Evolutionary psychology

Nature versus Nurture has been a topic debated in all kinds of settings all over the world. To sum it up, a person either believes that an individual becomes the way they are through being composed of genes or being around people who act that way. To really understand the arguments, one must first analyze examples of these circumstances. The character’s Richard Hickock (Dick) and Perry Smith, the murderers of the Clutter family in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, are perfect examples of…

Recently terror has shaken the world in Paris on November 13, 2015. Mass shootings and suicide bombings all happened nearby within a matter of a short time killing many. This tragedy has confirmed the harsh truth in which life without punishments reveals a wicked side within people. William Golding, in his novel, Lord of the Flies emphasizes the evils people hold and how one will act when people don’t stick to the status quo. Several flaws lie within, including the evils of brutality and…

they perform them with no aim of reward or gain. This is the question of altruism. Altruism is defined as an act that an individual engages in, that presents a benefit to the recipient but comes at a cost to the individual presenting the act. In evolutionary terms the costs and rewards are based on reproductive success and fitness, and this is measured by the number of copies of a gene that is passed on to generations. The existence of altruism is an issue for Darwin’s theory of evolution by…

This essay will discuss the controversial topic of; the nature, nurture debate. It will do so by examining twin and adoption studies. Through compiling results from various studies conducted by researchers and academics, it will demonstrate inconsistencies, which in turn conclude that human mental processes, and behavior cannot be determined by one specific factor. The nature, nurture debate is a widely regarded topic of inquiry, which aims to define the prevalent force behind an individual’s…

Essentially, the term self is how one perceives themselves. Over the years, the meaning of self has been debated amongst ancient philosophers such as Lucretius and Apuleius. Some say self is the innermost sense of a person, some say self represents one’s relationship with others and some say that the self is in fact and illusion. In the ancient Hellenistic period, self have been presented in the poem “De Rerum Natura” by Lucretius, as well as the novel “the Golden Ass” by Apuleius. Additionally,…

the result of selection pressure pushing in the direction of human males becoming more able to cope with violence, and thus blows to the face (Puts, 2010, p. 6). And, males have a greater tolerance for pain, which further supports the idea of an evolutionary pressure making them more suited to dealing with violence (Pinker, 2003, p. 316, 345). Interestingly, although modern humans live in a vastly different world to that of their ancestors, where direct violence over women was likely common…

Nature versus nurture is the ongoing debate on whether genetics or the environment have a greater effect in the development of human beings. Nature describes behavior influenced by genes, or biological information passed down from parents. On the other hand, nurture explains behaviors that are affected by the environment, or any external influences. The continuous debate stands as some believe nature influences behavior more than nurture, or vice versa. As stated above, nature and nurture…

One of the most talkative, debated and augured topics among numerous psychologists and philosophers and in classrooms is the very known nature verses nurture debate. Or heredity verses environment in simpler terms. The nature verses nurture debate is whether if the way you act is based on genetic qualities, heredity, or if the environment you were born into had an effect on your upbringing and personality. Some debate that it’s nature, born good, and other debate nurture, made evil. Aristotle,…

Nature versus Nurture "Nature versus Nurture" is one of the oldest argument of all time in history and it still continues until now. Beckett (2002) defined the nature as qualities and characteristics which are transmitted to humans directly from parents through genetics. While, nurture could be explained as "all external factors surrounding human beings from birth to death" (Beckett 2002). Wherefore, scientists confirm that the factors which influence human behavior are subdivided into three…

Having demolished group selection arguments there is still a need for mechanisms to show how actual observed cases of altruism, for example the female coalitions in the Langur case, or seeming altruism (nepotism) can emerge from methodological individualism (Dawkins 1976, ). In order to do so socio-biologists redefined what exactly an “altruist” is and therefore what an altruistic act is (Trivers 1971), and drew distinctions between such an act and nepotism directed at ones kin (Hamilton 1964).…