Nannie's View Of Nature Or Nurture?

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Introduction The debate of nurture vs nature is classic debate among the psychological community. Is it one or the other, or, is it both? Nature is defined by the genetic code of the person. It takes into consideration DNA and biological connections. “Theories that base their understanding of human behavior on "nature," focus on characteristics that we are born with, like our genetic make-up, stable personality traits, and physical predispositions.” (Hartney, 2010). Nurture is quite the opposite. People on the side of nurture are of the opinion that it is the atmosphere that determines who a person is and becomes. “Theories that base their understanding of human behavior on "nurture," emphasize those experiences that mold and change us throughout our lives, such as how our parents raised us, what we were taught at school, and our culture.” (Hartney, 2010). Nurture and nature can be studied in various ways on many different types of people. The extreme classification though is when these theories are …show more content…

Nannie was left behind with the newborn and her mother-in-law. Upon the ex-husbands return he brought with him a new woman and her child. Nannie packed up herself and her children and left cursing her husband for what he had done to her life. After that husband Nannie got married twice and killed those to husbands also. After killing all these husbands it became apparent that she was moved by nurture to commit these crimes. Her father showed no love, only coldness, hardness, and abuse. The men she married gave her more of the same. Being treated badly sent her over the edge. Maybe she was subjected to these traits and her nurturing just triggered her behavior. Maybe she only killed out of sheer anger at the hand life dealt her. Either way, the case of Nannie Doss points more towards nurture than anything

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