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Nature vs Nurture Essay Outline Sample 1

Introduction

Thesis: Nurture has more impact on human development than nature.

Body

Paragraph 1:

As an infant, a human being experiences a ‘blank slate’ mentality where his or her thought processes have not been influenced by anything.

• From there, the identity and behavior of the person begin to form as they undergo various interactions and experiences as they grow.
• At birth, there is no endowed knowledge.
• Sensations are naturally provoked in humans by external environmental stimuli.

Paragraph 2:

The experiences one undergoes as they grow up, and not genetics, determine whether or not they suffer from health conditions or disorders in their adulthood.

• For example, two siblings who both have a genetic predisposition to depression may share biological parents but be raised in different households.
• One is raised in an abusive environment while the other in a friendly environment.
• In their later life, the sibling that was abused develops depression while the one who was not is happy and active.

Paragraph 3:

An infant can be trained to become any kind of specialist that the trainer wants them to be irrespective of their biological or genetic influences.

• What a child becomes is not dependent on their potentialities, race, or talents.
• The environment shapes their dreams.
• This is why a child may be encouraged to ‘work hard’ in school and become a doctor, for instance.

Paragraph 4:

Human behavior comes from the integrated point of view of cognitive, environmental, and behavioral influences.

• “Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling.”
• Humans learn and understand how to do something by themselves if they see how it is done.

Paragraph 5:

It is nurture and not nature that determines whether a child develops negative or positive behavior.

• A child may learn to act accordingly if their parents teach them to behave in a certain way.
• For instance, a child born left-handed may end up writing using their right hand only as a result of their parents’ persistent teachings.
• The learned behavior of using the right hand replaces the trait of left-handedness.

Paragraph 6: 

Those arguing that nature has more influence may argue that what matters in how one behaves or develops is the type of gene that is turned on.

• Theirs is the idea that different genes are turned on and off in different circumstances.
• However, the nature of such circumstances determines how one’s behavior develops.

Conclusion

Nurture is more responsible for shaping human development than nature. Children are born with a ‘blank’ mentality and they have to learn as they grow into adults. They have to acquire behaviors depending on the environments in which they are brought up.

Nature versus Nurture Example Essay Sample 1

Introduction

Nature refers to all the hereditary factors and genes that influence who people are, from their personality characteristics to their physical appearance. On the other hand, nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who people are, including their early childhood experiences, how they were raised, their social relationships, and their surrounding culture. According to biological psychology, genetics and biological influences play a key role in shaping how a person develops. On the contrary, Behaviorism stresses that human behavior and development is shaped more by the environment. This paper argues that nurture has more impact on human development than nature. The personal reflection is based on nature.

As an infant, a human being experiences a ‘blank slate’ mentality whereby his or her thought processes have not been influenced by anything. From there, the identity and behavior of the person begin to form as they undergo various interactions and experiences as they grow. As such, empiricists are right in their assertion that at birth, there is no endowed knowledge. “Instead, all knowledge comes through the senses, and mental development reflects learned associations” (Bornstein et al., 2013). Bornstein et al. (2013) further point out that sensations are naturally provoked in humans by external environmental stimuli. Moreover, individual raw sensations culminate into what is deemed “meaningful perceptions” through association. This helps in creating their behavior and personality. Nature makes you unique in every possible ways.

The experiences one undergoes as they grow up, and not genetics, determine whether or not they suffer from health conditions or disorders in their adulthood. For example, two siblings who both have a genetic predisposition to depression may share biological parents but be raised in different households. In the process, one of them gets exposed to verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his caretakers while the other does not. In their later life, the sibling that was abused develops depression while the one who was brought up in a stable, loving, and caring home is happy and active (Harris, 2011). One of the siblings suffers depression in their later life because of the environment he grew up in although they both have brains that are more vulnerable to depression.

Similarly, an infant can be trained to become any kind of specialist that the trainer wants them to be irrespective of their biological or genetic influences. Since the environment dictates how the child develops, what they become when they grow up is not dependent on their potentialities, race, or talents. As pointed out by Bornstein et al. (2013), “emotional reactions are the result of learned associations between unconditioned stimuli and neutral events so that these neutral events come to elicit emotional responses through classic conditioning.” This is why a child may be encouraged to ‘work hard’ in school and become a doctor or engineer, for instance. It is also why it is said that there are endless career opportunities for humans and that what one needs to do is to choose on one and work towards it.

Furthermore, human behavior comes from the integrated point of view of cognitive, environmental, and behavioral influences. “Bandura’s work emphasized the importance of observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others from the assumption that most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling” (Baker & Brandell, 2013). Humans learn and understand how to do something by themselves if they see how it is done. For example, a person who does not know how to fish may know upon seeing another person fishing. It implies that the person keenly observes the steps involved in the fishing process and copies them. If learning was more genetically supported, a person may fail to do something even after several hours of watching how it is done. People may also not be able to change their attitudes as per their environment.

Finally, it is nurture and not nature that determines whether a child develops negative or positive behavior. A child may learn to act accordingly if their parents teach them to behave in a certain way (Harris, 2011). For instance, a child born left-handed may end up writing using their right hand only as a result of their parents’ persistent teachings. The learned behavior of using the right hand replaces the left hand as the dominant hand although the trait is left-handedness. This does not only change how the child writes but also how they use their hands. The implication is that children can be taught behaviors that counteract what they are born with. The potential influence of genes is stripped by this perspective.

Those arguing that nature has more influence may argue that what matters in how one behaves or develops is the type of gene that is turned on. Theirs is the idea that different genes are turned on and off in different circumstances (Psychology1101, 2008). Their understanding of this is that factors in the environment only draw reactions from a person rather than shape their behaviors. These reactions, according to these people, are released based on the particular gene that is turned on at that given moment. While this may be true, it is also true that a person has to naturally react to occurrences in their environment. It is also true that the nature of such occurrences determines how their behavior develops, as already explained above.

Conclusion

Nurture is more responsible for shaping human development than nature. Children are born with a ‘blank’ mentality and they have to learn as they grow into adults. They have to acquire behaviors depending on the environments in which they are brought up. They can be taught to become various specialists and can also learn to do a number of things by observing others do them. On the same note, a child who is predisposed to depression by genetic factors can be helped not to develop depression by being raised in a caring environment. Thus, human behavior is learned and is not dependent on genetic or biological influences.

References

Baker, K. E., & Brandell, J. R. (2013). Child and adolescent psychotherapy and psychoanalysis: one hundred years after ‘little Hans’. New York, NY: Routledge.

Bornstein, M. H., et al. (2013). Development in infancy, fifth edition: a contemporary introduction. Oxfordshire, UK: Taylor and Francis.

Harris, J. R. (2011). The nurture assumption: why children turn out the way they do. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

Psychology1101. (2008). Nature vs. nurture [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aNaMlSc3Ag&list=PLC6B610F325F65635

Nature vs Nurture Essay Debate Outline Sample 2

Introduction

Thesis: Although the two sides argue for different factors influencing behavior and development, nature and nurture cannot be isolated since they both play a significant role in the development process of an individual.

Body

Paragraph 1:

The nurture versus nature debate began many decades ago.

• It started with the world’s greatest philosophers including Plato and Socrates who maintained that certain things are inborn and they occur naturally without an influence of environmental factors.
• Nativists posited that all behaviors are inherited through an individual’s genetic make-up and composition.
• Thinkers such as John Locke brought in the idea of tabula rasa that is based on the argument that at birth one is born with a blank mind and through development and growth everything starts to take shape.

Paragraph 2:

In essence, people believe that nature fix behavior and development is entirely a matter of choice.

• . However, it is crucial to consider the fact that in the course of human life there is an interaction of nature, nurture and the choices that people make.
• Biologically, genes are responsible for structuring amino acids which also impact on the body cells by influencing on the proteins leading to the chemical components of our biology.
• The actions and development of any individual are explained by their genetic composition and the environment in which they exist.

Paragraph 3:

The maturation theory is an excellent example of child development.

• In this theory, the argument is development is comprised of genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically.
• The ability of a child to speak in a specific language is assumed to be as a result of their genetic makeup.

Paragraph 4:

Undoubtedly, development is highly dependent on an individual’s genetic make-up.

• However, genes cannot function without significant influence by the environment.
• A more interesting example is that of feral children who are kept away from human contact from the time they are born.
• Due to the isolation, such children lack parental care, love and cannot pick any human language.

Paragraph 5:

Individuals may not have inherited such concrete behavioral traits as the political party they support, the religion they practice, and the language they speak because these traits are largely provided by one’s environment.

• However, they inherited the traits upon which their underlying talents and temperaments are based.
• For instance, one may have inherited from their parents how to be religious, how to become conservative or liberal, and how to become proficient with language.

Paragraph 6:

It is challenging to isolate nature and nurture in the developmental process of a human being, and this can be explained using several other examples.

• In the case of academic success, one might wonder if people succeed because they are genetically modified to succeed, or it is out of the environment they exist.
• Also, one might consider the case of an abusive husband where the question is whether one is born with abusive tendencies or they learned the behavior by observing the behavior of others during their development phase.

Paragraph 7:

There are traits and physical characteristics that can entirely be blamed on genetic composition.

• For instance, biological composition influences an individual’s hair color, eye color and genetic diseases such as diabetes.
• However, other examples such as life expectancy profoundly affect biological makeup, lifestyle and environmental factors.

Conclusion

The nature versus nurture debate is still on despite being initiated many years ago. Different branches of psychology tend to focus more on one side more than the other, but the truth is both cannot be explained in isolation. It is true that some behaviors and traits are in born, but the environment also plays a significant role in influencing such behaviors.

The Nature versus Nurture Essay Debate Sample 2

Introduction

The discussion of nature versus nurture rotates around the issue of behavior and development. Those who argue for the nature side contend that what we become or who we are is influenced by our genes and hereditary factors including physical appearance and personality traits. On the other hand, those on the nurture side argue that the environment plays a massive role in influencing who we are, referring to environmental variables such as childhood experiences, parenting styles, social relationships, and culture. Although these two sides argue for different factors influencing behavior and development, nature and nurture cannot be isolated since they both play a significant role in the life of an individual.

The nurture versus nature debate began many decades ago. It started with the world’s greatest philosophers including Plato and Socrates who maintained that certain things are inborn and occur naturally without an influence of environmental factors (Kong et al., 2018). On the other hand, nativists posited that all behaviors are inherited through an individual’s genetic make-up and composition. The nativists tried to argue that evolution causes behaviors and traits and genetic traits are handed down from parents to their children making every one unique. Other thinkers such as John Locke, as pointed out by McLeod (2007), brought in the idea of tabula rasa that is based on the argument that at birth, one is born with a blank mind and through development and growth everything starts to take shape.

In essence, people believe that nature fixes behavior and that development is entirely a matter of choice. However, it is crucial to consider the fact that in the course of human life, there is an interaction between nature, nurture, and the choices that people make. Biological programming refers to our genetics. Biologically, genes are responsible for structuring amino acids which also impact on the body cells by influencing on the proteins leading to the chemical components of our biology. The shape, size, and behavior of people rely on their biological make-up through an interaction of environmental factors (McLeod, 2007). That is, the actions and development of any individual are explained by their genetic composition and the environment in which they exist.

The maturation theory is an excellent example of child development. In this theory, the argument is that development is comprised of genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically (Petersen, 2017). This argument strengthens the idea that development is a biological process that takes place in predictable stages over the course of time. Here, the ability of a child to speak in a specific language is assumed to be as a result of their genetic makeup. The argument is that at first, a child starts to become interested in sounds and signs that they see with their parents and other people around them, thereby triggering the need to speak.

It is not in doubt that development is highly dependent on an individual’s genetic make-up. However, genes cannot function without significant influence by the environment. For example, in case a child is born deaf due to inherited genetic composition, they will never learn how to speak, but they might learn sign language if the people around them use sign language. It is thus without a doubt that the environment and the genetic makeup of an individual work together in the maturation process. A more interesting example is that of feral children who are kept away from human contact from the time they are born (Rollo, 2018). Due to the isolation, such children lack parental care and love, and cannot pick any human language. In most cases, they end up becoming mentally and physically impaired.

In yet another example, individuals may not have inherited such concrete behavioral traits as the political party they support, the religion they practice, and the language they speak because these traits are largely provided by one’s environment, including their culture and home environment. However, they inherited the traits upon which their underlying talents and temperaments are based. For instance, one may have inherited from their parents how to be religious, how to become conservative or liberal, and how to become proficient with language. This then means that whether they are conservative or liberal determines their political stance. It also implies that how fast they can become proficient with language affects the number of languages they can speak. On the same note, their understanding of religion and extent of religiosity significantly impacts their religious affiliation. As such, both nature and nurture have an input into how one develops.

It is therefore challenging to isolate nature and nurture in the developmental process of a human being, and this can be explained using several other examples. For instance, in the case of academic success, one might wonder if people succeed because they are genetically modified to succeed, or it is out of the environment they exist in. Similarly, one might consider the case of an abusive husband where the question is whether one is born with abusive tendencies or they learned the behavior by observing the behavior of others during their development process. In these two cases, it is difficult to blame genetic composition in entirety since environmental influences go a long way in explaining violent tendencies and academic success.

There are traits and physical characteristics that can entirely be blamed on genetic composition. For instance, biological composition influences an individual’s hair color, eye color, and genetic diseases such as diabetes. However, other examples such as life expectancy profoundly affect biological makeup, lifestyle, and environmental factors. On the issue of life expectancy, one might have been born with a strong immunity, but if they smoke or eat a lot of junk among other unhealthy lifestyles, they will not have a prolonged life expectancy.

Conclusion

The nature versus nurture debate is still on despite being initiated many years ago. Different branches of psychology tend to focus more on one side than the other. However, as seen, the truth is that neither can be explained in isolation. It is true that some behaviors and traits are in-born. However, it is also true that the environment also plays a significant role in influencing such behaviors.

References

Kong, A., Thorleifsson, G., Frigge, M. L., Vilhjalmsson, B. J., Young, A. I., Thorgeirsson, T. E., … & Gudbjartsson, D. F. (2018). The nature of nurture: effects of parental genotypes. Science, 359(6374), 424-428.

McLeod, S. (2007). Nature vs. nurture in psychology. Simply Psychology.

Petersen, A. (2017). Brain maturation and cognitive development: comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.

Rollo, T. (2018). Feral children: settler colonialism, progress, and the figure of the child. Settler Colonial Studies, 8(1), 60-79.

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