Developmental psychology pursues to understand the degree of influence of the environment on human development. The nature-nurture debate used to be described as one or the other explaining human development but the reality of it is not as simple. As psychologists, we want to find out what influences makes us into who we are today. One following the determinist/nativist view (nature) would suggest that behaviour is determined by hereditary factors such as the DNA or characteristics we have inherited. Therefore, nativists believe that we have been born with innate characteristics so our behaviour is determined by our biology. Some behaviours can be present at birth whilst some can ne pre-programmed in us that emerge with age. One following the
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Therefore, empiricists believe that we have developed as humans through interactions with the environment. It is evident that neither nature nor nurture can on their own provide full explanations for human development so I will explore in this essay how the nature-nurture debate is currently viewed by developmental psychologists.
The nature approach to developmental psychology explains that behaviour is a result from our biological makeup, heredity and innateness. A nativist (nature) view would be that we are born with certain innate dispositions and some genetic characteristics develop throughout the process of maturation and emerge later with age. An example of a nativist view is John Bowlby’s theory of attachment (1969). He suggested that attachment behaviours have evolved to “ensure survival of an infant and the perpetuation of the parents’ genes. This …show more content…
Empiricists believe that we are born as an ‘empty vessel’ that fills up with the external experiences we gain through our environment. In society, children are surrounded by models which can be anyone from celebrities, parents or peers. We can learn through observing and imitating people and even by the different situations we can be put in. An example of a developmental psychologist is Albert Bandura who did a study on aggressive behaviour on children to see if behaviour was learnt or inherited. This study was designed to show that children copy an adult role model in their behaviourisms, validating the nurture debate. Bandura designed a Bobo doll experiment (1965) using aggressive and non-aggressive role models to investigate if a child imitates and learns the same behaviours as them. This study suggests that if a child observes aggressive behaviour from an adult role model then they are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour than a child who has observed a calmer role model. It was found that. Bandura argues that behaviour is learnt as a result of social learning if the child has followed the steps of observational learning. In order to learn through the environment, the child has to observe the behaviour of a model. The child has to then store the behaviour they have
Therefore, empiricists believe that we have developed as humans through interactions with the environment. It is evident that neither nature nor nurture can on their own provide full explanations for human development so I will explore in this essay how the nature-nurture debate is currently viewed by developmental psychologists.
The nature approach to developmental psychology explains that behaviour is a result from our biological makeup, heredity and innateness. A nativist (nature) view would be that we are born with certain innate dispositions and some genetic characteristics develop throughout the process of maturation and emerge later with age. An example of a nativist view is John Bowlby’s theory of attachment (1969). He suggested that attachment behaviours have evolved to “ensure survival of an infant and the perpetuation of the parents’ genes. This …show more content…
Empiricists believe that we are born as an ‘empty vessel’ that fills up with the external experiences we gain through our environment. In society, children are surrounded by models which can be anyone from celebrities, parents or peers. We can learn through observing and imitating people and even by the different situations we can be put in. An example of a developmental psychologist is Albert Bandura who did a study on aggressive behaviour on children to see if behaviour was learnt or inherited. This study was designed to show that children copy an adult role model in their behaviourisms, validating the nurture debate. Bandura designed a Bobo doll experiment (1965) using aggressive and non-aggressive role models to investigate if a child imitates and learns the same behaviours as them. This study suggests that if a child observes aggressive behaviour from an adult role model then they are more likely to imitate aggressive behaviour than a child who has observed a calmer role model. It was found that. Bandura argues that behaviour is learnt as a result of social learning if the child has followed the steps of observational learning. In order to learn through the environment, the child has to observe the behaviour of a model. The child has to then store the behaviour they have