nature vs nurture

• what is nature

  • genes and hereditary factors e.g. physical appearance and personality characteristics influence behaviour
  • we inherit our characteristics
• what is nurture

  • environmental factors e.g. childhood experiences and surrounding culture influence characteristics
  • it's argued the mind is a blank slate at birth which is then shaped by the environment
• is it nature and nurture?

  • Bowlby's attachment research showed attachment was learned from caregiver interactions.
  • however Kagan suggested the child's temperament (nature)also influences attachment and the Child's temperament infleucens responses from caregivers (nurture)
  • this means nature and nurture interact
• the interactionist approach

  • assumes nature and nurture interact with each other
• diathesis stress model

  • suggests we inherit predispositions (probabilities) to certain things:
  • genetics create vulnerabilities
  • the environment triggers these vulnerabilities