PSYCHOLOGY
An individual’s behavior can be attributed to nature, nurture or a combination of both of these factors(Deckers 53). Nature predisposes individuals to act in specific ways. It programs the human biological clock to bring out intuitive mannerisms linked to the human genes. Examples of behavior that can be attributed to nature are in form of relaxes both at birth and during mature stages of life. At birth suckling is a reflex that isn’t learnt but is innate. During more mature stages the fight or flight response, where one instinctively makes a choice to flee or face a threatening situation can also be attributed to natural factors embedded within human cognition and brain functionality.
Nurture however, emphasizes on environment and experience that people go through. Behaviorists assert that when human beings are born, they are a tabula rasa-blank slate-this means that people pick up and learn behaviors from what they learn from others in form of experiences or simply social learning(Rose and Rutter 241). Attachment and language are great examples of nurture. Children often elicit the attachment styles they developed, or were conditioned to by their primary care givers while young and at a later stage. In addition, although human beings are born with the capacity to speak, language is learnt and it is a part of behavior not attributed to genes but rather exposure and teaching. An example is a child who is born in a country where the parents are adoptive parents and the child is from a different country maybe even has a different mother tongue. The child learns the language of the parents because of exposure to the new language. Similarly, children who are not exposed to a place where they get exposure to language from an early age don’t get to develop their aspect of language even though the capacity for it may be inherent.
In some instances both factors interplay to elicit certain behavior. Intelligence for example can be explained using both genetic and experiential factors i.e. people can learn and adapt to situations acquiring knowledge to complement their natural IQ. The white and gray matter in the brain plays a significant role in intelligence, and genes significantly have an influence on both the gray and white matter thus showing that nature plays a role in intelligence. People can be born naturally intelligent for instance there have been several cases where children who are very young and are expected to have limited cognitive developmental skills exhibit quite high performances in IQ testes scoring over 160. On the other hand, they can also learn new experiences, there are many definitions for intelligence, and this includes one’s ability to adapt to situations and environment, something that can only be attributed to nurture. When it comes to nature, several areas of the Personality traits and tendencies can be attributed to biological and environmental factors depending on trait dominance and specific living environments that one is exposed to. Parts of the DNA, which we receive from parents, go a long way in shaping the types of people that we become. How we interact with others, and even how we interparty and react to stress. However even twins don’t always have the same personality traits just because they are twins there are environmental and experiential factors that play a role in how their personality forms and this proves the involvement of both nature and nurture.
Works Cited
Deckers, Lambert. “Motivation: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental, 2nd Ed. [References].” (2005) (2005): n. pag. Print.
Rose, Richard J., and M. Rutter. “Genes and Behavior: Nature-Nurture Interplay Explained.” European Psychologist 12.3 (2007): 240–241. Web.
