Nature versus Nurture debate

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Genes or life experiences? What determines who you truly are? The nature versus nurture debate is one of the most popular debates throughout history. It questions whether genetics are the thing that decide who you are, or whether it is the life experiences that influence your characteristics and qualities. Did you gain that good humour from your mother? Or is it simply there due to the influences in the environment you grew up in? A rather vast selection of traits have been discussed in this type of debate – personality, gay or straight, political orientation, intelligence, and even your likeliness to be involved in violence. On the “Nature” side of the argument, it is believed that everything about us is already in our genes, and in some cases it is obvious that it is entirely down to genetics such as physical features and hereditary health issues. In opposition to this we have the “Nurture” half, it does not include just the love and care children receive by the people they have been raised by, but in a modern day debate environmental factors –such as friends from someone’s youth, surrounding culture, occurrences with technology, and even experiences from in the womb- are included. In my own personal view I believe that there are certain aspects in both arguments that provide evidence for equality in both nature and nurture. Leaving behind all of the homophobic controversy that comes with homosexuality, do you think it is possible to be born with a gay -or straight- gene or is it down to choice? Psychologists Anthony Bogaert researched in previous years and came to a conclusion where men who had more biologically older brothers had a higher chance of being gay. This therefore suggests that nature is the cause of homose... ... middle of paper ... ... made into anything. Which side do I believe in? I believe, like most people, that there is a middle. I believe some people were born to be gay, just as much as I believe that little Albert was influenced to fear. I do not think that there will ever be a day were someone can say that everything is down to either nature or nurture. I believe that there is enough evidence of equality for both sides of the argument. Works Cited Below are a list of websites/articles I have used/referred to while writing this essay. http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/ www.theguardian.com/science http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2559021 http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBfnXACsOI#t=334 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRKbZtpBcgI

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