Download Introducing the Concept of Nature (Genetic or Hereditary)

An Introduction to the Concepts of
Nature and Nurture
(Heredity / Environment)
Prepared and Presented
By
Lisa L. Robin
Activity- Plant #1
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What do you see?
Describe the characteristics of this plant.
What is the make up of this plant?
What has made this plant what it is?
Were these characteristics determined or
influenced by heredity or the environment?
Activity – Plant # 2
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How is this plant different from the first?
What factors may have lead to the poor
condition of this plant?
Assuming they are identical twin plants, with the
same genetic make-up, what likely accounts for
the difference in the plants?
Nature and Nurture
(Heredity/Environment)
Defined:
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Nature (Heredity)
Traits, abilities, and capacities inherited from ones
parents through their genes.
 What we arrive with at birth.
 What we inherit biologically.
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Nurture (Environment)
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Environmental influences that the world provides
 Social
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Biological
Examples of
Hereditary and Environmental
Influences
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Hereditary
 Eye and hair color
 Body type
 Gender
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Environmental
 Family
 Peers
 School
 Culture
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Influenced from both
 Intelligence
 Personality
 General heath
 Physical strength
 Weight
 Disease
The Nature/Nurture Debate
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The question over the extent to which human behavior
is determined by genetics as opposed to the
environment.
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A concept that runs through much of the study of
psychology.
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Has dominated much of the work in the study of
lifespan development.
The Opposing Views:
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The Strict Environmental
(Nurture)Position:
 Our fate is shaped by life
experiences the way clay is
molded by a sculptor.
 We are heavily
influenced by learning,
culture, nutrition, peer
groups, and critical life
events.
 Infants are a blank slate
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The Strict Biological
(Nature) Position:
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Just as we are
programmed to grow to a
certain height, so too do
we have a genetic
predisposition for
personality, intelligence,
and abilities.
Where does genetics come in?
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What are Genes?
 Molecules in DNA that
contain instructions for
the building blocks of
life.
 They contain a
biochemical “recipe”
written in code that make
up and govern the
development of an
individual life.
The Human Genome Project:
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In 1990 an international
consortium of scientists
set out to sequence the
human genome – the
genetic blueprint for
making a complete
human being.
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All the DNA in an
organism
What’s all the excitement about?
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The project was completed in 2001.
It sequenced a blueprint or “parts list” for humans.
It determined that the genetic blueprint is nearly identical
for all people around the world.
 We are all 99.9% the same in our genetic makeup.
It is now possible to test an individual to see if they
have a “defective part” in their DNA.
Related Controversies and Questions:
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HGP
 Psychological impact and
stigmatization
 Reproductive issues
 Uncertainties with gene
tests
 Conceptual and
philosophical
implications
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To what extent are the
following characteristics
determined/influenced
by heredity and the
environment?
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Intelligence
Personality
Sexual orientation
Gender differences
Language development
The Interplay of Nature and Nurture:
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Genetic and environmental influences are not
independent.
Our genetic make up influences the way people treat
us.
 This helps to create the kind of environment that we
live in.
 At birth we have genetic predispositions but life
experiences may either foster or inhibit their
expression.
 Examples: intelligence, height
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So which has more influence on
development, nature or nurture?
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Developmental scientists and psychologists
agree that both are essential and can not be
framed in either-or terms.
The environment influences heredity and
heredity influences the environment.
Both sets of factors interact over the course of
an individual life.
What Are the Real Questions?
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How much does each
factor contribute?
In what ways do they
interact?
Can their influences be
looked at separately?
To attempt to answer these questions
researchers do various studies:
Family studies
 Twin studies
 Adoption studies
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Conclusions on the Subject:
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All people are basically the same genetically.
People are likely predisposed in some ways by their
genetic make up.
People are also influenced by their environment.
Environmental factors influence genetic expression.
Both heredity and the environment play essential roles in
human development.
Debates exist over the degree to which each is influential.