Nature vs. Nurture

• Heredity involves the transmission of characteristics from biological parents to their offspring via genes at the time of conception
• Heredity influences:

  • Physical development
  • Psychological development
  • Psychological and physical illness
• Environment is used to refer to all the experiences, objects and events to which we are exposed throughout our entire lifetime
• Both hereditary and environmental factors combine or interact in influencing our thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
• Interactive nature: Development begins with inheritable genes (nature) which provide a 'blueprint'. However, our environment (nurture) interacts with our inherited potential to determine how the genetic plan unfolds