Nature †Nurture in human developmental psychology Essay Example Essay Example

Nature – Nurture in human developmental psychology Essay Example Paper Nature – Nurture in human developmental psychology Essay Introduction Nature – Nurture in Human Developmental Psychology Nature – Nurture in Human Developmental Psychology Nature – Nurture in human developmental psychology Essay Body Paragraphs The nature versus nurture controversy is concerned with the comparative significance of an individual’s instinctive features (innatism) against individual experiences (nurture) in establishing or triggering individual dissimilarities in behavioral and physical attributes. The argument as to whether human beings obtain their behavioral characteristics from an inborn source or they are developed from the effects of the environment in which humans live, is not a simple matter. Both of these factors interactively contribute towards shaping the behavior of an individual. A key element in understanding this issue is first understanding the definitions of the terms nature and nurture. The nature aspect of this argument stresses on the extent to which an individual portrays biological predispositions. Conversely, nurture stresses on how much of an individual shows signs of being affected by environmental factors. In reality, a combination of the environment and the genes affects a per son’s development. A good illustration is a person inherits genes for being tall but because of poor nurturing, end up short or average height. Several considerations are present when considering the impasse that exists between nature and nurture such as moral considerations, personality misinterpretations and other complications. The analysis of these considerations will form the next section. There are consequences when taking either side in the debate on nature versus nurture. In arguing when inclined toward nature, most of the arguments are inclined towards scientific explanations. Scientists have placed a great amount of emphasis on racism as a major factor in the analysis of nature. They argue that the race of an individual, which is inherited, plays a crucial role in determining the nature of an individual (Stiles, 2008). Using this argument, scientists propose that the heredity of an individual is the only influencing factor in their nature. Arguing from this point of view is flawed because while heredity is a natural phenomenon, it cannot be said to be the only factor influencing an individual’s behavior. This is because while an individual will inherit certain behaviors from their biological parents, the environment in which they live or grow up will either accentuate or repress their inherent behavior. Scientists acknowledge this contribution by environmental factors but downplay it as being insignificant in a person’s life. In other words, despite the environment and experiences that an individual may encounter, their innate nature ultimately determines their behavior. This line of argument that is inclined towards nature is also flawed in that it crosses the gap between what is fact and what is ideal. By doing so, proponents of nature over nurture wrongly employ values to facts. The continuous subscription to this line of thinking ultimately convinces people that biological stereotypes and behaviors are part of human nature ma king for flawed reasoning. One of the methods of proving this phenomenon is through the IATs tests that illustrated that, despite the broad significance of stereotypes, they influence the decisions and conduct of al people equally (Stiles, 2008). Most scientists reach their conclusions on the nature and nurture issue by assessing the behavior of identical twins. These studies sets have provided a wealth of information on nature versus nurture. Scientists can assess how these subjects behave in different settings, behavior that was strikingly similar and any other elements that can assist in providing knowledge. The Springer and Lewis twins are the best examples of twins that have contributed tremendously in showing the influences of nurture and nature. The argument between nurture and nature could affect the human race in several ways. One of the contributions includes its influence on the health sector. Using conclusions from such studies on nature versus nurture, scientists can di scover new methods of treating critical diseases such as cancer. Solutions to such issues can be discovered using explanations on nature and nurture. From the information currently known by scientists, it can be said that these critical diseases are because of imbalanced nature and nurture and that by closely controlling the nurturing aspect while, at the infant stages, the occurrences of these diseases can be significantly reduced. Such studies could hold an extremely valuable potential for health and man’s lifespan (Lerner, 2002). Nurture over Nature Nurture is equally important in influencing human behavior by influencing the hormones, actions and condition of human beings. Numerous positive and negative environmental inputs influence how an individual will eventually turn out in the future. These factors include nutrition, health, education and other elements that are central in most people’s lives. Several studies on the effect of nurturing on intelligence and hea lth have revealed that it is highly significant in determining how the amounts of these two in different individuals (Clarsk Grunstein, 2010). While not discrediting that natural tendencies are highly significant factors, proponents of the nurture theory assume that these natural factors are non-influential. Conversely, they argue that the behavioral aspects among human beings come from the environmental factors during life experiences. Psychologists such as John Watson have conducted numerous investigations on children that yielded conclusions supporting the supremacy of nurture over nature. He is credited with the famous statement that proposed to bring up children in whatever way he wanted by influencing their environment and upbringing. Nurture theorists propose that an individual’s society is influenced largely by the manner in which they were reared and the environment they were exposed (Lerner, 2002). Nurture as understood by John B. Watson’s in his theory of b ehaviorism argued that human behavior was learned as opposed to being inborn. Humans teach themselves new things by observing and copying other people in their environment. Through these social relations, people construct their diverse characters and behavioral trends. Without social relations, characters usually fail to develop, and distinctive behavior is negligible. Social experiences and interactions build up over several periods and shape the behavior of people to act in certain ways. For instance, studies demonstrate that children who have guardians that take drugs also end up taking the same drugs themselves. Such children picked up and replicated the act of taking drugs from their guardians and through their peers and other means, learnt to accept that it was socially acceptable to take drugs (Witkowski, Inglis Davenport, 2008). A study done by North Carolina State University revealed that environmental factors, for example, lifestyle and locations play a large function whe n specific genes are assumed non-influential. The study analyzed a fixed population of Moroccans who provided results that proved that their environment influenced their behavior. Urban dwellers were found to have increasingly developed respiratory genes because of the congested, polluted air in the cities when compared to rural dwellers. Urban dwellers were also more conscious of polluting the air and engaged in several activities to reduce pollution. This was a classical example of how life in the city changed the behavior of city dwellers even though naturally they were born in a different way. The nurture theory asserts that hereditary influence over conceptual features may be present; however, the ecological factors are the real genesis of individual’s conduct. This includes using conditioning tactics in order to encourage different behaviors in human beings, or change an improbable behavior being displayed by the individual (Witkowski et al, 2008). Conclusion In my opin ion, neither nature nor nurture holds supremacy in determining the behavior of an individual. Nature is significant in an individual’s life because all human beings are born with certain traits within their genes. These traits are inborn and cannot be altered through any man made techniques. Conversely, nurturing introduces artificial behaviors and choices to people by exposing them to different environments. This exposure under different parentage, locations and conditions, teach people behave differently than they would otherwise have behaved. Nurturing in human beings affects many factors such as the intelligence levels and can sometimes override the inborn (natural) traits in an individual. However, despite compelling arguments from both parties, it is evident that neither nature nor nurture alone can satisfactorily influence an individuals’ behavior. Both nature and nurture combine to influence how an individual behaves (Lippa, 2005). The motive for taking such a stand is derived from the evidence provided by several behavioral scientists, and other scholars who have done research on the role of nurture and nature on an individual. Scholars such as John Watson who came up with behavioral theories have proved that even though nature or nurture may offer compelling evidence of its superiority, both of them play equally significant roles in shaping the lives of an individual. References Clark, W. R., Grunstein, M. (2010). Are we hardwired? The role of genes in human behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lerner, R. M. (2002). Concepts and theories of human development. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum. Lippa, R. A. (2005). Gender, nature, and nurture. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Stiles, J. (2008). The fundamentals of brain development: Integrating nature and nurture. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Witkowski, J. A., Inglis, J. R., Davenport, C. B. (2008). Davenport‘s dream: 21st century reflections on heredity and eugenics. Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 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