Examples Of Nature Vs Nurture In Childhood

Nature Versus Nurture: The Formation of Personalities in Childhood In psychology field, there is a long-lasting discussion about whether one’s behaviors are determined by the environment or natural instinct. The terms of “nature” and “nurture” have been used since at least 16th century. The definitions of nature and nurture are various among different schools and change along with time. No matter which dimensions of meanings are taken for research, childhood is definitely one of the most crucial life period for this topic because the effects of both nature and nurture are reflected most apparently in childhood. Children are growing both mentally and physically. Therefore, they are easily affected by the environment and unlikely to cover up

The diversified kinds of significance of nature and nurture are depicted and interpreted in numerous children’s literature started from the 18th century which is a significant era for later production because the controversy about childhood and education first came to light (Hollindale 161). One of the most remarkable works among them is Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, which tells the story of the children’s self-redemption in the love of nature. Through the analysis of the distinct personalities of main characters in The Secret Garden, a new and unique perspective which adds complexity in regard to the long debatable topic can be learned. Nature and Nurture cannot solely determine the formation of personality and they can be interacted with each other. The environment largely influences the formation of personalities and traits, but at the same time nature is a power of self-determinism and is able to reconstruct the self fabricated by

Some scholars believe that human behaviors are exclusively determined by environmental factors early in the early centuries while some state that humans are actually genetically influenced and actively seek for the environment corresponding to their genetic preference. However, extreme genetic or environmental conditions are rare. Nature versus nurture is a topic with more complexity and the two concepts both contribute substantially to the formation of personality, which can be explored later in The Secret Garden. Nature is not a solely mechanistic concept with the implication of biological gene but also a culturally constructed notion indicating “innate ideas” or “instincts” on the base of ethics in moral philosophy. According to Peter Hollindale’s citing in his book Keywords in Children’s Literature, nature has multiple meanings in different literature works: Chaucer’s three dimensions of nature include a corporate power of all living beings, external growth and alternation, and inner disposition of intelligent creatures especially humans; for Shakespeare, nature is the will of God and humans should act corresponding to the feudal ethics coming form the metaphysical absolute; Edmund believes that nature is an ungoverned state of humans who are dominated by their primary