Nature versus nurture
The debate of nature versus nurture
is one of the oldest in the history
of psychology. The concept of
nature can be defined as the genetic
or hereditary impact on your
personality, and the concept of
nurture is the impact of environmental
or experiences on your personality.
Which has a greater impact on personality, genetics or environment? Will someone who is adopted at birth show personality traits of their birth parents? Can someone born male be convinced they are actually female?
Many studies have been conducted to examine the effects of both nature and nurture; however, we now know that studies such as these are ethically immoral. In order to make these experiments both ethical and effective, some modifications have had to be made over the last 50 years. Thanks to previous studies in the nature versus nurture debate, we now have a pretty clear understanding of the extent of the impact of both genetics and environment on personality.
The concept of nature has been dismissed more often than nurture as being the most dominant factor in personality and development. Studies have been conducted in the last half-century that now show that genetics or heredity are responsible for approximately 60 per cent overall personality and environmental or experience factors only approximately 40 per cent.
Most would think these findings confusing since our environment and experiences seem to have such a strong influence on our conscious selves; however, the way in which we perceive the people and events around us is embedded in our personality from heredity.
Children who have parents who exhibit aggressive behaviour tend to behave more aggressively themselves. Many would argue that those children learned their aggressive behaviours from observing their parents' aggressive actions; however, these results have been seen in children raised with their birth parents and in those raised by non-aggressive adoptive parents. Just as physical characteristics such as eye colour, facial features and body type are inherited through genetics, so are our personality traits, behaviours and skill sets for dealing with different situations.
The ethics of experimental psychology has continued to grow over time ever since we began to study humans and their behaviour. These ethics are put into place in order to avoid causing any unnecessary pain or trauma to those participating in our experiments. Perhaps one of the most dangerous experiment types in causing potential harm is that of nature versus nurture.
Since many factors need to be modified in order to truly see any results, it is nearly impossible to create an experiment of nature versus nurture these days. Modern studies are usually conducted through naturalistic observation — people and animals in their natural environment — and in some restricted animal testing.
Although resources are limited, we are becoming more technologically advanced, allowing us to further examine our biological makeup, which also can be helpful in explaining factors that influence our personalities. Comparison of our genetic makeup to those of our relatives and the comparison of experience can also be a safe and effective way of determining the impact our heredity and environment have on who we are.
Which has a greater impact on personality, genetics or environment? Will someone who is adopted at birth show personality traits of their birth parents? Can someone born male be convinced they are actually female?
Many studies have been conducted to examine the effects of both nature and nurture; however, we now know that studies such as these are ethically immoral. In order to make these experiments both ethical and effective, some modifications have had to be made over the last 50 years. Thanks to previous studies in the nature versus nurture debate, we now have a pretty clear understanding of the extent of the impact of both genetics and environment on personality.
The concept of nature has been dismissed more often than nurture as being the most dominant factor in personality and development. Studies have been conducted in the last half-century that now show that genetics or heredity are responsible for approximately 60 per cent overall personality and environmental or experience factors only approximately 40 per cent.
Most would think these findings confusing since our environment and experiences seem to have such a strong influence on our conscious selves; however, the way in which we perceive the people and events around us is embedded in our personality from heredity.
Children who have parents who exhibit aggressive behaviour tend to behave more aggressively themselves. Many would argue that those children learned their aggressive behaviours from observing their parents' aggressive actions; however, these results have been seen in children raised with their birth parents and in those raised by non-aggressive adoptive parents. Just as physical characteristics such as eye colour, facial features and body type are inherited through genetics, so are our personality traits, behaviours and skill sets for dealing with different situations.
The ethics of experimental psychology has continued to grow over time ever since we began to study humans and their behaviour. These ethics are put into place in order to avoid causing any unnecessary pain or trauma to those participating in our experiments. Perhaps one of the most dangerous experiment types in causing potential harm is that of nature versus nurture.
Since many factors need to be modified in order to truly see any results, it is nearly impossible to create an experiment of nature versus nurture these days. Modern studies are usually conducted through naturalistic observation — people and animals in their natural environment — and in some restricted animal testing.
Although resources are limited, we are becoming more technologically advanced, allowing us to further examine our biological makeup, which also can be helpful in explaining factors that influence our personalities. Comparison of our genetic makeup to those of our relatives and the comparison of experience can also be a safe and effective way of determining the impact our heredity and environment have on who we are.
