Nature Vs Nurture Debate Essay

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SEPARATED TWINS The nature vs. nurture debate is the philosophical and scientific argument about whether human behavior and personality is a product of nature or nurture. In this debate, nature is often referred to as hereditary or hormone-based behaviors, while nurture is defined in terms of environment and experience. Twin studies have been a vital part of this debate because of the exceptional genetic similarities between twin siblings. It has been proven that nature and genetics plays an important role in development of some mental health conditions, such as bipolar, major depression and schizophrenia. However, it cannot be concluded that mental illness is entirely inherited. In the case …show more content…

The attachment between identical twins was also suggested to be genetic by these studies, as eighty percent of identical twins stated that they felt closer to their twin than they did to their closest associates, despite having just met their twin. According to a study, it is suggested that genetics play a considerable role in the development of personality: Environment had little effect on personality when twins were raised together, however it did have an effect when they were raised separately. (“Nature vs. Nurture,” …show more content…

and Jim S., two identical twins, were first reunited at age 39. They were raised separately since infancy by different adoptive families in Ohio and were unaware of each other’s existence. During childhood, each twin had a dog named Toy. Each bit his fingernails and, since age 18 both of them had suffered from combined tension and migraine headache. They had similar voices, hand gestures, and personality. Each had been married twice, first to a Linda and then to a Betty. One had named his son James Allen, and the other, James Alan. Each had worked at a gas station and part-time in law enforcement as a sheriff. Both of them chain-smoked Salems and preferred an occasional Miller Lite beer. Every summer, in their light blue Chevrolet each of them drove their family to the Pas-Grille Beach in St. Petersburg from Ohio, Florida, for their mid-year occasions. (Lewis & Writer, n.d.) In Sweden, Nancy Pederson along with her coworkers categorized 99 pairs of separated identical twins and over 200 pairs of separated fraternal twins. After comparing them with equivalent samples of identical twins nurtured together, she came up with the conclusion that the separated identical twins had relatively less identical personalities. Still, separated identical twins were more alike than separated fraternal twins. What 's more, separation soon after birth (instead of, say, at age 10) did not escalate their identity contrasts. (G. Myers,

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