Nature vs nurture:

• STRENGTH:

  • Research into the nature-nurture debate is the use of adoption studies
  • Adoption studies are useful as they separate the competing influences of nature and nurture
  • If adopted children are found to be more similar to their adoptive parents suggests the environment is the bigger influence
  • If adopted children are more similar to their biological parents then genetic factors are presumed to dominate
  • A meta-analysis of adoption studies Rhee et al found that genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression

  how research can separate influences of nature and nurture
• Counterpoint

  • However research suggests that this approach may be misguided that nature and nurture are not two entities that can simply be pulled apart
  • According to Plomin people create their own nurture by selecting environments that are appropriate for their nature
  • Thus a naturally aggressive child is more likely to feel comfortable with children who show similar behaviours and will choose their environment accordingly
  • Their chosen companions further influence their development Plomin refers to this as niche-picking
  • Does not make sense to look at evidence of either nature or nurture
• +

  • Real-world application
  • Research suggests OCD is a highly heritable mental disorder
  • ie Nestadt et al put the heritability rate at 0.76
  • Can inform genetic counselling as it is important to understand that high heritability doesn't mean its inevitable that the individual will develop the disorder
  • Means that those who have a high genetic risk of OCD due to their family background can receive advice about the likelihood of developing the disorder and how they might prevent this

  doesn't have theoretical but has importance at a practical level to understand the interaction between both