The debate to whether intelligence has derived from nature or nurture is one of the most interesting and controversial topics in the whole of psychology. Both sides of the nature versus nurture debate regarding intelligence have been extensively researched since the mid-19th century. The debate questions whether our intelligence is based on individual differences or the way in which the environment has an impact on us. The nature side of the debate is based on nativism; the view that intelligence is innate, hereditary and genetically determined. In contrast the nurture side of the debate is based on empiricism; the view that we obtain intelligence from our environment, nurturing, learning processes and cultural processes.
