1. In your own words briefly summarize this study.
The “Are You a Natural” study examines a modern and continuous change in the way psychologists inspect human tendencies and behavior in its most extensive form. The main idea behind this paper was to answer this question: "Who are you?" The article makes you think about how psychologists are able to determine whether a trait being physical or psychological is hereditary, is it taught over your upbringing by your parents, or is that just part of your own personal make up. The article states that “most humans feel that the way that they act and perceive the world is built around an environmental basis rather than being a genetic trait.”(Are You a Natural) Thomas Bouchard and David Lykken, psychologists
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The study “Are You a Natural?” provides a more in-depth look and analysis into the mind. It challenges what was previously thought in psychology and it provides us as readers with proof of the success of the study. Providing readers other aspects and viewpoints in the field of psychology, by thinking outside the box.
3.What was the Researcher trying to show? What were the researchers Hypothesis? What Thomas Bouchard and David Lykken were trying to prove was that your genes are the front-runners in determining your personal, psychological qualities. Their hypothesis was that psychological characteristics are to be determined mainly by a persons genetic factors rather than each person being shaped by their environment.
4. How did the researcher go about this? What methods were used?
Their study conducted of taking 57 sets of identical twins that were separated at birth and putting them through 50 hours of testing through one week. They completed three aptitudes and occupational interest inventories, four personality trait scales, and two intelligence tests each. The reason they picked identical twins as stated by Bouchard and Lykken, was because identical twins have virtually the same genetic
True nature is similar to mine by taking a quick quiz that matches a person’s personality with a
The World of Psychology. (2002). A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA: Samuel Wood & Ellen Green Wood p. 593
D. Brett King, Wayne Viney, & William Douglas Woody, (2013). A History of Psychology, Ideas & Context. 3rd ed. United States: Pearson.
Have you ever thought about whether the way you are is based on your genetic makeup? Do you believe our environment shapes us into who we are, instead? In the psychology debate of nature versus nurture, I believe that nurture plays a big role in who
Hergenhahn, B. R. (2009). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed., p. 224,
A layman would define personality as an individual’s characteristics in terms of how they think and behave. Many theorists, however, interprets personality differently resulting in various personality theories. Personality is determined by traits which are behaviours displayed by a person in most given situations. How a person reacts to common circumstances may also be used to foresee future behaviours. Traits are then categorized into types that allow easier comparisons to be made between each individual’s attributes. The focus of this paper would be on the biological aspects of personality whereby traits are thought to be inheritable through genetics and associated with the central nervous system. Behavioural genetics are research that makes use of results from studies done on family, twins and adoptions. The findings of how both genes and environment influences personality from the studies will be discussed. Some researchers found possible issues with the representativeness of such studies. The outline of Eysenck’s biological model of personality and arousal, Gray’s BAS/BIS theory and Cloninger’s biological model of personality will further explain the biological effect on personality.
One of the oldest controversy in psychology is nature vs. nurture. The whole debate boils down to genetic inheritance or environmental factors when it comes to human development. Philosopher Plato believed that certain behaviors are inborn or in others words occur naturally regardless of environmental factors. Then there are other philosopher such as John Locke who believe that the mind begins as a blank slate. So everything we come in contact with helps shape who we are. As for today, most expects now believe that behavior and personality are influenced by both nature and nurture. Some examples of gene inheritance are the color of your eyes, straight or curly hair, the pigment in your skin and certain inherited diseases. Not all people with blond hair are the same person and not all people in a family have the same color hair or eyes. An example of environmental factor that affects who you are is how you were brought up by your parents. Another example of environmental factor that helps influence behavior is the way you speak, you learn tone, speak, and sound from the people around you as a child. (Knowlton, 2005)
Boneau, C. A., Kimble, G. A., and Wertheimer, M. (1996) Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology, Volume II. Washington D.C. and Mahwah, NJ: American Psychological Association & Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
... have come to the conclusion that genetics is very important for the development of personality but even they have to determine how these genes are investigated for the purpose of determining a particular personality. “What scientists have found is that there does not appear to be a single gene for a particular trait, but that genes show their effects by working together in complex combinations. For example, there is no single gene for dancing or music. Whether a child will be musically inclined will be determined by the way that child's genes interact with one another. Some parents would like to believe that by creating an environment rich in music while the child is young will develop the child's talent towards music. However, despite assumptions like this, there is no evidence that shows long term effects of growing up in a particular environment” (Pinker, 2003).
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.
Traits and personality are things that people are born with. Many scientist have shown an interest in what the real factors are that creates a person’s individual personality traits. Human personality has been in constant debate on what influences it the most, nature or nurture. This debate can date back to the Aristotle and Plato time and continues with support for both sides today. Human beings can be genetically lined to fear the unknown and laugh out loud, or be bald, but they are capable of learning to hate reading, love tea, and tell lies as opposed to the truth.
Tunnell, GB & Hernstein, R. . (1977). Three dimensions of naturalness: An expanded definition of field research. Psychological Bulletin, 84 (3), 426-437
The key issues and controversies in psychology are Free Will vs Determinism, Free Will is the idea that behaviour is primarily caused by choices that are made by an individual and Determinism is the idea that people’s behaviour are produced primarily by factors outside their control. Nature vs Nurture, Nature is about people’s behaviour due to their genetically determined nature and how much is due to nurture, the influence and social environment a child is raised. A third questions addressed from a psychologist is Conscious vs Unconscious Cause of Behaviour, it is about how much of our behaviour is produced by forces of which we are aware of and how much is due to unconscious activity such as mental processes that are not accessible to the conscious awareness. An additional key issues is Observable Behaviour vs Internal Mental Processes, Where do psychologists focus solely on behaviour that can be outside observes or on unseen thinking processes. Some of
Typically if an individual ranks high at one end of the continuum, scores on the other end tend to be lower. The psychologist that is most associated with the Biological approach to personality is Hans J. Eysenck (Rafter, 2006).
Throughout our lives we have all been influenced by our environment and other outside forces. Our environment may change the way we think, act and behave in life. Since we are all products of our environment, it comes to no surprise that we, as humans, tend to behave in a society the same way others around us behave but at the same time we strive to find who we really are (Schaefer 73). Since birth, humans have always analyzed the world around them. With each day that passes, humans take in more and more information from the outside world. The information which humans obtain through their environment subconsciously influences the decisions people make throughout their daily life (Neubauer 16). On the other hand, our genetics also play a vital role in determining what type of person we are and what will we become.