Over the years, psychologists have tried to research and study the human behavior; however, it has not been easy to isolate nature and nurture on the influence that both on human beings. Nurture emphasis more on the role of human genetics in influencing human behavior whereas nature is based on the environment and how it relates with how human beings behave. Nature and nurture cannot be isolated when studying psychology since they highly influence how people behave and interact.
Different theories are used to explain the two point of views expressed by the empiricists and nativists.The Bowlby theory of attachment is a key theory which explains how nurture influences human behavior, according to Bowlby, the mental health of a child and behavior is attached to the mother, and there is a bond that influences the child’s behavior. According to those in support of nurture as the key influence to human behavior, some of the behaviors such as aggression, depression and human intelligence are influenced more by nurture than nature. The social learning theory presents a different view, according to this theory, human behavior is highly influenced by the environment that one is exposed to. The human mind can learn and adopt other people’s behavior hence the relationship between the two(Moore & David 54).
Psychologists have tried to explain the development of human talent by using nature and nurture.There are those who believe that a talent is inborn and therefore it is influenced more by nurture more than nature. A child who is born in a family where one of the parents plays a music instrument is likely to play the same instrument, this is linked to nurture since it shows the relationship between parenting and child development. Nature has a major in the development of the child’s parents since he/she is exposed in an environment where people play the music instrument such as the guitar. A child can observe how a particular musician plays the guitar and develops an interest to the instrument. The child develops an interest to play an instrument by watching how other people do it while there are those who are considered to be born with the talent.
Homosexuality is major psychological issues that psychologists have addressed using different perceptions; there are those who believe that it is linked to biology and genetics while there is an opposing view that relates it with the human environment. The Kinsley Scale of Sexuality rates human sexuality and tries to explain the biological view of homosexuality. Many of those who have studied human sexuality do not support homosexuality to be a mental neither genetic disorder. The Kinsley Scale shows that at least 10% of men are born gay therefore; homosexuality is more of nurture and not nature. There is an opposing view to this, which links homosexuality to be linked to various environmental factors such as; peer pressure and childhood exposure. Various celebrities and key social figures have expressed their support for gay marriage, and this is a contributing factor to homosexuality that supports the argument that homosexuality is more of nature and less of nurture.
The different viewpoints presented by psychologists shows the relationship between nature and nurture on human behavior, in every human behavior there is an aspect of nature and nurture that influences ,the two cannot take place in isolation in influencing various aspects of human psychology (Stiles & Joan 32).
Work Cited
Moore, David Scott. The dependent gene: the fallacy of nature vs. nurture. New York: Henry Holt, 2003. Print.
Stiles, Joan. The fundamentals of brain development: integrating nature and nurture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008. Print.
Levine, Laura E., and Joyce Munsch. Child development: an active learning approach. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE, 2011. Print.
