Nature Vs. Nurture Theory: What Makes Humans Behave The Way They Do?

In today’s society, one is constantly surrounded by individuals with different behaviors. Some will sacrifice his or her life for a complete stranger. However, there is some individuals who would take advantage of the weak and poor for his or her own personal gain. Now the question arises, what makes human beings behave the way they do? Being the topic of conflict of psychology for years, one usually turns to the nature verses nurture theory for the answer to that question. Some believes that a person is born with a certain personality, others believe it is an individual’s atmosphere that determines his or her attitude, and some even trusts the idea that it is a combination of genes and environment that dictates the conduct of an individual.

This means, the environment that he or she was brought upon is the leading influence on his or her behavioral pattern. For example, if one was brought up in a strict household he or she will likely have a shy and reclusive personality. Another result of an individual being raised in a totalitarian like home is him or her not being able to function properly as an adult. For instance, Jerry Thomas grew up in a very strict household. All decisions about his life were made by his parents. When Thomas went to college he was not able to make a decision based on his personal desire. Moving out of that totalitarian like environment caused him to rely on the decisions of others rather than doing what is in his best interest. Clearly, this shows nurture has an impact on the way one

The influence of both a person’s genes and the type of atmosphere that he or she was brought upon has an impact on his or her personality. For example, at a young age doctors diagnose Jimmy Mendez of having low activity in his amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain that is responsible for emotions like guilt. As Mendez grew up he would often commit wrongful acts and not feel guilty. He would steal, lie, and hurt feelings without feeling any sorrow or regret. When his parents realize his unpassionate like behavior they showed him the error of his ways. Even though Mendez still had little activity in his amygdala he was able to see the horrible outcome of his Hitler like behavior. With the nurturing of his parents, Mendez was able to overcome a gene abnormality and act the way a compassionate human being should. Evidently, a person’s genetics and environment can work together to create the conduct of an