NATURE AND NURTURE IN PSYCHOLOGY
INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY
THE STUDY OF THE RELATIVE EFFECTS OF GENES AND ENVIRONMENT ON
OUR BEHAVIOR.
-HOW DO OUR FAMILIES, OUR FRIENDS, AND THE CULTURE IN WHICH WE LIVE AFFECT US?
- DO SIBLINGS WITH THE SAME BIOLOGICAL PARENTS BUT RAISED BY DIFFERENT PARENTS HAVE DIFFERENT RESULTS?
BEHAVIOR GENETICS
Nature= Genes: The biochemical units of heredity that make up the
chromosomes.
Nurture= Environment: Every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to
the people and things around us.
BEHAVIOR GENETICS
NATURE VS. NURTURE
Examples: viruses, drugs, diet, sleep, bilingual
vs monolingual, culture, gender roles, home
location, parents, etc.
THE CHILD HAS VERY SMART PARENTS WHICH MAKES THEM BETTER READERS (AKA SMART)
VS.
PARENTS WHO READ TO THERE CHILDREN WILL MAKE THEM BETTER READERS (AKA SMART)
GENETICS
-GENETICS=GENES: BASIC UNITS OF HEREDITY
ALL LIVING THINGS HAVE GENETIC CODES. HUMANS ARE 99.9% IDENTICAL, ITS OUR BLUEPRINT
(SEGMENT OF DNA CONTAINING THE CODE FOR A PARTICULAR PROTEIN; DETERMINES OUR
INDIVIDUAL BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL)
-CHROMOSOMES: THREADLIKE STRUCTURES MADE OF DNA MOLECULES THAT CONTAIN THE GENES.
- DNA (DEOSYRIBONUCLEIC ACID): A SPIRALING, COMPLEX MOLECULE CONTAINING GENES
- MUTATION: RANDOM ERRORS IN GENE REPLICATION THAT LEAD TO A CHANGE IN THE INDIVIDUAL’S
GENETIC CODE: THE SOURCE OF ALL GENETIC DIVERSITY.
-SOME MUTATIONS ARE BAD OTHERS ARE GOOD
BAD=CANCER
GOOD= HEIGHT, EYE COLOR, PERSONALITY
TWIN STUDIES
IDENTICAL VS FRATERNAL
HERITABILITY: THE DEGREE TO WHICH TRAITS ARE INHERITED.
EXAMPLE: COLLECT DATA FROM IDENTICAL TWINS AND FRATERNAL TWINS BOTH RAISED IN THE
SAME HOME. COMPARE INTELLIGENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TO SEE HOW MUCH WAS NATURE HOW
MUCH WAS NURTURE.
-INTELLIGENCE LEVELS ARE MORE SIMILAR IN IDENTICAL TWINS THAN FRATERNAL, SO WOULD THIS
PROVE NATURE OR NURTURE?
-LOOK ONE UP ONLINE…………
ADOPTION STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL PARENTS = NATURE
ADOPTIVE PARENTS = NURTURE
STUDIES SHOW ADOPTED CHILDREN SHOW MORE PERSONALITY TRAITS SIMILAR TO THEIR BIOLOGICAL
PARENTS THAN THEIR ADOPTIVE PARENTS
BELIEFS AND WORK ETHICS MATCH MORE TO ADOPTIVE PARENTS THAN BIOLOGICAL PARENTS
NURTURE EXAMPLES:
-RATS GIVEN STIMULATION HAD BRAINS 7-10 TIMES LARGER THAN RATS IN A BORING ENVIRONMENT
-PREMATURE BABIES GIVEN CARE AND TOUCH GROW MORE RAPIDLY THAN THOSE WITH LITTLE TO NO
EXTRA CARE OR TOUCH
-SIXTH GRADERS WHO WERE GIVEN STIMULATING CARE AS INFANTS SCORED HIGHER THAN THOSE
WHO DID NOT
PEERS, PARENTS AND CULTURE
CULTURE: THE SHARED ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, NORMS, AND BEHAVIORS OF A GROUP COMMUNICATED
FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.
NORMS: UNDERSTOOD RULES FOR ACCEPTED AND EXPECTED BEHAVIOR
INDIVIDUALISM: GIVING PRIORITY TO PERSONAL GOALS OVER GROUP GOALS, AND DEFINING IDENTITY
IN TERMS OF PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES RATHER THAN GROUP IDENTIFICATION.
-AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CULTURE
COLLECTIVISM: GIVING PRIORITY TO THE GOALS OF THE GROUP AND DEFINING PERSONAL IDENTITY
ACCORDINGLY.
-ASIAN AND AFRICAN CULTURE