Psychology is basically the study of the human mind and human behavior. Although, what exactly the human mind is made of and how it develops is a question that still remains to be truly answered despite all the years of research. This nature vs nurture controversy, which is already subject to much debate, is only one of the many questions that psychologists seek to answer.
At the core of the nature-nurture controversy is the question, as Dr. Stangor puts it, "Are genes or environment most influential in determining the behavior of individuals and in accounting for differences among people?" (2011) Nature refers to the biological makeup of a person. That is, the genetic influence that was shared to a person by that person's parents. Nurture on the other hand, refers to environmental influences, including family lifestyle, neighborhood, and manner of upbringing, that affect the development of a person. Whether human traits, such as intelligence, personality, and talents, are more influenced by nature or by nurture is the subject of many psychological studies.
Two of these studies are "Nature vs. Nurture: Two Brothers with Schizophrenia" by Norman L. Keltner, Christopher A. James, Rani J. Darling, Lisa S. Findley & Kelli Oliver and "The Nature and Nurture of Talent: A Bioecological Perspective on the Ontogeny of Exceptional Abilities" by Paul B. Papierno, Stephen J. Ceci, Matthew C. Makel, and Wendy M. Williams.
The research by Keltner's team deals with the exploration of the effects of nature and nurture on the development of schizophrenia in two brothers. Schizophrenia is a thought disorder that includes hallucinations and delusions and can lead to psychosis. While it affects men and women at about the same rate, men generally have an earlier onset of about 4-6 years. The causes of this onset can be categorized into: genetic, shared environmental, and individual-specific environmental influences. In the case of the brothers studied by the team, all these three categories appear to be involved in the development of the disorder. (Keltner, James, Darling, Findley, & Oliver, 2001)
The study was conducted through the review of related literature and the clinical experience of the authors. The researchers found that Al and Pete, the brothers they studied, grew up in a family riddled with mental illness. Al and Pete were brought up in a destructive environment. Al's memories of his past includes cruelty and punishment while Pete's has become unreliable and his stories of his past tend to hint upon delusional or grandiose embellishments. While it is true that Pete also suffered abuse from his father, he tends to remember the positive and tells of being loved by both his parents. On the other hand, Al remembers being beaten up by his father, seeing his father give a similarly abusive treatment to his siblings and his mother, and also his mother having suffered schizophrenia.
Keltner et al, (2001) concluded, "while one's genetic heritage creates a predisposition toward schizophrenia, other factors such as the home environment, dietary factors, and others may determine whether the disease is manifested."
"A multiplier effect occurs when a single impetus that may be small in magnitude sets into motion a chain reaction of events that can result in amplified growth of a measurable outcome." (Papierno, Ceci, Makel, & Williams, 2005) That is to say, an initial recognition of talent by parents, however small that spark may be, may lead to the parents encouraging the particular talent by putting the child in such environment that could lead into furthering the interest of the child in that talent area, which could lead to training and which in turn could lead to turning that spark of talent into exceptional ability.
Papierno et al., (2005) proposed that "the ontogeny of exceptional abilities is based on reciprocal gene-environment interactions that act as multiplier effects to transform initial conditions into fully developed skills. As gene-environment interactions improve, so too will the level of outcome."
The main difference between these two studies is that one looks into a negative extreme of human behavior, the development of schizophrenia in people, while the other looks into a positive extreme, the development of talents and gifts. Their differences basically end their. For while Keltner et al., (2001) added their own clinical experience into account to come up with their conclusions, they, nevertheless, came up with a similar conclusion that human behavior is caused not purely by nature nor purely by nurture but by the complex interplay of both these elements into the development of an entire person.
While it is said that the questions that has been asked by psychologists over the many years of the science hasn't changed, it is also true that psychology has progressed. Researchers used to look purely into either nature or nurture. Yet, today, the direction of research has gone from the dichotomy of these two elements to the interaction of nature and nurture to the development of human behavior.
This new direction can be said to be the better direction of psychological research for as the two aforementioned studies has shown, it is less important to look into the lines that will separate nature and nurture and more important to look into how they both contribute to the complexity of human behavior.
References
Keltner, N., James, C.A., Darling, R.J., Findley, L., & Oliver, K. (2001). Nature vs. nurture: Two brothers with schizophrenia. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care (37.3), 88-94.
Papierno, P.B., Ceci, S.J., Makel, M.C., & Williams, W.M. (2005). The nature and nurture of talent: A bioecological perspective on the ontogeny of exceptional abilities. Journal for the Education of the Gifted (28.3/4), 312-332, 389-392.
Stangor, C. (2011). Introduction to Psychology. Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge, L.L.C.
