualities that men are believed to possess. These women have an preconceived ideal people who are “CAPABLE of violence and ruthlessness, but very much in control of their tempers
The personality of an individual and many other aspects of their life are integrated into their lifestyle as they grew up under the guidance of their parents. Some say that a person is born twice; once under the wings and guidance of their parents, and again when they themselves have children. In a lot of cases it is an arduous adventure, being a parent and in many ways, life changing. The difficulties that come to a parent or parents do not only arrive from the direct disturbances the offspring creates, but also knowing the fact that the way in which they act, punish, and teach will forever affect the life of that child. There are a variety of different outcomes from which the parent has had much effect on the child, some are simple as “like
One of the great controversial debates in Psychology is determining if characteristics and behavior are primarily due to genetics or the environment. We can now readily accept that genes determine our eye color, height, blood type, and other biological factors. Do these same genes that determine anatomy also determine our tendency towards traits such as violence, homosexuality or alcoholism? Some Psychologists, such as Freud, will argue that the home environment is primarily responsible for molding personality, while others cry genotype. There have been countless studies to find out if our destiny is written in our genes or determined by circumstance. Attempting to ascertain whether people are genetically programmed to be good-natured or prone to violence, sober or alcoholic, homosexual or heterosexual has perplexed man since the beginning of history. Nature vs. nurture purists believe that we are either molded entirely by our surroundings or our genetic make-up, however, it is not necessarily so black and white. Characteristics such as homosexuality, alcoholism, and violence are determined by both environmental and genetic factors.
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.
It is important that the research is related to psychological development including environmental elements in order to provide at the representation of the factors that influence behavior and personality. The nature vs. Nurture debate has produced many research aduances in area of human development. Evidence proves that there is an interaction between the genes and the environment. People will continue over the years to study the aspects of each in development. In the future studies, groundbreaking advances will be made to aid in humans for better understanding of human behavior. In the end, the debate of both sides of nature vs. Nurture debate intended to
... have come to the conclusion that genetics is very important for the development of personality but even they have to determine how these genes are investigated for the purpose of determining a particular personality. “What scientists have found is that there does not appear to be a single gene for a particular trait, but that genes show their effects by working together in complex combinations. For example, there is no single gene for dancing or music. Whether a child will be musically inclined will be determined by the way that child's genes interact with one another. Some parents would like to believe that by creating an environment rich in music while the child is young will develop the child's talent towards music. However, despite assumptions like this, there is no evidence that shows long term effects of growing up in a particular environment” (Pinker, 2003).
A lot of theorists are stuck in the middle of the nature verses nurture. Some believe it’s a biological factor ultimately responsible for human growth. Others believe that children become whatever the environment shapes them to be.
Height, hair color, eye color and sex are just a few examples of ways our DNA has shaped us. But could it be possible that our DNA also effects the way we behave in society. It is possible that genetics effect us is more ways that we may have imagined. Dr. Peter B. Neubaur believes that shyness, eating disorders, obsessive behavior and psychological illness can all be traced back to our genetics. Sexual orientation is also believed to be derived from genes in our body which determine what sexual preference we prefer. Violence and other types of crimes can be linked back throughout a person’s lineage to witness that other family members have been committed similar crimes without ever meeting one and other.
The world of Genetics is one that is both fascinating and interesting. When tackling how genetics plays a role in behavior, one must look within the scope of what genetics is before dealing with how it plays a significant role in one’s behavior. Simply put, genetics is the study of genes. It is a biological component within the entire study of biology itself. Scientists who study genetics and perform research do so with the intent to learn more about how genetics affects the overall attitudes, behaviors and dispositions of individuals. It could be said that genetics is somewhat of a psychological-biological science as researchers look at the underlying patterns within the genes that cause certain patterns to emerge within the particular group or individual.
Developmental Psychology is an area which studies how we as humans change over the period of our life span. The majority of the focus is broken into three categories: cognitive, physical and social change. The creation of who we are today comes down to the everlasting debate of nature versus nurture. This ongoing debate of what makes us who we are and which one is the driving force in development may be so simple that it’s complex. Rather than it being a conflict of nature “versus” nurture, it is very well possible both play an equal part in the development of us as humans. In the beginning, we start off as single cell in the form of a zygote. In that moment, where the DNA begin to form and the first seconds of life take place, the zygote is already experiencing interaction with the womb. In the process of determining why we are who are it is better to look more at the interactions of nature and nurture, analyzing how both have shaped us.
Heredity Versus Environment - The Nature-nurture Controversy, Exploring Heredity And Environment: Research Methods, Beyond Heritability
Where do you think your personality came from? The nature vs. nurture has been going on for many, many years and will probably keep going on for many more years. The purpose of this debate is to determine which one has a bigger influence on personality. It is a proven fact that both nurture and nature have a huge role in contributing to your personality development. Identical twins have many similarities, but also many differences. Your personality can change while you are growing up. Studies have shown that your personality is based off your surroundings and how you grow up. In most cases nurture has a more stronger influence on your personality than nature does.
In the study of child development, nature and nurture are two essential concepts that immensely influence future abilities and characteristics of developing children. Nature refers to the genetically obtained characteristics and abilities that influence development while nurture refers to the surrounding environmental conditions that influence development. Without one or the other, a child may not develop some important skills, such as communication and walking. The roles of physiological and psychological needs in a person’s life are also crucial for developing children. Humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow, suggested that humans don’t only aim towards survival, but also aim towards self-actualization (Rathus, P. 94).