nature versus nurture debate

(noun)

The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature," i.e., nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences ("nurture," i.e., empiricism or behaviorism) in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.

Related Terms

Examples of nature versus nurture debate in the following topics:

  • Nature vs. Nurture: A False Debate

    • Recently, the nature versus nurture debate has entered the realm of law and criminal defense.
    • Historically, the "nurture" in the nature versus nurture debate has referred to the care parents give to children.
    • The "nature" in the nature versus nurture debate generally refers to innate qualities.
    • A molecular biologist and psychoanalyst explain the nature versus nurture debate.
    • Discuss both sides of the nature versus nurture debate, understanding the implications of each

  • Culture

    • One way of understanding culture is to think of the nature versus nurture debate.
    • In this debate, social scientists asked whether nature or nurture is more influential in human life.
    • To illustrate the nature versus nurture debate, think of any human being.
    • While the nature versus nurture debate is useful to understand what culture is, the debate in academia has been somewhat settled by the acknowledgement that nature and nurture influence each other.
    • Nature and nurture contribute to one another.

  • Are We Prisoners of Socialization?

    • Who we are as people is determined by both our genes (nature) and our socialization (nurture).
    • Though genetics and hormones play an important role in human behavior, sociology’s larger concern is the effect that society has on human behavior, the “nurture” side of the nature versus nurture debate.
    • Research demonstrates that who we are is affected by both nature (our genetic and hormonal makeup) and nurture (the social environment in which we are raised).
    • "Nature versus nurture" describes the debate over the influence of biological versus social influences in socialization.
    • Discuss socialization in terms of the nature (biology) versus nurture (social) debate

  • Developmental Psychology

    • There are several theories of development that focus on the following issues: whether development is continuous or discontinuous, whether development follows one course or many, and the relative influence of nature versus nurture on development.
    • Are we who we are because of nature (biology and genetics), or are we who we are because of nurture (our environment and culture)?
    • This longstanding question is known in psychology as the nature-versus-nurture debate, and is a central question in developmental psychology.

  • Gene-Environment Correlations: Nature or Nurture?

    • Long-standing debates have taken place over the idea of which factor is more important, genes or environment.
    • In adoption studies, identical twins raised by different families can give insight into the nature-versus-nurture debate.

  • Cognitive Learning and Sociobiology

    • The main thrust of sociobiology is that animal and human behavior, including aggressiveness and other social interactions, can be explained almost solely in terms of genetics and natural selection.
    • This is another example of the "nature versus nurture" debate of the role of genetics versus the role of environment in determining an organism's characteristics.
    • No one disputes that certain behaviors can be inherited and that natural selection plays a role retaining them.

  • The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Illness

    • Historically, popular theories like the nature versus nurture debate posited that any one of these factors was sufficient to change the course of development.

  • Genetic and Environmental Impacts on Intelligence

    • The natural genetic make-up of the body interacts with environment from the moment of conception.
    • There is much debate among researchers and scientists over which influence, genetics or environment, has the largest role in determining overall intelligence, because both have been scientifically established as having a significant impact on intelligence.
    • Recent discoveries have further complicated this debate by proving that the relationship between internal predispositions ("nature") and external circumstances ("nurture") not only varies among populations, but also changes over time.
    • Genetics and environment interact constantly, so the question of supremacy in the nature versus nurture debate in human intelligence will probably never be fully answered.

  • Nature vs. Nurture

    • Developmental psychology seeks to understand the influence of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) on human development.
    • This is often referred to as the nature vs. nurture debate, or nativism vs. empiricism.
    • The nature vs. nurture debate seeks to understand how our personalities and traits are produced by our genetic makeup and biological factors, and how they are shaped by our environment, including our parents, peers, and culture.
    • There is a reciprocal interaction between nature and nurture as they both shape who we become, but the debate continues as to the relative contributions of each.
    • Evaluate the reciprocal impacts between genes and the environment and the nature vs. nurture debate

  • The Role of Genes in Prenatal Development

    • The exact extent to which genes, as opposed to an individual's environment, determine or influence psychological development is hotly debated; this controversy is known as the "nature-vs.
    • -nurture debate."
    • However, an individual's genetic makeup at the very least serves as a crucial baseline (which may then be mediated by the environment) for such characteristics as the ability to begin learning spoken language, such personality traits as a tendency toward aggressive versus submissive behavior, and risk levels for such diseases as alcoholism and addiction.