Nature vs. Nurture
The nature vs. nurture debate within psychology is concerned with the extent to which particular aspects of behavior are a product of either inherited acquired characteristics. The nature-nurture debate is concerned with the relative contribution that both influences make to human behavior.
Examples:
High blood pressure and obesity
An example of this debate is whether high blood pressure and obesity is a health risk that is passed genetically from parent to child. Nature advocates argue that genetics have a high impact on obesity and high blood pressure. Nurture proponents point to the poor eating habits that cause obesity and the limited ability to regulate personal habits that lead to high blood pressure.
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is an example and one of the most debated topics on nature versus nurture today relates to homosexuality. Nature proponents believe that homosexuality is genetic or outside of a person's control. Nurture proponents believe that homosexuality is a choice or a behavior influenced by environmental factors.
Personality
People want to know how children develop their personalities. Is personality an influence of the parent through genetics or learned traits from their environment. Because a child acts like a mother suggest that they were predisposed to the hereditary influence of the mother. However, nurture advocates would suggest that growing up under the direct presence of the mother it was a learned personality, not genetically passed.
Examples:
High blood pressure and obesity
An example of this debate is whether high blood pressure and obesity is a health risk that is passed genetically from parent to child. Nature advocates argue that genetics have a high impact on obesity and high blood pressure. Nurture proponents point to the poor eating habits that cause obesity and the limited ability to regulate personal habits that lead to high blood pressure.
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is an example and one of the most debated topics on nature versus nurture today relates to homosexuality. Nature proponents believe that homosexuality is genetic or outside of a person's control. Nurture proponents believe that homosexuality is a choice or a behavior influenced by environmental factors.
Personality
People want to know how children develop their personalities. Is personality an influence of the parent through genetics or learned traits from their environment. Because a child acts like a mother suggest that they were predisposed to the hereditary influence of the mother. However, nurture advocates would suggest that growing up under the direct presence of the mother it was a learned personality, not genetically passed.
Intelligence
With nature those who would argue that nature is largely to thank for the individual’s ability to achieve greatness might point to his or her parents and use their level of intelligence as a reason for why he or she is so successful.
In nurture those who would argue that a child's intelligence was affected by nurture would look at the child's educational background as well as how his or her parents raised her.
Occupation
A person's ability to perform in a certain occupation also leads to a nature versus nurture debate. If a child follows in a parent's footsteps in a given career, someone might suggest a natural inclination toward the craft. Others might point to the nurturing that took place in the home as the child was being raised by that particular parent. This easily could have been then product of a learned behavior.
My thoughts
In my opinion i think it depends on what traits and skills the child inherits from the parents. The physical part of it is genetically attached and the personalities is based on how the child grew up and what they were around. Everyone is different and have control on and excel at what they want to be.
Andrew, I really enjoyed reading your blog post about the nature verses nurture debate. I did my blog over the same topic so it was very interesting to see the side you took on situation. I totally agree with what you said, and how the traits and physical aspects someone has is genetically determined and how things like people's personalities are determined by the environment around them.
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