Staub 1
Madison Staub
Ms. Lee
Psych 100
September 7, 2014
Nature vs. Nurture
One of the most controversial debates in psychology is the nature/nurture issue. Does
nature, biological traits a person was born with, determine how a person will act? Or is it nurture,
the environment and experiences that someone was exposed to, that will determine how a person
turns out? I personally believe that both nature and nurture have an effect on a person.
Environmental factors affect the genes that are expressed.
Nature is your basic layout as a person. Your genes cannot be changed. They determine
how you look, think, or act; nurturing cannot change that. Nature is what you are born with.
Some things are inborn and just occur naturally. Blood type, eye color, and skin color are all
factors of genetics that cannot be changed with environment. They cannot be changed by
environmental influences such as family or social life. If twins are separated at birth they are still
highly similar in IQ levels. Identical twins are only genetically identical, but not identical in
other traits.
Nurture is important because I believe you are born with a blank mind. You impersonate
the people you are first around; they influence your personality and how you view the world.
Being around happy and positive people are more likely to influence you to be a happy and
positive person. If you spend your time around negative people, you are likely to be negative.
Personalities can be inheritable to an extent.
Staub 2
Nurture is an important part of life. Your environment influences so many factors in your
life. Adoptive families influence their adopted children. A child’s mind is very acceptable to the
environment they are exposed to. Our knowledge is obtained by our environment and
experiences. Also, if a child from an alcoholic family gets adopted out, he has the genetics for
being an alcoholic. If the child is never exposed to that time of situation, there is a chance that he
will not become an alcoholic. Nurture influences language, ones native language is entirely
based upon the environment it is brought up in.
Both nature and nurture have an influence on how a person turns out in life. Nature lays
out a basic foundation; nurture takes that the foundation and adds on to it. I believe that both
nature and nurture have an effect on a person. Your genetics are not always the deciding factor in
your life, but then again, neither is your environment. Biology may determine our abilities, but
ones determination decides what we do with those abilities.