Nature-Nurture

• Nature

  Abilities are innate or born. Heredity influences are more important
• Heredity

  The genetic transmission of both genetic and physical characteristics that pass from one generation to another
• Nurture

  Environment and experiences are more influential. Abilities come from learning
• The interactionist Approach

  Behaviour does not necessarily derive from nature or nurture solely it consists of both so the nature-nurture debate is about how they both interact
• Diathesis stress model

  • Suggests behaviour is caused when a biological or environmental vulnerability is paired with a biological or environmental trigger this
  • Includes both nature and nurture
• Epigenetics

  • Refers to a change in genetic activity without changing the genes themselves
  • Happens through life and is due to interaction with the environment
  • Trauma and smoking can leave 'marks' on our DNA and can have lifelong influences even after it is gone
  • It can also influence the DNA of our children
• Epigenetic research support

  • Male mice were given an electric shock when they smelt a cherry blossom smell
  • They were then conditioned to develop a fear response to the cherry blossom smell
  • When these mice bred their children also developed a fear response to the smell even though they never experienced shocks
  • They experienced epigenetic changes
• Measuring nature and nurture

  • The degree to which two people are similar on a particular trait can be represented by a correlation coefficient and is called concordance
  • The extent to which a trait is inherited is heritability
  • A score of 1 means genes are the only reason for individual differences
  • IQ is said to be 0.5 as half a person's intelligence is said to be genetic and the other is environmental
• Support for both nature and nurture: Brain Plasticity

  • The idea the brain can change and reorganise its structure (nature) as a result of experiences in life (nurture)
  • Taxi driver research showed the taxi drivers as a result of navigating London increasing their experiences in life managed to change their brain structure
  • This shows how both nature and nurture interact
• Support for both nature and nurture: Twin Studies in OCD

  • Concordance rates for monozygotic twins for OCD is 68% and for dizygotic twins is 31%
  • Monozygotic twins share 100% of the same DNA so the concordance rates is not 100% when it should be
  • Suggests that the environment may play a factor in developing OCD
• AO3: Support from epigenetics

  • Environmental effects can span generations
  • Mice research with the cherry blossom and electric shock show how the fear response spanned generations despite the offspring not experiencing the shock themselves
  • This shows how this left marks on the DNA which can impact how the gene is displayed for offspring
• AO3 Nature-Nurture : Support from the Diathesis Stress Model

  • Used to explain disorders such as schizophrenia and suggest that people may be born with certain genes that predispose them to develop a disorder
  • Identical twin studies research has shown that both twins may not develop a disorder even if one already has
  • The expression of a gene depends on experience or psychological stressors that trigger the condition
  • May only be expressed if triggered through environmental triggers
• AO3 Nature-Nurture: Real World Application

  • OCD is a highly heritable disorder
  • The heritability rate is 0.76
  • Such understanding can lead to genetic counselling
  • They can understand the likelihood of developing the disorder and preventing it also
• AO3 Nature-nurture: Hard to pull apart

  • Research for this approach is misguided and nature and nurture are not two entities that can easily be pulled apart
  • People create their own 'nurture' by actively selecting
  • An aggressive child may be comfortable around people similar to them
  • These people will then influence their development
  • Looking at evidence on nature and nurture is useless