An%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Concepts%20of%20Nature%20and%20Nurture%20(Heredity%20/%20Environment)

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An Introduction to the Concepts ofNature and
Nurture(Heredity / Environment)

• Prepared and Presented
• By
• Lisa L. Robin

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Activity- Plant 1

• 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?

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Activity Plant 2

• 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?

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Nature and Nurture (Heredity/Environment)Defined

• Nature (Heredity)
• Traits, abilities, and capacities inherited from
  ones parents through their genes.
• What we arrive with at birth.
• What we inherit biologically.
• Nurture (Environment)
• Environmental influences that the world provides
• Social
• Biological

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Examples of Hereditary and EnvironmentalInfluenc
es

• Hereditary
• Eye and hair color
• Body type
• Gender

• Influenced from both
• Intelligence
• Personality
• General heath
• Physical strength
• Weight
• Disease

• Environmental
• Family
• Peers
• School
• Culture

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The Nature/Nurture Debate

• The question over the extent to which human
  behavior is determined by genetics as opposed to
  the environment.
• A concept that runs through much of the study of
  psychology.
• Has dominated much of the work in the study of
  lifespan development.

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The Opposing Views

• 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

• The Strict Biological (Nature) Position
• Just as we are programmed to grow to a certain
  height, so too do we have a genetic
  predisposition for personality, intelligence, and
  abilities.

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Where does genetics come in?

• 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.

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The Human Genome Project

• In 1990 an international consortium of scientists
  set out to sequence the human genome the
  genetic blueprint for making a complete human
  being.
• All the DNA in an organism

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Whats all the excitement about?

• 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.

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Related Controversies and Questions

• HGP
• Psychological impact and stigmatization
• Reproductive issues
• Uncertainties with gene tests
• Conceptual and philosophical implications

• To what extent are the following characteristics
  determined/influenced by heredity and the
  environment?
• Intelligence
• Personality
• Sexual orientation
• Gender differences
• Language development

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The Interplay of Nature and Nurture

• 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?

• 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.

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What Are the Real Questions?

• How much does each factor contribute?
• In what ways do they interact?
• Can their influences be looked at separately?

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To attempt to answer these questions researchers
do various studies

• Family studies
• Twin studies
• Adoption studies

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Conclusions on the Subject

• 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.

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