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Genetic and environmental factors for childrens development
The importance of hereditary and environmental factors in the development of a child
How does genetics influence child development
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Genetic, mental and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence are discussed in the development of a child. Genes are said to have a greater influence on a child’s development which creates the debate nature vs nurture.
We all naturally inherit genes which influence who we are (how we look and our character). It is natural for us to perceive that those who are born will automatically learn to walk, understand the language, copy others and be able to use simple tools (i.e. spoons, forks, pencils crayons) and be able to interpret how others perceive the world around them. (Genetic Determinism.)
In contrast, Nurture denotes to the external factors which have an influence on who we are (our environment).
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It is the genetic makeup in which the information encoded in individual genes which a person inherits from both parents at the beginning and carries throughout life. The DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a chemical structure that is present in the chromosomes of the genes. It holds the genetic code or instructions that make up all life. Things like gender, eye colour, risks for certain diseases, exceptional talents and height are inherited in a person. Thus the theory of nature states that these biological genetic qualities that people have inherited will eventually appear as they develop. A study was carried out known as, ‘A parent-off spring adoption study’, by Robert Plomin et al where children resemble their parents in intellectual abilities from infancy to adolescence. Adoptive children resemble their adoptive parents slightly in early childhood, but no resemblance at all later on in childhood and adolescence. Therefore, adoptive children become more like their biological …show more content…
Identical twins that come from a single fertilised egg cell in which they are the same sex and share the same genes are known as Monozygotic. Fraternal twins who come from two separately fertilized egg cells and share 50% of genes in common are known as Dizygotic. Therefore, why study twins in psychology for knowing how a child develops? Twin studies are very important as they are considered as being reared in very similar environments, but fraternal and identical twin differ in genetic similarity with 100% vs 50%. It can be argued that if fraternal are more similar than identical, this could be due to heredity. Heritability-.. ..Studying twins is essential as researchers can understand the genetic similarity of non-adopted twins vs adopted twins. Family resemblance for twins shows they can be different even though they have the same upbringing due to genes. There are biological differences. Intelligence is a key feature for a child’s development especially with twins. Results from Chipuer et al study is the IQ correlation between identical twins reared together is .086 and between fraternal twins reared together is 0.60. Whereas IQ of siblings reared together 0.47 and for cousins 0.15. However, Plomin and Spinath conducted a study of correlations between intelligence scores of more than 13000 twin pairs. The average correlation was 0.86 for
Nature is the inherent features of something. Genetics also is a big part of nature. Anais and Sam are identical twins. They were separated at birth and adopted by different parents. Although they did not grow up together they had come to know that they have a lot of similarities. These girls have the same laugh, it sounds the exact same. Anais and Sam both do not like when the shower curtain touches them, and they even have the same favorite drink. Twins have very special bonds that include having very familiar likings and dislikings. They also have most of the same habits and interests. A big thing that is common among twins is that they end up getting the same IQ results and test scores. Some scientist had even shown that twins are more
It is true that identical twins have many similarities, but people tend to ignore their differences. The Jim twins, for example, may
Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick, the famous identical twins from the movie The Parent Trap, were separated at a young age by their divorcing parents. Sharon grew up in Boston to a socialite mother while Susan grew up in California on her father’s ranch. Sharon had structure while Susan’s life was very laid back. They looked the same and liked many of the same things, yet their personalities were very different. What is responsible for these differences? Is it simply that they are two different people with different interests and preferences? Or did the environments that they grew up in play a part in making who they are? In the nature vs. nurture controversy, nature proclaims that our genetic make-up plays the primary role in human development, while nurture declares that our environment dictates our development.
The stigma of matching clothes, similar thoughts, and having the same fingerprints, surround being a twin but what about the correlation of education and growth on being a twin?
“The term “nature versus nurture” is used to refer to a long-running scientific debate. The source of debate is the question of which has a greater influence on development: someone's innate characteristics provided by genetics, or someone's environment. In fact, the nature versus nurture debate has been largely termed obsolete by many researchers, because both innate characteristics and environment play a huge role in development, and they often intersect”. (Smith, 2010 p. 1)
Dr. Eileen Pearlman says that “The separation and individuation process begins early in life, and for some twins it takes longer than others as not only do twins need to learn to separate and individuate from their mothers but they also have to learn to separate and individuate from each other.” The constant comparison from individuals looking into their life can make this harder for twins. People need to understand that with being a twin there are advantages but also disadvantages. People and even family members of twins can fail to realize this. The figment of people's imagination is that twins get along, have similar tastes, and are the exactly alike, almost the same
Many environmental, genetic, and emotional factors are related to the composition of twins. Any types of twin share a relationship that most people will never experience. Twins, whether fraternal, identical, or conjoined, are an amazing phenomena of human life.
Noted psychologist Jerome Kagan once said "Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form" (Moore 165). The debate on nature versus nurture has been a mystery for years, constantly begging the question of whether human behavior, ideas, and feelings are innate or learned over time. Nature, or genetic influences, are formed before birth and finely-tuned through early experiences. Genes are viewed as long and complicated chains that are present throughout life and develop over time. Nature supporters believe that genes form a child's conscience and determine one's approach to life, contrasting with nature is the idea that children are born “blank slates,” only to be formed by experience, or nurture. Nurture is constituted of 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 behaviorism, character, and personality traits that constantly change and develop throughout life.
In 1874, Francis Galton said, “Nature is all that a man brings with him into the world; nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth”. The human body contains millions upon millions of cells and each of these cells contains hereditary information and DNA. However, there is no proof that the information carried in these genes predetermines the way in which we behave. I believe it is our life experiences and what we see and are told that shape the way in which we behave. Therefore, it appears to me that nurturing plays a far more governing and dominant role in a human being’s development rather than nature.
Have you ever heard of the argument “Nature vs. Nurture?” It is the thought that your natural born tendencies have the biggest impact on your future self. Or, the opposing theory is that the way you are raised affects your personal outcomes more. However, clearly, nurture has a bigger impact on your adulthood successes than nature does because the people who have the educational advantages and the mental capacity to learn the correct, acceptable way to do things are consistently better off. With education, the argument for nature being the most important factor for successful development cannot hold true.
Unlike the monozygotic twins, fraternal twins develop from different fertilized egg, and share the same prenatal environment, family and social cultural environment after birth. Example of this was a research carried out on both monozygotic twins and identical twins, the result of the identical twin showed that they both had almost everything in common both, drove the same brand of cars, married and smoked a lot cigars and had drinking habit too, and even also their sleep patterns were identical. Concerning fraternal twin because of their difference in genetic disposition so their behaviours and personalities are restricted and where
Regarding how we learn and grow, nature and nurture are the two most debated influences that affect humans. Nature, being more biological and omnipresent from birth, and nurture, emerging from the experiences we go through throughout life. Though both serve very important roles in shaping who we will become, I believe that nurture has a slightly larger effect on the molding of a person than nature alone. When it comes to nature, many believe that the qualities we are born with are the most important ones that we have. John Bowlby states in his theory of attachment that, “children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive (McLeod).
Identical twins should be more similar than DZ twins if genes are a factor. The two main factors in these studies are shared and non-shared environments. Shared environment factors are non-genetic influences that make family members like one another. Non-shared environment factors include influences that make family members different from one another and may include aspects of the home environment like different treatment from parents and influences outside the home environment like peer influences. The behavior genetics research shows that the shared environment factors relative to genes and shared environment play a small role in developmental outcomes like personality.
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.
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).