The Nurture Assumption

Considering that the nature-nurture debate is still prominent within psychological studies on personality, it is exceedingly obvious that both genetics and environment are able to significantly influence the comprising of one’s personality. The real essence of the debate itself is not whether it is nature or nurture that forms an individual’s personality; it is deciphering just how much influence each variable has on the configuration of personality. Although psychological research acknowledges…

At the same end of the spectrum, environmentalists also believe that the environment is the primary influence on a person’s development. Along with John Locke, environmentalists believed “their basic assumption is that at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate) and that this is gradually filled as a result of experience” (Mcleod n.pg.). When children have unique experiences such as social interactions, exposure to different culture, or education, they grow certain traits from these…

Nature versus nurture ultimately boils down to how organisms such as ourselves develop overtime. Whether our development is based off of our nature such as genes and variables out of our control or nurture such as how we are raised and the environment that we thrive and grow in. Psychologists have been able to narrow down the main factors of both nature and nurture in their debate and study of the growth and development of the human psyche. Nature is believed to be a predetermined course that…

A major underlying construct of Piaget’s theory is the idea of natural selection and organism adaptation. Inspired by Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” (1859) as well as his own extensive work as a zoologist, the ideas of assimilation and adaptation are at the very heart of Piaget’s cognitive theory. Piaget believed that humans have dynamic cognitive structures (formed through individual experiences) that help us adapt to a dynamic environment. This learning system promoted by Piaget--…

environmental styles. Even though nature and nurture play an important role in this novel, the nature part is mostly shown in the fall of Victor Frankenstein, while the nurture part is mostly shown in the fall of the creature. The author, Mary Shelley, makes this idea of nature vs nurture very clear in this story by describing the personalities of both of these characters. Not just this, but the author uses the symbol of light and fire to support the nature vs nurture debate in the…

Frankenstein: The Nature vs. Nurture Debate Pope John XXII once said, “The family is the first essential cell of human society,” this quote explains that society cannot function correctly if the individuals living in that society are not raised properly and in a loving family (Lamoureux n.pag). In the novel Frankenstein written by Mary W. Shelley, the “Monster” that Victor Frankenstein created was basically a baby born into an unloving family situation, which could have made him into the monster…

Nature versus nurture has been a debatable issue since as early as the 17th century in psychology. The issue consists on whether humans are how they are because of their nature or because how they are nurtured during child development. In a 2007 article, McLeod contributes that nature is what humans inherit while nurture is environmental influences. Researches and psychologists who are strong in their position of nature are called nativists. Meanwhile, the researchers and psychologists who agree…

lead us into our final theory, which is based on the concept that crime runs in families. This concept is closely related to the debate of nature versus nurture. In other words, are we genetically wired with specific characteristics and behaviors or do we acquire them as a result of our surrounding environment? The debate of nature versus nurture can be traced back to as early as the 13th century. Psychologists have been able to link genetics to certain behaviors that results in violence and…

simple as one person is an all around bad or good person. They have discovered that personality is determined by two things: genes and environment, also known as nature and nurture. Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are, from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics. Nurture…

identical twins in two separate environments. Identical twins have the potential to become exactly the same person because they have almost the exact same genetic makeup. Discovering this was a total breakthrough for scientists studying the “Nature vs. Nurture Debate”. There are many stories of twins raised in completely different environments who, when reunited, are found to have almost the exact same personalities, preferences, and habits. Case studies of twins reared apart reveal…