The debate over nature vs. nurture dates back to 1869 when the phrase was developed by an English polymath, Francis Galton. The debate has fueled many debates as to how exactly humans developed and for years it was a very polarized debate you were either on one side or the other not both. Today, however, as Dunn and Craig state “the days are past when theorists argue over whether specific aspects of human development were either a function of biology or a function of experience, resulting from “nature” or “nurture” respectively”, the focus is more on the how much or in what way a behavior is a translation of biology or experience (p. 4&5). What exactly is nature? In this context it refers to DNA or genotype that you are born with, on the nature …show more content…
Your behaviors, personality and character traits are a byproduct of our genes and our experience. This brings to mind research that was done on babies that were raised in orphanages I believe in Russia. And how these babies were developmentally delayed due to the lack of love, compassion, attention, these babies grew up with their needs not being met. And they struggled and lagged behind. Life experience at an early age develops your chance trust in the world. If you learn that your needs will not be meet, you become untrusting , isolated and alone, the world becomes a dark place and the mind will develop way to help you cope and these ways will not necessarily serve to develop you into a well rounded individual. Were these children any different biologically than any other children, did they not develop in the womb the same? And if you checked in with these orphans today would they all still be behind and developmentally challenged. Or would some have overcome their struggles and developed healthy, are not some more resilient than others. I think the answer depends on both nature and nurture in combination. I think psychologist Donald Hebb said it best was asked which contributes more to personality, nature or nurture, he answered, "Which contributes more to the area of a rectangle, its length or its width?" (Nature vs. Nuture, as Seen by Economists,
The nature vs. nurture controversy is an age old question in the scientific and psychological world with both camps having evidence to support their theories. The controversy lies in which is more influential in the development of human beings. While there is no definitive answer for this, it is interesting to look at each of them separately.
In the book Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain, race and identity is a large theme in the book, that often impacts the each and every word, thought and action of the characters. The nature vs nurture theme speaks volumes because most whites in the time period of racism believed that whites were noble and blacks were innately evil from birth and can never be changed. In the book there are two boys named Tom, the son of Roxy, and Chambers, the son of Percy Driscoll. Roxy had a gut feeling of her son being separated from her son by Percy so she switches the sons since they look so much alike. Chambers a black person with a upbringing of respectable white background grows up to be “racist” and Tom a white person with a black surrounding thinks nothing of being black. Mark Twain mocks white people because Roxy, a black female, was outsmarting a whole town without anyone noticing for years. Mark Twain dispels the reasons whites or society gives to hate blacks, Twain does through the character of Chambers as well as Tom and societies depictions of them. Society has nurtured the hate people have for blacks for no valid reason and it is shown to the reader, through Chambers. In the book Chambers hates blacks, reason being is that he thought he was white, and society says whites are suppose to hate blacks, so why is that Chambers
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. Nurture on the other hand is the actualization that our actions and decisions are brought upon us not by our DNA makeup but actually from the environment around us, including our culture and upbringing. Although many people usually pick a side to be on I feel as if our end result is brought upon us by both our DNA makeup and the way our surroundings affect us on a daily basis (2014, retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm).
The nature versus nurture theory is a way to distinguish whether certain traits or characteristics of individuals are impacted more by biological means or environmental means. What the “nature” part signifies in the the theory is that we are more impacted by heredity and biological effects of our personality and what defines us as a person. What “nurture” signifies is that environmental factors have a more powerful impact on our lives and personality. As we mostly know, most things aren’t black and white, and so it’s hard ro determine which type of factors is more effective. Most people believe that it’s a blend of both nature and nurture that makes us who we are.
The nature and nurture debate has been studied for many years. Years ago many people thought that human behavior was “instinctive, simply our nature” (Macionis, 2008). Are people born with a predetermined plot of what their life will hold? Many researchers have done numerous studies that have proven that human behavior comes from how a person was nurtured after birth. Biology and nature mean the same thing, and we are biologically programmed at birth to do certain things. For example, at birth a person’s heart beats on its own, and a baby knows how to suck instantly. This shows the nature side of humans. How a child was nurtured at birth has a direct bearing on his or her future.
Human nature is the range of human behaviors that is believed to be innate rather than learned. There is much debate over which behaviors are innate and which are learned, and whether or not this division applies equally to all individuals. Although "nurture" may have historically referred mainly to the care given to children by their parents, any environmental (not genetic) factor also would count as "nurture" in a contemporary nature versus nurture debate, including one's childhood friends, one's early experiences with television, and one's experience in the womb(Wright,1998). Indeed, a substantial source of environmental input to human nature may arise from external variations in prenatal development (Wright, 1998).
The way that an individual is nurtured is what causes them to go on in their lives to behave the way that they do from the beginning of their lives until the end. As stated in the article “what is nature versus nurture” by Kendra Cherry, psychology expert refers to the philosopher John Locke who believed in the concept of tabula rasa which supports the fact that the mind begins at a clean slate, so this states that everything that we are and the experiences that we have are determined by our
One of the oldest arguments in the history of psychology is the Nature vs Nurture debate. Each of these sides have good points that it's really hard to decide whether a person's development is predisposed in his DNA, or a majority of it is influenced by his/hers life experiences and his/her environment.
The debate on nurture versus nature goes much further back in history, to the times of philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato, respectively. One reason why individuals may not be aware of this is due to the different terminology used to describe
Nature vs nurture debate is an old argument, I believe that nature and nurture both work together. Your genes are something that you are born with but your experiences and how you were raised also make you the person you are today. Experiences and opportunities help you develop your personality. It also provides a valuable training ground for later life. Human culture, behavior, and personality are cause primarily by nature and nurture not nature or
Throughout the history of human existence, there have always been questions that have plagued man for centuries. Some of these questions are “what is the meaning of life” and “which came first, the chicken or the egg”. Within the past 400 years a new question has surfaced which takes our minds to much further levels. The question asked is whether nature or nurture has more of an impact on the growing development of people. It is a fact that a combination of nature and nurture play important roles in how humans behave socially. However, I believe that nature has a more domineering role in the development of how people behave in society with regards to sexual orientation, crimes and violence and mental disorders.
Nature by itself can affect a child’s development. If the child is born with a disease or mental illness, they may develop at a slower pace. For example, if a child is born with Asperger’s syndrome, the child will have a difficult time with social skills and understanding emotions. Nurture deals with the environment. If a child was raised in a hostile environment, that child is more likely to be hostile when they get older. Environment may play a larger role in most cases due to everyday lifestyle, from the city you live in to the way you are raised. If one was raised in a healthy house hold, someone who lived in a toxic household may behave differently.
Nature is described as our physical attributes and genes from when we are born. Our genetics that make us who we are include our eye colour, height and hair colour, as well as our natural talents, abilities and our intelligence level.
The controversy of nature vs. nurture has been going on for many years, and a
One of the hottest debates is and has been nature vs nurture for years, but what is the difference between the two? Nature is what people think of as already having and not being able to change it, in other words, pre-wiring (Sincero). Nurture is the influence of experiences and its environment of external factors (Sincero). Both nature and nurture play important roles in human development. Scientists and researchers are both trying to figure out which is the main cause in development because it is still unknown on which it is. The best position to side with is nature. Nature is also defined as genetic or hormone based behaviors (Agin). Regardless of the involvement in everyday life, or nurture, this argumentation centers around the effect genes have on human personalities. Although it is understandable on reasons to side with nurture, nature is the better stand in this controversy. Reasons to side with nature is because of genes and what genes hold. Genes is what