Nature And Heredity: The Nature Theory Of Human Behavior

Being yourself, being who you are. When you hear those two lines you may think they mean the same thing, but do they? Think about it, you were born into this world as a tiny little baby with no ideas, or preferences, but as you grew you developed a personal identity. The question is, did it really develop o was it with you to begin with? Such questions are what lead to the great debate of nature vs nurture, one of the oldest debates in psychology. The uses of the terms “nature” and “nurture” have been referred to as the roles of heredity and environment respectively in human development. Some scientists believe that human beings behave as they do in response to genetic predisposition. This is known as the nature theory of human behavior and it is the view espoused by naturalists (Scott, 1995). Other

The color of our eyes, having straight or curly hair, even some diseases are all a combination of the genes we inherit (McLeod, 2015). Those who are extremely in favor of heredity are known as nativists. Their assumption is that the characteristics of the human being are a combination of each person’s unique genetic code. There are some characteristics that emerge with maturity, such as those changes that come with puberty. These types of behaviors that affect our physical development of the body are “preprogramed”.
In contrast, at the other end of the spectrum you can find the environmentalists, also known as empiricists. Their basic assumption is that of John Locke, we are born as a blank slate; the mind is a blank piece of paper that is filled with experience. From this point all the characteristics and behavior emerge through experience during infancy and childhood. You become what you are because of your surroundings and experiences that govern the psychological aspects of the development and all the maturation applies only to the