"You are either a product of your genes and biology (nature), or what you are is
due to experience and environment (nurture)." Cardwell &
Flanagan (2003) Psychology AS, Nelson Thornes, pg. 159
Before exploring this in psychological terms, what is your reaction to this debate?
Using your own experiences to date do you believe your current behaviour is due to biological or environmental factors?
Answer the above question by responding to this post.
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ReplyDeletei reckon that nature and genes make a base for personality and gives the capability for different skills, while nurture develops those skills in different ways depending on how the individual is nurtured
ReplyDeleteI think that nature plays a very large part in the overal product of a person. Through nature the person is given all their abillities and skills ( and disabillities). Nurture plays a role in helping the person decide how to develop and how to implement the attributes
ReplyDeleteI believe that nurture is the basis of ones personality and lifestyle, however, some main personality traits, talents and habits are due to genes and natural nature. Friends, environment, schooling, sport and community change a persons apperance and personality due to acceptance of peers and other relations. Talent and abililits can change due maturation, however i believe that academic, physical, social and mental talent mainly is naturally in a persons nature.
ReplyDeleteDuring schooling (teachers and freinds) and other forms of communication a child has the abitlity to change their beliefs adn attitudes to fit others and to be noticed.
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ReplyDeletei just read all the other posts and they seem to be pretty short, so i dont know if this is what everyone is looking for... ah well, might as well post it and see if anyone agrees?
ReplyDeletepersonally, i think we are a product of both our genetic 'nature', and our experiences, or 'nurture'
For instance, it is obvious that our physical traits are almost completely genetically based, like hair colour etc. also, i think that some core personality traits are carried over from parent to child, like humor or agression(i.e. the child has a good sense of humor, because the mother is very humerous). (i do use these traits in their broadest possible sense) however i think any more detailed personality traits (for instance a morbid fear of spiders), comes from experiences in life.
i have never really held a grudge in my life, i can always seem to get over it, no matter how big an issue. in this way, my father was very much the same. he always implied that if it wasnt important get over it. obviously i have dark hair, because my father did and dark hair is a dominant trait. however i think there is a grey area, where it is difficult to put traits into a nature/nurture category. mum and dad are always joking, and they say i was the same from a very early age. but is this because i got a humerous cell when i was born? or did i pick it up along the way through infancy? personally i think it was nurture. as i said before, i think a joking personality is too detailed to have been solely biological in origin.
Alex Raymond (the cool one)
I believe that it is a mix of the two but nurture is predominate. We all have genes depicting how we react in general situations but this is open for change throughout life. This is why we can "learn" things like manners and habits. So we have a genetic base that we can expand and change through hard work or repetition.
ReplyDeleteAlthough with this considered I believe that in different ages nature or nurture may be more influential. A young child is predominately nature but as the child grows he adapts his own personality to situations giving a more individual behaviour although some traits given through genes may be kept. As the child grows he reacts to social cues in a manner that was influence by those around him who he feels were an important or significant part of his childhood.
I believe that we are a product of our deoxyribonucleic acid, our surroundings and how we were brought up.
I believe that most of our traits and characteristics are a result of biology and our genes (nature), yet these characteristics can be altered through the way we are raised by our parents(nurture). In support of nature, I am very different to my twin brother. This is despite that fact that we have had the exact same experiences and living environment since we were born.
ReplyDeleteIn support of nurture, i believe that to acheieve in a particular skill, the way that you have been raised and the environment that you live in impacts heavily on your abilty. Although to start pursuing this skill, there need to be an interest or ability in the first place, which comes down tho nature.
Jillease:)
I believe that both Nature and Nurture play a large role in who people are, as it is a combination of the two.
ReplyDeleteAn example used in this debate for the Nature side is that intelligent people have intelligent children, and that less intelligent parents have less intelligent children. This can be rebutted by saying that smarter parents have the opportunity to raise their childfren smarter than the less intelligent parents, however i believe that this situation is a combination of the two. Intelligent parent's children may have a small amount of "natural intelligence" yet it is the stimulation that these kids receive that makes them who they are. If the intelligent parents did not drive them, then they would sooner or later run out of use of their natural smarts and therefore lack intelligence. While the less intelligent parent's children may not have that extra boost that the other children may have, but if the parents chose to really drive them in their education then they could reach the potential of intellience that the other child has.
Therefore i believe that both Nature and Nurture are what form people's identities.
I believe that my current behaviour is mostly due to nurture. In saying this, I do not believe that my behaviour is entirely due to nurture. I am sure that I have some traits are due to biological factors. I do believe that if you are bought up in an environment, for example, where the parents of the household are not worried about your grades at school or about the amount of effort you put into your school work you would receive a standard much lower than you were capable of. Contradicting myself I would like to say that if you were lucky enough to be born with very high intelligence, you are most likely to push yourself to achieve higher standards than asked by your parents.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, I believe that the importance of relying on nature deciding on your behaviour characteristics is less than the importance of nurture in the raising of a child.
-Mel 10J
Nature Versus Nurture has been a topic that has been widely debated throughout the years over which factor determines what makes a person who they are and how they act. In my personal opinion, I believe that the environment in which a person is brought up (nurture) determines how they behave. For example, If I were to have been brought up by wolves, I have no doubt that I would act differently than I would today. A story in the USA, introduced a girl called Genie and how she was socially isolated for the first 13 years of her life. At the age of thirteen, she was almost entirely mute and had a vocabulary consisting of approximately 20 words and short phrases (mostly negative) such as "stop it" and "no more". Now if we are a product of our genes and biology, how come this girl was not able to speak fluently and comprehend simple things like her parents could? This is giving clear proof that the theory that we are a product of our genes and biology (nature) is flawed.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both nature and nurture have a part in the creation of your personality. Nurture has a part in the way in which you behavior by watching role model such as your parents. In support to this my siblings and I are very similar, by having the same role models. Nature has a part of having the ability to understand things.
ReplyDeleteI believe that nurture plays a greater role in a person's personality traits. However some people would argue that nature is more dominant. An argument in the support of nurture: My brother is extremely different to me, in terms of personality traits. This may be because of his nature, however, facts suggest it is more likely nurture's doing. I grew up mostly in the company of my dad (he was stay-at-home parent for a couple of years) and he is a person who is NOT emotional or sensitive in any way. Nine years later when my brother was born, both our parents were working and thus did not devote as much time to him as me. My dad was extremely busy as he owned a business while my mum had much more free time. Thus my brother spent most of his critical sensitive period with my mother, who tends to be of a more caring personality. Not surprisingly, my brother shows signs of extremely caring, emotional and sensitive behaviour (he is 5 years old now). I, on the other hand, am not much of an emotional person. Therefore, it is clear that nurture plays a great role in a person's personality traits. Some may argue that the behaviour my brother display is in his nature but suppose that if he had been brought up with my dad, would he still be the way he is? I think not because during a child's critical sensitive period they learn via their environment and personal relations and experiences. If he had been with my dad, he would have learnt not to take the world as seriously and have more of an unsympathetic outlook. On the other hand, I believe nature plays a role in a person’s likes and dislikes, the person just needs to be exposed to different things in their nurturing.
ReplyDeleteI believe nature is a large part of the developement of a person. Obvious physical traits of a person are hereditary, (e.g. hair colour, skin colour). I believe the same goes for mental traits, after all the brain is a physical part of the body. A person can change somethings about their body (weight gain/loss), but their basic traits are similar to that of their parents. The same can be said for a person's mental traits.
ReplyDeleteAlso, nurturing can teach a person certain skills (etc.) but the person must naturally have the capability to perform this skill. E.g. a person can be taught how to solve a mathamatics problem, but if their brain is not capable of comprehending the operation with ease, they will not be able to perform it fluently. I belive this can also be true for personality traits etc.
Both sides of this debate have many arguments as to why they are correct, but I think that it can’t be a result of only either nurture or nature. I think that our biological makeup does determine much of our personality, strengths and interests. However, I also believe that if you aren’t growing up in the correct environment which has a lack of support and nurture, you wouldn’t be the same person than if you did have the support that a young child needs. Many characteristics and traits can be altered and changed through the way that we are raised. Each factor relies on the other.
ReplyDeleteMy own reaction to this debate is that there is more nurture over nature in how we are raised. That we are more based on our own experiences and the environment we are raised in, rather than genes and biology. I do believe that nature is a part of it; because we do need some traits, to learn new things and create our own personality. Nature might give people their abilities and skills but nurture would improve and corrected these abilities and skills if there were some flaws.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ways that I believe that it is nurture over nature is habits. It is believed by some people that habits are a part of nature, but then I have read various websites about habits-some say it can take up to 21 days or three weeks, others say 8 weeks to change or build a habit. This can only happen because of nurture, because the nature part has already been done. Let’s say nature gives us the habit of bitting your nails, you can’t stop bitting your nails, then someone came up to you and said it was gross even know you would try to stop, it would pretty much be a habit for the rest of your life. If it is nurture and you have been bitting your nails for over a year, it would be a pretty hard habit to break. Then someone came up to you and said it was gross and that you would stop, you would try hard to stop because of peer pressure. Then you can no matter how long it takes, you still broke it. I have seen many of my friends that bit their nails stopped and grew them nice and long because other people thought it was gross.
In my opinion, nurture is the biggest influence on a persons behaviours/personality.
ReplyDeleteAs Piaget's theory, it is believed that we learn from active learning, using our senses. Because we learn by this method, I believe that we learn certain behaviours, actions, talents, interests from observing and interacting with those around us.
For example, a loss of a loved one can make many changes in a someone's personality. I believe this change comes from being with, interacting and observing how others deal with the same or a similar situation. If they see people accepting the loss and becoming more greatful and respectful for their own and others lives then they will learn from that and copy. If they observe others blaming things for the loss and are angry or depressed, then they will follow in similar behaviours.
Another way that nurture influences someones behaviour is by being constantly exposed to a certain thing. I believe this is how interests and talents are formed.
For example, if someone taught that horses are nice, gentle animals and are exposed to horses on a regular basis then it likely they will form a special interest for horses.
I believe that from genetics we only receive physical atributes and our personalities are created after birth.
Izzy.
My belief is that 70% of who we are is a product of experiences and the environment around us.
ReplyDeleteMy brother told me humans are like chicken eggs (:. The attribute or intelligence inside the egg is determined by our genes. Once given the right environment and nurture, the egg will develop and eventually hatch – unlocking whatever attribute was inside. However if it was a dud, no matter how well the environment was able to nurture it, it wouldn’t hatch.
Genes can determine and limit the capacity of a person whether it is intelligence or aspects of personality. However the world around us since childhood has the ability to shape and change our behaviour but only to the extent that our genes limit. Whether or not a person develops a personality attribute that their genes say they have the potential to achieve depends solely on nurture.
People easily change their opinions and actions based on their surroundings: the people around them, their environment. I believe personalities are easily altered, humans can conform to the point that their own personality begins to change. Experiences also have a lasting impact on a person. Victims of traumatic experiences often never recover and parts of their personality or behaviour will change.
These are the observations I have made to believe that nurture plays the most important role in human behaviour.
cathy :)
I believe that the nature of a person or the genes they inherit is the basis of a person’s personality and character and the nurture or the environment in which they grow up changes this via experiences and knowledge. I also believe that the mixture of nurture and nature in a person’s development may change. This has been shown through the many experiments done on twins that have been split up at birth and how they brought up in different environments. This may also change through the person’s ages. Eg. children take in information much easier.
ReplyDeleteJoel
My opinion towards this debate is that it is more nurture over nature. I believe that you are the person you are today because of the way you were brought up and the environment you grew up in. I imagine that if identical twins that have the exact same genes were adopted into entirely different families; a rich, civil and polite family, and a family with major issues. The twins would have more differences than similarities. (Not including personal appearance.) This could be because the child adopted into the family shares a lifestyle with siblings that share no similar genes. Being around people pretty much 24/7 will change the way someone acts and behaves.
ReplyDeleteA great example of this is Ironbark. Ironbark allows people to share a room and everything with about 30 completely different people for five weeks. People come back from ironbark with completely changed personalities, habits and new opinions and attitudes towards things. I feel that this is because we are constantly surrounded by about 30 different personalities. An example of this is a girl who arrived at ironbark a very quite person, and left with a very loud and extraverted personality. She was in a cabin with probably 4 of the loudest girls in the grade. I believe this is because of the people she was surrounded by for 5 weeks.
According to my personal experiences, I truly believe that our genes are not responsible for who we are, we are who we are because of our upbringing and experiences.
I am a strong supporter of the "nurture' side of this debate and agree that the mind is born as a blank slate.
ReplyDeleteI believe when we compare ourselves to our parents and find similiar personality traits, this is because we purely learn and copy the traits and do not inherit them.
I believe that people’s actions are due to both nature and nurture. However, I have found that nature plays an important role in behavior and some personality traits are predetermined. For example, some people are born with a very quiet and calm personality, whereas some people are more outgoing and extraverted in nature. These characteristics are part of their personality makeup, rather than being determined by their upbringing. However, some personality traits are due to nurture, because what people experience can lead to their behaviors. For instance, when children observe people swearing, they imitate such practices, and therefore inherit the language. Therefore, I believe that both nature and nurture contribute to the behaviours of people.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, people are a product of both nature and nurture. I think that people have different cells or genes in their bodies that have the potential to be triggered by an experience or event to produce a certain characteristic. I neither think that people are born as a readymade person (nature) or are born as a blank slate and their experiences make them who they are (nurture). So my opinion is that a person is born with a general personality but it continues to develop as they mature and learn from their experiences. For example, a person may have something biological in their body that could allow them to have a good sense of humor whereas they may not be exposed to particular events to trigger that sense of humor. This can be noted with the differences in children brought up in abusive and violent environments and children who are brought up in calm environments. The children exposed to violence at an early age as they are still developing and learning usually tend to imitate these violent actions. However, children raised in the calmer environments generally are less violent in behaviour. Both groups of children could have the potential to act in a violent way but the ones exposed to it are more likely to copy the violence they have experienced.
ReplyDeleteMandy
I believe that my current behaviour is due to both Nature and Nurture. However, I consider nurture more superficial, where nature is more inset and “deeper down”. I believed that my behaviour is like an iceberg, where nurture is 40% and nature is 60%, and nurture is on top and nature is on the bottom of the iceberg. The nature side of my behaviour is submerged under the water, or where it is harder for people to see my natural behaviour. But, the nurture side of my behaviour is above the water and is much more prominent. The nurture side of me is what people observe every day and it is harder to see my true nature. I believe that your true nature only comes out in times of crisis but it is harder to change your natural behaviour. So in conclusion I believe that nature and nurture play a fairly equal but different role in my behaviour.
ReplyDeleteIain
Through my experiences, I have found that some things defining who I am are a result of nature, and others are a result of nurture. I have found that some things in life are predetermined, through nature. For instance, the production of hormones in teenagers can result in aggressive behavior, which is nature, but the way they express or deal with this aggression can be the result of nurture.
ReplyDeleteThe nature of an individual gives them certain traits and skills, but as a result of nurture personality traits can be expressed in different ways and behaviours are influenced, depending on their experiences.
Nature plays a big role in predetermining what skills we have or developments that occur physically, but nurture is the way of displaying these skills. For example, we may find that some people have a talent for a certain sport or subject, which is nature, but in order for these skills to become apparent, we must first learn and experience, which is nurture.
Caitlin
In my opinion, I believe that we are made up of nature and nurture. There is no definite answer as to which ever is more dominant. For example, some people that are naturally gifted at running (due to physical traits or genetically inherited abilities) may lose this ability due to the environment (for example, living in a city would reduce opportunities to run). Nature and nurture, from what I’ve learnt, is similar to geography and history. Many people choose geography because they believe history is boring or hard, and vice versa. However, without geography in history, then one will not be able to learn about the historical factors of a certain country or land. If there is not history in geography, then one will not be able to learn about how the earth was first formed. Without being influenced by the environment, humans would not be able to learn from others (considering the Social Learning Theory and Piaget’s stages theory). And without genetically inherited abilities, humans would not begin their life with a “base” (like a pizza). Therefore, the behaviours of humans would not be balance without a bit from nature and nurture.
ReplyDeleteTiffany