Nature V. Nurture

Standard: SSPBF1: the student will explain the development, structure, and function of biological systems and their role in behavior, cognition, and emotion. f. Examine the role genetics play in the development of behaviors.  

Essential Question: Is what you are born with (genetics) more important than where you are born?

What is Nature V. Nurture? The Nature vs. Nurture debate discusses the importance of an individual’s genetic predisposition or heredity (nature) against his/her upbringing and experiences (nurture) in determining who that individual becomes. Most experts accept that both nature and nurture play some role in human growth and development, although they disagree on the proportions that each contribute to a person’s character and personality.

The Twins: To study the contribution of heredity against environment, studies are conducted to research the shared characteristics of identical twins that are raised in the same home with the shared characteristics of twins separated at birth and raised in different family environments.

Twin Studies: There are two types of twin: dizygotic (DZ) who are regular fraternal twins; and then monozygotic (MZ) which are identical twins and so have exactly the same DNA as each other, i.e. the genotypes are identical. The table below summarizes what the various findings would mean.

Twin Studies continued:

Discussion Questions: Income shapes personality  Families determine political parties Immediate family members are the most influential variable in forming a child’s personality  Peers are the most influential variable in forming a child’s personality Mental disorders are caused by genetics and are acquired at birth  Alcoholism is NOT an inheritable disease