Development from conception to two years of age help resolve the nature-nurture debate in psychology by the fact that either the environment or genetics plays a vital role in the early development of the child. Collectively, according to Rousseau “he believes behavior unfolds according to nature’s inner plan or timetable” (Crain, pg. 20). Early childhood development is essential for the normal growth of any child and it can be defined as the time period between birth and the time the child begins to attend pre-school. Development from conception to two years of age include the physical development, intellectual development, social development, emotional development and creative development. For example, talents can be nurtured from hobbies through creative development. …show more content…
Notwithstanding, it is believed that environmental factors play an important role in enabling a child to grow and realize their potential. On the other hand, Nature theorists believe that nature plays an important role in the development of the child. It is stated that a child inherits lots of traits and looks from their parents and as a result, the child turns out to be a combination of the behavior trait and personality of the parents. For instance, if a two years of age mother and grandmother are both doctors then chances are, the child can also be a great doctor because genetically, it is in the child’s lineage. So, therefore, the factors of nature such as looks (head, neck, eye, skin etc.), temper, and abilities cannot be altered as they are inherited from the parents. Language is also affected by nature in a child’s
“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)
and behavior of the child. In fact, the more we understand about development and behavior, the better. the more obvious it becomes that nature and nurture are similarly influences. rather than determinants, not only singly but also in combination. Here below, I will endeavour to expose the leading theories dealing with the question of nature.
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.
Undoubtedly, humans are unique and intricate creatures and their development is a complex process. It is this process that leads people to question, is a child’s development influenced by genetics or their environment? This long debate has been at the forefront of psychology for countless decades now and is better known as “Nature versus Nurture”. The continuous controversy over whether or not children develop their psychological attributes based on genetics (nature) or the way in which they have been raised (nurture) has occupied the minds of psychologists for years. Through thorough reading of experiments, studies, and discussions however, it is easy to be convinced that nurture does play a far more important in the development of a human than nature.
There are also other factors that influence a person’s development. One theory has proposes that a person’s development is influence by the biological factors such as genetic and DNA. This theory is called the nature theory. For example, the genetic and DNA have shaped our own physical development. Th resemblance of family members are due to the fact that they share similar genes and DNA. My own face resembles both my mother and father, although it resembles more of my
One of the most well-known debates in psychology is nature versus nurture. Nature is pre-determined traits, influenced by biological factors and genetics. Physical characteristics such as height, hair color, and eye color is all determined by the genetics we inherit. Nurture is the influence of environmental factors. Nature and nurture affects the physical, emotional, and social development of a child.
In the discussion of nature verse nurture, one controversial issue is language. Arguing on the side of nature, children across the world seem to exhibit universal stages of linguistic development. Infants as young as seven months old are able to recognize simple linguistic rules from a string of sounds. When a child is first learning to speak, they typically combine words in ways that an adult would not. They can also speak and communicate clearly without adult correction. These observations suggest that we are born with the capacity to communicate verbally and through the use of kinesics, or gestures. However, nurture also plays a large role in the use of language. Linguistics differ amongst children from region to region based on the way the people around them speak. Thousands of languages such as: Spanish, English, Italian, and Creole are spoken around the world. Vernacular and accents also vary within each language and is acquired through a learning process, not genetics(Brown, 10/1/13). Another major environmental factor is correction from parents and adults. A child may be born with the ability to speak, but grammatical correctness and annunciation requi...
Nature is the word used to describe the biological aspects that shape behaviour, for example genes. Nurture is the word used to describe the social aspects that shape behaviour, for example interaction with parents. This essay will cover both sides of the argument referring to psychological theory. To start with the psychodynamic theory, this is defined, according to Dictionary.com as “The interaction of various conscious and unconscious mental or emotional processes, especially as they influence personality, behaviour, and attitudes”. This is a theory used on the side ...
Someone can physically look like their parents, siblings or even ancestors from the third generation. When a baby is born, it is common to learn in a natural way. No one teaches a baby how to crawl or how to react when he and she is hungry. However, talents, qualities and personalities are developed through experiences. The environment in which people grew up can have a lasting effect or influence on the way they talk, behave and respond to things around. According to Steven Pinker, Behavioral genetics has shown that temperament emerges early in life and remains fairly constant throughout the life span, that much of the variation among people within a culture comes from differences in genes, and that in some cases particular genes can be tied to aspects of cognition, language, and personality (2). Researchers believe that the origin of behaviors occur in genes in the DNA or even animal instincts which this concept is known as nature of human behavior. Other researchers believe that people are they were they are because they are taught to do so. This concept is well known as nurture in human behavior. In society, there will always be the doubt between Do we born in this way or do we behave according to life experiences? I strongly believe that nurture plays an important role in the upbringing of a child and the decisions that one makes in the future. Firstly, humans learn from their environment and other’s behaviors. Secondly, culture is a huge remark in people’s life. Finally,
Development is the process of growing, forming or creating into something slightly more advanced than before. Development starts during conception and ends during death. Development consists of three developmental domains which are, physical development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development. Each of which involve some form of growing or changing including the changes of moods throughout the lifespan. The Nature versus Nurture concept are issues that are found in stages of development as well. Nature which relates to the behavior that is inherited by genetics, and Nurture which relates to the behavior that is inherited or learned from the environment. With every developmental change or growth in a person’s life the mood of the
Child growth and development is a process that consists of some building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations of building blocks in a child’s development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the debate of nature versus nurture debate. Many researchers agree that child development is a complex interaction between his/her genetic background (nature) and his/her environment (nurture). In essence, some developmental aspects are strongly affected by biology whereas other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individu...
The study of nature development refers to the inherited characteristics and tendencies, these are genetic, and these which are inherited help influence the development through childhood. Some inherited characteristics appear in virtually everyone, For instance, almost all children have the capacity to learn to walk, understand language, imitate others, use simple tools, and draw inferences about how other people view the world. The coding of genes in each cell determine the different traits which we have, more dominantly on the physical attributes like eye colour, hair colour, ear size, height, and other traits. However, it is still not known whether the more abstract attributes
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.
Without Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, nature verses nurture never would have been generated. Charles Darwin’s theory influenced many scientists to study children and their development. This lengthy study led to many important encounters of human nature. With this study, the terms nature and nurture were created.
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).