Download Theorists: Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, and BF Skinner

Darwin, Freud, and Skinner—Nature vs. Nurture: Influences on Personality and
Development
Theories: Evolution of Personality, Psychoanalysis, and Behaviorism
Theorists: Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, and B.F. Skinner
Introduction:
This paper will examine three principle players in the debate over determinants of human
personalities; namely, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, and B.F. Skinner. For purposes of
discussion, the reader should envision the debate in terms of a continuum between “nature” and
“nurture.” In this continuum, Freud should be placed between Darwin and Skinner, with Darwin
as a strong proponent of nature and Skinner as a strong advocate of nurture, leaning heavily upon
one’s experiences in life and the environment shaping personality. Moreover, Freud would fall
somewhere near the center of the continuum, leaning toward nurture, but giving some credence
to nature as giving humans through genetics some low-level instinctual drives that impact the
development of personality. Whereas, Darwin is on the far nature side of the debate relating
personality development to a genetic code inherited from parent to offspring.
Biographies:
Charles Galton Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shrewsbury, England as one
of six children (Duggan, 1998). Darwin attended Cambridge University for his undergraduate
studies in mathematics. Darwin was not considered a “serious student” and his father feared he
would become an “ordinary gentleman.” It was then that Darwin’s father determined that he and
his brother would attend medical school at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. After 2 years
and rather bored, Darwin quit medical school. His displeased father then decided he would study
for the clergy and sent him to Cambridge University (“Encyclopedia.com,” n.d).
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After Darwin served in World War I, he became master of Christ’s College in Cambridge
in 1936. He spent most of his career as a scientist, scholar and author and passed away in 1882
(Duggan, 1998). Charles Darwin is well known for his controversial book On the Origins of
Species by means of Natural Selection published in 1859. It was widely believed that Charles
Darwin was an agnostic at the time of his death (Buckeridge, 2009).
Sigmund Freud was born on May 6th, 1856 in Freiburg. Freud was not an only child,
having 11 siblings two of whom were from another marriage, but he is referred to many times as
his mother’s favorite. In the fall of 1873, Freud at the age of 17 attended the University of
Vienna where he studied medicine. It was through these studies that he began working with
Brucke’s Physiology Laboratory, which would have a profound effect on his life. Freud passed
the qualifying exams in March of 1881, but stayed on in the Physiological Laboratory. In June
1882, he left the Institute to begin his medical career. He left the general hospital in 1885, where
he was noted as a privatdocent in Neuropathology. In 1886, Freud married Martha and had 6
children, which he took great interest in (Jones, 1961).
Freud worked with a number of different treatments and theories in his professional life.
He experimented with cocaine and had theories on what caused neurotic behavior in individuals.
He wrote many different books, which show much of the experiences that he encountered in his
personal and professional life.
Freud was an avid smoker, which led to cancer and his death in
1939 (Jones, 1961).
B.F Skinner was considered to be the father of the behavioral approach to psychology;
due to his prominence as a spokesperson for behaviorism (Corey, 2009). B.F. Skinner was born
in 1904 (Corey, 2009). Skinner recalled his upbringing as being a warm and stable family
environment (Corey, 2009). In the 8th edition of Theory and Practice of Counseling and
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Psychotherapy, Gerald Corey, Ph.D. (2009) wrote that Skinner, while growing up, had a great
interest “in building all sorts of things, an interest that followed him throughout his professional
life” (p. 233). In 1931, Skinner graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in psychology
(Corey, 2009). Skinner taught at several other universities, but eventually returned to Harvard
(Corey, 2009). Skinner had two daughters; one became an educational psychologist and the other
an artist (Corey, 2009).
Theory Descriptions:
After years of scientific research, journals and books, Darwin expanded upon his original
Evolution Theory and introduced Evolution of Personality Theory. As part of the ongoing nature
vs. nurture debate, Darwin presented the notion that personality was also a result of an
evolutionary process. He believed that the human species inherited behaviors “…due to complex
interactions of genes. They control your behavior. So you don’t have a free will to act otherwise”
(Ateel, n.d., para. 12).
Darwin’s original theory of evolution presented the notion that certain genes would
survive and be passed along to the next generation of the human species. This concept was
known as “survival of the fittest” and included behavior and personality traits as well (Duggan,
1998; Scarr, 1993). Darwin stated, “…these adaptations were not limited to physiology (body
structure) but also included matters of the mind such as behaviors, memory and emotions”
(Sherry, 2004, p. 86).
Darwin also believed that like personality, intellectual traits were predominantly
inherited. He states, “I am inclined to agree with Francis Galton in believing that education and
environment produce only a small effect on the mind of any one, and that most of our qualities
are innate (Human Intelligence: Charles Darwin, n.d., para. 8, Darwin, as quoted in Barlow,
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1958, p. 43). Darwin went on to say that “Biology defines what can be learned, when it can be
learned, how likely behaviors are to occur, and what is reinforcing” (Scarr, 1993, p. 1335).
Darwin maintained the most favorable parts of the human species’ personality and
intellectual traits would “survive” and be passed on to the next generations. Those who do not
have the ability to learn and have weak personality traits would be selected against by nature and
not pass on their genes. The belief that the human species would continue to grow stronger in
human intelligence and certain personality traits would continue to adapt to the present
environment reinforced “survival of the fittest” in all forms (Sherry, 2004).
Darwin’s first cousin, Sir Francis Galton, continued his work and the scientific studies
regarding the effects of genes and heredity on personality. Galton’s studies asserted that
“…nature is five times more influential than nurture” (Sherry, 2004, p. 87).
Sigmund Freud, through years of research and study, is coined as the father of
psychoanalysis. Through nurturing he showed how this process worked with an individual’s
psychic systems to make us who we are. Freud showed that, “the doctrines of resistance and
repression, the unconscious, the aetiological significance of a person’s sex life and the
importance of childhood experiences are the main building blocks of the theoretical edifice of
psychoanalysis” (Joibert 1993).
Through his theory on the id, ego and superego, Freud explains that we all have a portion
of our subconscious that makes up our psyche. Through the id our spontaneous psyche takes
control and through the super ego our moral psyche is rooted. The ego is the self-preservation in
the middle. These parts of our psyche come together to make up our consciousness and our
subconscious (Jones 1961).
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Freud illustrates, through his pleasure principle that all our actions are a product of
individuals wanting to be happy. Through this process people avoid unpleasure and are attracted
to seek pleasure. Through this process there is an ability to educate using this principle as the
device and control as its mediator (Joibert 1993).
Freud also points out that each individual has a strong subconscious set of developmental
stages and that nature plays a predominate role. These stages are referred to as the
“Psychosexual Stages”. These stages are: the oral, anal, phallic, genital, latency and late genital.
Each stage deals with sexual development from birth to early adulthood (Koch, Bendicsen,
Palombo 2009).
BF Skinner, throughout his career, was a strong proponent of “radical behaviorism;” in
which, a primary emphasis is placed on behavior being impacted by the effects of environment
(Corey, 2009). Skinner acknowledged the existence of feelings and thoughts; but, also posited
that they did not cause the actions of humans; instead, it is the environment (Corey, 2009).
Moreover, he theorized that there are “cause and effect links between objective, observable
environmental conditions and behavior” (Corey, 2009, p. 233). Skinner maintained that the
internal states of mind and motives on which psychoanalytic approaches are based, such as those
of Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson, cannot be directly observed or changed received too much
attention (Corey, 2009). Conversely, he felt environmental factors that could be observed and
changed (behaviorism) received too little focus (Corey, 2009).
Jennifer L. Stoll (2004) in her Chapter 7 contribution to the book, Counseling Theories
and Techniques for Rehabilitation Health Professionals, posits that behaviorism or behavior
therapy itself is not just one approach to psychological therapy, but rather, a collection of
approaches and techniques which are used to change behaviors from maladaptive to adaptive
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ones. However, they differ in the manner in which the technique delivers the therapeutic
treatment (Stoll, 2004). In addition, Stoll (2004) posits that, all behavioral approaches share three
common characteristics:
1. Emphasis is placed upon:
Current behavior rather than focusing on past behavior (Corey,
2001; Wilson, 2000) Thus behavior theorists treat the behavior
itself rather than underlying hypothesized causes of behavior; this
represents a marked contrast to more traditional models of
psychotherapy (e.g. psychoanalysis), which focus on the past or
historical events that contribute to the development and
manifestation of maladaptive behavior. (Stoll, 2004, p. 136)
2. Behavioral therapies utilize a scientific approach to the evaluation of the treatment’s
effectiveness by setting clearly defined, objective, measurable goals (Stoll, 2004).
3. Throughout the treatment process, multiple assessments of the effectiveness are
conducted (Stoll, 2004).
Moreover, Stoll also writes the following:
In addition to the three central commonalities identified above, Rotgers (1996)
identified seven assumptions of behavior therapy: (1) human behavior is largely
learned rather than determined by genetics; (2) the same learning processes that
create maladaptive behaviors can be used to change or eliminate them; (3)
behavior is predominantly determined by contextual and environmental
mediators; (4) covert behaviors, such as thoughts and feelings are subject to
change through the implementation of learning processes; (5) actual performance
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of new behaviors in the contexts in which they are to be performed is a critical
aspect of behavior change; (6) each client is unique and requires an individualized
assessment of inappropriate behavior; and (7) the cornerstone of successful
treatment is a thorough behavioral assessment. (Stoll, 2004, p. 136)
Finally, Stoll (2004) writes that there are three distinct approaches to behavior therapy, of which,
all are aimed at “accomplishing the same ultimate goals of reducing inappropriate behaviors and
increasing appropriate behaviors” (Stoll, 2004, p. 137). These approaches are classical
conditioning, operant conditioning and cognitive-behavioral approaches (Stoll, 2004).
Most of Skinner’s work concentrated upon the concept of operant conditioning. For
Skinner, the notion of reinforcement is central to operant conditioning. His contention was that
learning could not:
Occur in the absence of some kind of reinforcement, either positive or negative.
Reinforcement involves some kind of reward or the removal of an aversive
stimulus following a response. Reinforcement takes place when the consequences
of a behavior increase the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated (Corey,
2005, p. 230).
Corey writes further that for Skinner there was the belief that actions “that are reinforced tend to
be repeated, and those that are not reinforced tend to be extinguished” (Corey, 2005, p.230).
Thus, Corey posits that operant conditioning refers to “a type of learning in which behaviors are
influenced mainly by the consequences that follow them” (Corey, 2005, p. 230). If the
environmental changes produce no reinforcement or produce aversive stimuli, the chances are
lessened that the behavior will recur (Corey, 2005).
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Skinner performed his work in the laboratory and it was experimental in nature; but,
others that followed (such as, Albert Bandura) “applied his ideas to teaching, managing human
problems, and social planning (Corey, 2005, p. 227)” The aforementioned applications occurred
through the use of positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction techniques
(Corey, 2005)”. Skinner’s writings, such as, Science and Human Behavior (1953) and Walden
Two (1948), best illustrate his belief in the application of behavioral concepts to human
endeavors.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the theories of Darwin, Freud, and Skinner on the surface appear vastly
divergent; however, if one considers the notion of reinforcement, it ties them all together. It
appears that what separates each theory from the others is the amount of time it takes for
reinforcement impact human personality. For instance, Darwin’s notion of reinforcement on
personality occurs over an extended period of time (sometimes thousands of years) through the
forces of natural selection. In natural selection, there is the extinction of certain maladaptive
human gene pools, whose inherited behaviors are unsuccessful. Whereas, Freud posits that
reinforcement occurs over a person’s life span as nurturing impacts an individual’s psychic
systems, such as repression, the subconscious, one’s sex life, and the importance of childhood
experiences. Lastly, Skinner’s reinforcement is more immediate in terms of time, because the
components of one’s environment create a learned behavior as to which personality traits bring
pleasure or pain.
Although the literature states there is no proven studies regarding which has the greater
effect on personality - nature versus nurture – the scientific views continue to be explored. It
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appears that all three theorists have had significant contributions on our modern understanding of
personality development.
Report Prepared by: Stacy Tiger, Jason Champion, and William Turner
References:
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Buckeridge, J.S. (2009, November/December). The ongoing evolution of humanness:
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