Nature Vs. Nurture: Important Roles In Human Development

Nature vs Nurture
Azucena Jaimes
Institution

Nature vs Nurture
The Nature versus Nurture debate has been argued in psychology for a long time. As of today, we know that nature and nurture both portray important roles in the human development. The controversy comes into play when deciding whether a person’s development or behavior is due to a persons inherited genes or is influenced by their environment and life experiences. The natural side of the discussion asserts that the facial features and the way of their developed is strictly through DNA/genetics that are transmitted by ancestors. The nurture side of the debate argues that we are born with a clean slate and that all facial features are developed through experience and one’s

In the year 2015, Evan Nesterak wrote an article about an interview with author psychologist David S. Moore. Nesterak believes that oneself extent of or behaving a certain way is a product of both inherited and acquired characteristics. During the interview, Moore explains his book The Developing Genome. Moores’ book reveals “that what counts is not what you have so much as what your genes are doing” (Nesterak, 2015). John Locke believed that every person is born with a mind that is empty, and this is the experience that forms the person (Origins, 2011). Rene Descartes did not agree with Locke and argued that some ideas are innate for a person at

This suggests that people are born without any built-in knowledge and instead become a unique person through experience, perception, and parental guidance. Human beings are constantly learning through observing their surrounding/environments and hence develop a kind of behavior, which is known as a nurtured behavior. An advocate of the discussion would also suggests that hereditary factors play no role in human development. One good question that should be considered is if a person abuses his wife and children, this is due to the reason that he was born with violent tendencies or did he learn by observing the behavior of his parents? One study suggests that the emotional reactions and impulsive three-year-olds have turned into impulsive and aggressive 21-year-olds (Meyers, 2013). Again, a child can be born with a very mild temper, but grows up in a very offensive home. Although the child's genes can influence their development, environmental factors and triggers can turn them on or off. A small child can learn pleasant manners by observing and repeating "please" and "thanks" to their parents, while other children can be rude and aggressive from watching their older siblings (Cherry, 2014). This will help to maintain the discussion. It is believed that the environment activates gene activity, suggesting that both genes and