Bria Diggs
PSY 241-2902
November 24, 2018
Nature vs. Nurtures in Human Development
There are many controversial issues that are debated about human development. One of the main topics that are debated is nature versus nurture. People have their own opinions about what nature is and what nurture is. Nature is what we learn from genetics and biological factors. Nurture is what we learn From society and through the environment. These two topics are very distinct from each other but they go hand-in-hand.
Nature involves physical characteristics such as I color, hair texture, skin tone, diseases, height, and weight. All of the characteristics that are listed are inherited biologically. Most of the characteristics that are physical, are determined by the biological parents. The characteristics of height, weight, illnesses, and life expectancy are all things that lead up to weather or not there are any psychological characteristics that may be wired in before we are even born (). There are people that have a strong position and believe that humans are different based on their own genetics. These people are called nativists. They believe that if an ability appears early on in life then it is something that was genetically inherited not something that was learned later on in life from the environment.
The things that humans experience that are not observed during infancy and come later on in life is considered maturation. An example of this would be the changes that an adolescent goes through during puberty. There are also many other things that nativists believe are a part of maturation such as language acquisition and attachment in infancy. An example of language acquisition comes from the theory that all children are born with the ability to learn and produce language. Philosophers like Plato and Descartes believe that there are certain characteristics that happen naturally despite the influences of the environment. There are other people such as John Locke who believed that the human mind is a blank slate. By this belief, it is said that we are who we are based on our experiences we go through (McLeod, 2017).
There has been a study on twins and identical twins that was done to show that genetics actually does play an important role in certain personality characteristics. One study showed that 80% of identical twins stated that they felt closer to each other than they did with their own friends. Another study showed that the environment did not have much effect on their personalities while they were brought up together but it did have an effect on them when they were brought up apart (2018). This study is a great example of nature.
Nurture is the opposite of nature in which Human development is based on learn experiences through the environment. Things such as how we are raised, our relationships with society, the culture that surrounds us, and experiences that we go through during childhood are all characteristics of experiences that are learned through the environment under the topic of nurture. The way that we are raised can impact the person that we can become in the future. The culture that surrounds us can also impact the way that we do things and what we believe in as human beings. Some childhood experiences are traumatic enough that they can shape the person that we become as an adult.
One main environmental factor that is not genetically or biologically influence is behaviorism. Things that go on in the environment can impact our behavior. John B. Watson was a theorists who believed that no matter the genetic make up of a human, people can be trained to do things and become whoever they want. How a person behaves is an environmental factor. For example, a young child can see an older child involved in violent behavior and they can think that it is okay for them to behave in that manner as well (McLeod, 2017). Once a child displays this type of behavior, it is hard for them to stop it. This is also called behavior learned through observation. People can learn aggressive behavior just by observing someone else being aggressive in a situation. Aggression is just one of the behaviors that can be learned through experience but there are others.
In conclusion, the nature versus nurture debate has gone on for decades and will probably go on for many decades to come. Research will show what can be proved and what cannot. Human development is based on many factors. Those factors include ones we can control and ones that we can not. Genetics are what makes us who we are as an individual. The environment is how we learn things through experience. We were taught things before birth while in the womb and were able to acquire abilities that helped us once we were born and allowed for us to be who we wanted to be.
 
Resources
Mcleod, S. (2017, May 03). Nature vs. Nurture in Psychology. Retrieved from November 11,
2018, from hypos://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html
Nature vs. Nurture. (2018, September 28). Retrieved November 11, 2018, from
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychepedia/nature-versus-nurture