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Nature vs Nurture: Do Genes Or Environment Matter More?
The Age Old Debate of Nature Versus Nurture
Which is more important in development: genetics or experience? The nature versus
nurture debate seeks to answer this important question. Bec Parsons / Getty Images
The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest philosophical issues within
psychology. So what exactly is the nature versus nurture debate all about?
Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are –
from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics.
Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including
our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our
surrounding culture.
Even today, different branches of psychology often take a one versus the other approach.
Biological psychology, for example, tends to stress the importance of genetics and
biological influences, while behaviorism focuses on the impact that the environment has
on behavior.
A Closer Look at the Nature vs. Nurture Debate
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Is your behavior more influenced by genetics or environmental influences? Is your
personality the result of traits you inherited or has it been shaped by your life
experiences? The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in psychology.
The debate centers on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance[1] and
environmental factors[2] to human development.
Some philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn,
or that they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. People who
take the position that all or most behaviors and characteristics are the result of
inheritance are known as nativists. Those who take this point of view believe that all of
our characteristics and behaviors are the result of evolution. The individual differences
that make each person unique are influenced by the genetic traits handed down from
parents.
Other well-known thinkers such as John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa,
which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate[3]. According to this notion,
everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience. People
who take the position that all or most behaviors and characteristics are the result of
learning are known as empiricists. Behaviorism[4] is a good example of a theory rooted
in empiricism. The behaviorists believe that all actions and behaviors are the result of
conditioning. Theorists such as John B. Watson[5] believed that people could be trained
to do and become anything, regardless of their genetic background.
Examples of Nature Versus Nurture
For example, when a person achieves tremendous academic success, did they do so
because they are genetically predisposed to be successful or is it a result of an enriched
environment? If a man abuses his wife and kids, is it because he was born with violent
tendencies or is it something he learned by observing his own parents behavior?
A few examples of biologically determined characteristics (nature) include certain
genetic diseases, eye color, hair color, and skin color. Other things like life expectancy
and height have a strong biological component, but they are also influenced by
environmental factors and lifestyle.
An example of a nativist theory within psychology is Chomsky's concept of a language
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acquisition device (or LAD). According to this theory, all children are born with an
instinctive mental capacity that allows them to both learn and produce language.
A number of characteristics are tied to environmental influences. How a person behaves
can be tied to influence such as parenting styles[6] and learned experiences. For example,
a child might learn through observation and reinforcement to say 'please' and 'thank
you.' Another child might learn to behave aggressively by observing older children
engage in violent behavior on the playground.
One example of an empiricist theory within psychology is Albert Bandura's social
learning theory[7]. According to theory, people learn by observing the behavior of others.
In his famous Bobo doll experiment[8], Bandura demonstrated that children could learn
aggressive behaviors simply by observing another person acting aggressively.
How Nature and Nurture Interact
What researchers do know is that the interaction of heredity and environment is often
the most important factor of all. Kevin Davies of PBS's Nova described on fascinating
example of this phenomenon. Perfect pitch is the ability to detect the pitch of a musical
tone without any reference. Researchers have found that this ability tends to run in
families and believe that it might be tied to a single gene. However, they've also
discovered that possessing the gene alone is not enough to develop this ability. Instead,
musical training during early childhood is necessary to allow this inherited ability to
manifest itself.
Height is another example of a trait that is influenced the interaction of nature and
nurture. A child might come from a family where everyone is tall and he may have
inherited these genes for height. However, it he grows up in a deprived environment
where he does not receive proper nourishment, he might never attain the height he
might have he had grown up in a healthier environment.
Contemporary Views of Nature Versus Nurture
Throughout the history of psychology, however, this debate has continued to stir up
controversy. Eugenics, for example, was a movement heavily influenced by the nativist
approach. Psychologist Francis Galton, a cousin of the naturalist Charles Darwin[9],
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coined both the terms nature versus nurture and eugenics, and believed that intelligences
was the result of genetics. Galton believed that intelligent individuals should be
encouraged to marry and have many children, while less intelligent individuals should be
discouraged from reproducing. Today, the majority of experts believe that behavior and development are influenced by
both nature and nurture. However, the issue still rages on in many areas such as in the
debate on the origins of homosexuality and influences on intelligence[10]. While few
people take the extreme nativist or extreme empiricist approach, researchers and experts
still debate the degree to which biology and environment influence behavior.
Increasingly, people are beginning to realize that asking how much a particular trait is
influenced by heredity or environment is not the right approach. The reality is that there
is not simple way to disentangle the multitude of influences that exist, including genetic
factors that interact with one another, environmental factors that interact such as social
experiences and overall culture, as well as how both hereditary and environmental
influences intermingle. Instead, many researchers today are interested in seeing how
genes modulate environmental influences and vice versa.
More Psychology Definitions: The Psychology Dictionary[11]
Browse the Psychology Dictionary
A[12] | B[13] | C[14] | D[15] | E[16] | F[17] | G[18] | H[19] | I[20] | J[21] | K[22] | L[23] | M[24] | N[25] |
O[26] | P[27] | Q[28] | R[29] | S[30] | T[31] | U[32] | V[33] | W[34] | X[35] | Y[36] | Z[37] |
References
Bandura, A. Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through the
imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582.
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press.
Davies, K. (2001). Nature vs. nurture revisited. NOVA. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/nature-versus-nurture-revisited.html
Galton, F. (1874). On men of science, their nature and their nurture. Proceedings of the
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Royal Institution of Great Britain, 7, 227-236.
Galton, F. (1883). Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development. London:
Macmillan.
Watson, J. B. (1930). Behaviorism. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
How to Cite This Article:
Cherry, K. A. (2009). What is nature versus nurture? Retrieved from
http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm
Links
1. http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/genes-anddevelopment.htm
2. http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/experience-anddevelopment.htm
3. http://giftedkids.about.com/od/Book-Reviews/fl/Review-of-The-Blank-Slate-TheModern-Denial-of-Human-Nature.htm
4. http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/f/behaviorism.htm
5. http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/watson.htm
6. http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/parenting-style.htm
7. http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/sociallearning.htm
8. http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/bobo-dollexperiment.htm
9. http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/Natural-Selection-By-CharlesDarwin.htm
10. http://psychology.about.com/od/intelligence/Intelligence.htm
11. http://psychology.about.com/od/glossaryfromatoz/
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35. http://psychology.about.com/od/xindex/index.htm
36. http://psychology.about.com/od/yindex/index.htm
37. http://psychology.about.com/od/zindex/index.htm
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