Nurture and Nature
The classic debated topic of nurture versus nature has been, and always
will be an argumentative subject in the scientific world. Some psychologists and
scientists share the view that our behavioral aspects originate only from the
environmental factors of our upbringing. While other opposing specialists argue
the outlook in science that agrees with the naturalist idea. This concept of
naturalistic ideas supports the hereditary genetic framework, inherited from our
parents, is the sole determining factor in our behavioral characteristics. These
two opposing viewpoints have produced a multitude of ideas, theories, and
arguments in the history of psychology.
John Broadus Watson, the father of American behaviorism, greatly
reinforced the source of nurture by studying learned and adaptive behavior
patterns in our environmental surroundings (Rathus p.13). During this same time
of revolutionary ideas in psychology, American psychologist, Arnold Gesell
supported the opposite views of Watson. Gesell theorized that "physical and
motor growth and development is monitored and regulated by an automatic natural
process"(Rathus p.13). Each of these ideas has persisted strongly in the world
of psychology from the nineteenth century on into the twentieth, but now a new
and united psychology world acknowledges both theories equally. It is imagined,
today, that the explanation of our behavioral characteristics originates from
both our heredity, and the environment in which we were raised.
This report supports the theory that both aspects of nurture, with the
addition of nature are involved in and explain our complete behaviors. Many
studies and experiments have been conducted in recent years of psychology to
give this combined idea its appealing thesis. A great deal of research and
experimentation has been conducted in order to solve the puzzling results that
derive from situational differences in being raised. The different causes and
effects of various situations, focus on the actual importance, and necessity of
proper nurturing in childhood development (Turecki). Studies on the early
developing years in children show how effects of various environmental
situations can cause mixed attitudes, personalities, beliefs, sexual preference,
and other behavioral patterns in children (Turecki & Adams).
For example, studies have been conducted on whether children that have
been raised by single parents are going to develop differently than if both
In John Knowles' novel A Separate Peace, the theme of loss of innocence is skillfully developed through setting, character, and symbols. This story simply details a young man's entering the adult world as all children do. Everyone suffers loss of innocence.
The summer session at Devon symbolizes the peace and youthfulness of the students; however, with the arrival of winter the innocence metamorphoses into order and discipline. The summer session is a time of freedom and adventure, with the teachers’ leniency and the students’ enthusiasm. Knowles suggests that Finny’s literal and symbolic fall marks the end of the peaceful summer session, as well as the wholesome innocence of Finny. Finny’s inability or perhaps unwilli...
Within the economy a great development had been achieved when the upper south handed its power to the lower south all due to the rise of an agricultural production. This expansion was led by the excessive growth of cotton in the southern areas. It spread rapidly throughout America and especially in the South. During these times it gave another reason to keep the slavery at its all time high. Many wealthy planters started a ‘business’ by having their slaves work the cotton plantations, which this was one of a few ways slavery was still in full effect. Not only were there wealthy planters, at this time even if you were a small slave-holder you were still making money. While all of this had been put into the works, Americans had approximately 410,000 slaves move from the upper south to the ‘cotton states’. This in turn created a sale of slaves in the economy to boom throughout the Southwest. If there is a question as to ‘why’, then lets break it d...
In the well-received novel “Pudd’nhead Wilson,” Mark Twain skillfully addresses the ancient argument about the origin of one’s character and whether it’s derived from his nature or his surroundings. We can best see this battle between nature versus nurture by inspecting the plot lines that follow the characters Thomas a Becket Driscoll, Valet de Chambre, and Roxana the slave. Thomas was born into a wealthy white family while Roxy birthed Chambers into a life of slavery. It seemed as though each would have gone their separate ways into opposite walks of life, but Roxy secretly swapped the children, which destined each to their counterintuitive fates. Through their words and actions, Tom, Chambers, and Roxy have proven the idea that one’s behaviors and desires are a result of his upbringings and the environment he lives in rather than by his innate nature.
The Millau Viaduct is the tallest suspension bridge in the world, with its tallest pylon measuring to 343 m height, and total weight measured at 242,000 tonnes. The road itself stretches for 2.46km and is 280m above the valley floor. The weight of the road deck is a whopping 36,000 tonnes. The steel road deck, 4.2m thick, has a width of 32m, wide enough for two lanes of traffic in each direction. The total amount of concrete used on the structure was 205,000 tonnes.
All in all, the majority of experts today believe that behavior and human development are influenced by both nature and nurture. However, the issue is still debated in many areas such as in the origins of homosexuality and influences on intelligence. While few people take the extreme nativist or extreme empiricist approach, researchers and experts still debate the degree to which biology and environment influence human behavior.
Nature versus nurture is one of the oldest and most studied debates in the history of psychology. This debate is about an individual’s genetic influences as opposed to the environmental influences on physical characteristics and intelligence (Rathus 197). Some think that genes determine an individual’s development and others think that it comes from how one was raised. My development was influenced by nature and nurture equally because I would not be myself if I did not get my ambition from my mother and my manners from my upbringing.
The Bunker Hill Bridge in Catawba County in North Carolina was built in 1895 and reconstructed in 1994. The bridge is significant because it is the only remaining historic type of "Improved Lattice Truss" bridge. This historic construction was patented in 1839 by Herman Haupt and in 1894, commissioners of Catawba County asked the residents to construct a bridge over Lyles creek. The Haupt truss design is of civil engineering interest because it is an example of innovation in mid 19th century bridge engineering and a construction associated with Herman Haupt, who was a prominent civil engineer in the 19 century and well known for his pioneering projects in the analysis of bridges (Bennet, 4). This paper will summarize the event by reporting
The debate whether nature or nurture determines who a person is has been going on for quite some time now. The nature side believes genetics and biology play a huge role in who we are, where the nurture side believes people are basically blank, and are shaped by their environment and the experiences around them. There are some traces in nurture however our genetics and biology factor into who we are, every human is created a different way, and nobody is exactly alike. Genetics factor into how a person is made up and some traits are more dominant than others.
When it comes to the debate of Nature vs. Nurture I consider myself to be the middle man. I feel that our behavior, physical development and our identity is not only the result of our genealogical makeup but our interactions, and decisions that we encounter on a daily basis as well as our family structure. First I would like to give a brief summary of the two topics. The nature side of the debate expresses that our decisions and end results are stemmed from only our genealogical make up such as, hair color and even diseases.
Nature versus nurture is an argument in psychology over whether a person’s innate qualities and behaviors are caused from their environment or if they’re born with it. Vygotsky places more emphasis on the social factors that contribute to cognitive development, in other words he is in favor of the nurture argument. He believes that everyone learns from their culture, environment, and social interactions. He talks about a few of his theories like the zone of proximal development, and a more knowledgeable other. He also expresses his thoughts on developmental tools and the importance of language to cognitive development. All of these factors together support his idea that children’s behavior is learned.
The nature vs. nurture theory takes a huge role in determining how a child will grow and develop within the society. A child will develop their own values and morals that are generated by how they were raised in their environment.
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.
Development across the lifespan is one of the most interesting areas of psychology. The word development refers to human development which can be defined as “the scientific study of changes that occur in people as they age from conception until death.” (Ciccarelli, & White, 2009)Psychologists study this developmental change over time through several different methods. The book highlights three: Longitudinal design, cross-sectional design and cross-sequential design. Longitudinal design is a research design “in which one participant or group of participants is studied over a long period of time.” Cross sectional design differs from longitudinal design because cross-sectional designed research studies “several different age-groups of participants are studied at one particular time.” (Ciccarelli, & White)Cross-sequential designed research is a combination of the other two types; the cross-sequential research design studies participants by means of a cross-sequential design but they are also followed and assessed for a period of time no more than six years. A controversial topic associated with development across the lifespan is the theory of “Nature versus Nurture”. Nature versus nurture refers to the relationship between development and heredity and environmental factors. The answer lies on a spectrum between environmental factors and heredity. Psychologists on the environmental side are called empiricists. Empiricists believe that human development is fully influenced by a person’s environment. On the opposite side of the spectrum are the nativists. Nativists are psychologists that believe a person’s development is based completely on genetic factors. The facts are divided in relation to the two theor...
“We have been very conditioned by the cultures that we come from and are usually very identified with the particular gender that we happen to be a member of.” This quote by Andrew Cohen explains partially how gender identity develops, through the conditioning of our environments. The most influential factor of gender development, however, is still a very controversial issue. An analysis of the gender identification process reveals two main arguments in what factor most greatly contributes to gender development: biology differences (nature) or the environment (nurture).