A01 The Nature-nurture Debate

• The debate (Nature)

  Early actvivists like Descartes argued human characteristics are innate- the result of heredity. But empiricists like Locke argue that the mind is a blank slate at birth upon which learning and experience swrites: results of environment.
• Heritability coefficient


  Used to assess heredity. It is a numerical figure ranging from 0 to 1.0 which indicates the extent to which a characterisitc has a genetic basis. 1- it's entirely genetically determined.
• IQ

  General figure for hereidity in IQ is 0.5. Suggests both environment and genetics are important factors in intelligence.
• Nurture

  Concept of nurture and evironment influences in psychology requires further classification as the 'environment' is such a broad and all-encompassing concept.
• Lerner

  Identified different levels of environment. Defined in a quite narrow pre-natal terms, like mother's physical and psychological state during pregnancy or social conidtions like chid growing up
• Relative importance of heredity and environment


  Nature and nurture influences cannot be logically separated and therefore the debate is impossible to answer. For instance, twin studies and concordance rates.
• Interactionist approach


  Attachment patterns are a result of 'two-way street' in which child's innate temparement will influence the way parents respond to it. Thus, nature creates nurture: heredity and environment interact.
• Diathesis-stress model

  Models of mental disorders which emphasises the interaction of nature-nurture tend to to be the most persuasive. Model suggests psychopathology is caused by biological vulnerability (diathesis) which is only expressed whn coupled with biological/environmental 'trigger' (stressor)
• Tienari et al


  Studied group of Finnish adoptees to be the most likely to develop schizophrenia due to biological relatives with a history of the disorder (vulnerability) and had relationships with their adoptive families that were defined as dysfunctional (trigger)
• Epigenetics

  Refers to change in genetic activity without changing genetic code. It's a process that happens throughout life and caused by interaction with the environment. Epigenetics introduces a third factor in nature-nurture debate, the life experience of previous generation.
• Dias and Ressler


  Gave male lab mice electric shocks evert time they were exposed to smell of acetophenome , chemical used in perfume. Mice showed fear reaction but also the rat's children even if they were not exposed- so did their grand children