Nature And Nature

• Nature

  –Began with Nativists like Descartes.–Human characteristics are innate (the result of heredity).–Heredity is assessed using the heritability coefficient. It determines how genetically determined a behaviour or characteristic is. It is a number measured between 0 and 1 e.g. IQ = 0.5.
• Nurture

  –Began with Empiricists like Locke.–Mind is a blank slate at birth.–Behaviour is the result of experience, the environment and learning.–Levels of the environment:•Prenatal conditions•Social conditions (post-natal)•Cultural and historical conditions (post-natal)