The nature-nurture debate

• The interactionist approach

  behaviour arises from a combination of both nature and nurture. E.g. Attachment type is determined by warmth and consistent parental love and the baby's innate personality also affects the relationship (the parents response). This nature (the chids temperament) in a sense, creates nurture (the parents response) so environment and heredity interact
• Diathesis-Stress model

  behaviour is caused by a biological or environmental vulnerabilities which is only expres environmental 'trigger'.
• Epigenetics

  a change in genetic activity without changing the genes themselves. Aspects of our lifestyle (smoking, diet to trauma and war) leave marks on our DNA which switch genes off. These changes may also influence the genetic codes of their children. Therefore adding a third element to the nature - nurture debate - the life experience of previous generations.
• Nature

  nativists : human behaviours are innate
• Nurture

  Empiricists: mind is a blank slate that is shaped by the environment. E.g. behaviourist approach.
• Measuring nature and nurture

  can measure how similar people people are through a correlation coefficient and is called concordance. This provides an estimate about the extent to which traits are inherited (heritability). A figure of .01 (Or 1%) means genes contribute almost nothing to individual differences and 1.0 (or 100%) means genes are the only reason for individual differences. The general figure for heritability in IQ is about .5 meaning half a person's intelligence is determined by genetic factors.
• Evaluation (strength)

  Real word application. Genetic counselling for e.g. OCD, understand the likelihood and how to prevent (e.g. manage stress).
• Evaluation (strength )

  adoption studies. Seperate competing influence of nature v nurture. Meta-analysis compared similarties between adopted child and (1) biological and (2) adoptive parents found that genes account for 41% of variance in aggression. (Rhee and Waldman)
• Evaluation (limitation)

  Nature and nurture cannot be seperated. Children create their own environment appropriate to their nature - naturally aggressive children feel more comfortable around people with similar behaviours and these people further influence their development (niche - picking).