NATURE + NURTURE

• THE DEBATE


   is concerned with the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of inherited or acquired characteristics.
• NATURE 


  the view that behaviour is the product of innate biological or genetic factors
• NURTURE


  the view that behaviour is the product of environmental factors e.g upbringing.
• NATIVISM 


   is a term introduced by DESCARTES (1596-1659) which agrees with nature. It is the belief that the human social norm when born is equipped to deal with certain concepts.
• EMPIRICISM 


  is a term introduced by JOHN LOCKE which opposes nature. He believed we are born a ‘tabula rasa’ or blank state. shaped by interaction with the environment
• INTERACTIONIST APPROACH 


  behaviour and personality appears to be influenced by both.

  E.G ATTACHMENT - environment and heredity interact
• DIATHESIS STRESS MODEL 


  Supports the interactionist approach. beh is caused by a biological/environmental vulnerability (diathesis) which is only expressed when coupled with a biological/environmental trigger (stressor)
• DIATHESIS STRESS MODEL - LINK

  A person inherits a genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder. but, combined with a psychological trigger (e.g traumatic experience) this may result in the disorder appearing.
• MEASURING NATURE + NURTURE

  CONCORDANCE = the degree to which 2 people are similar on a particular trait.
• MEASURE NATURE + NURTURE

  HERITABILITY = proportion of differences between individuals in a population, with regards to a particular trait, due to genes, 0.01 (1%) is very little contribution, 1.0 (100%) means genes are the only reason.
• (+) REDUCTIONIST APPROACH 


   it simplifies complex behaviours down to one single explanation. (-) The issue with this is that it means the explanation may ignore other influences on behaviour from the other side of the debate thus not giving a full explanation for behaviour.
• (-) NATURE AND NURTURE 


  cannot be detached from one another. An alternative explanation of behaviour can be provided by interactionists as Maguire’s taxi study proves that nurture affects nature. MAGUIRE ET AL, studied London taxi drivers and found that their hippocampus, which is responsible for spatial memory, had gotten larger as a result of having to memorise and learn many routes and streets to complete ‘The Knowledge’ exam. (-) it demonstrates nurture and nature can work together and cannot be separated.
• (-) NATURE 


  extremely deterministic. NATIVISTS show hard determinism and reject any sort of explanation that describes human behaviour as innate. This has led to socially sensitive research being published when researchers attempt to find a link between genetics and intelligence. This is a limitation because having a nativist nature to conduct and public research means that it can cause ethical implications creating controversy and conflict. Therefore, nativists have negatively impacted society’s views and perceptions on individuals through research.
• (+) NATURE AND NURTURE

  Zimbardo investigated conformity to social roles in a mock prison study in which participants were assigned the roles of either prison guard or prisoner. Findings showed that prison guards became increasingly violent towards prisoners as punishment, who then became increasingly distressed and submissive. He concluded that the cause for the change in behaviour was due to the new environment and social role, supporting the nurture side of the debate as these ordinary people changed behaviour dramatically in response to being in prison.