NATURE VS NURTURE
EXPLAINING DIFFERENCES…EXPLAINING
SIMILARITIES
“Life is like a game of cards. The
hand that is dealt you represents
determinism; the way you play it is
free will.”
Nehru
CONSIDER DOLLY….
Would a human
clone’s adult
personality mimic the
person donating the
genetic code?
-orWould he/she be
unique?
NATURE
• When biology
determines
behavior
• Tower of London
• Explains why
people who are
related to each
other- resemble
each other
RECESSIVE VS. DOMINANT GENES
Recessive genes=
two recessive genes
must be paired to
produce
characteristic
Dominant genes=
need no pairing.
produce
characteristic every
time
GENES DO NOT ALWAYS INFLUENCE
LIFE DIRECTLY
PKU
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
Farm Fox
Experiment
Dmitry Belyaev
1959- Estonia
30- male
100- female
45,000 foxes
later…
CHANGES TO THE FOX..
• Pigment
• Shorter tails (less bushy)
• Changes to skull
• Significant increase in
tameness
HOW ALIKE ARE WE?
98.4% like
Chimpanzees
THE IMPORTANCE OF TWIN STUDIES…
• Identical twins
reared apart
(separated at
birth)studied to see
the effect of
environment.
• Adopted fraternal
twins studied to see
the effect of
inheritance.
WHAT DOES RESEARCH SUGGEST?
Identical Twins Separated
Values
Interests
Motor skills
Reading, spelling,
writing
• Intelligence
• Medical issues
• Personality
•
•
•
•
Adopted Twins
Attitude
Manners
Faith
Politics
Work ethic
TEMPERAMENT= YOUR GENETIC
PERSONALITY
• The easy child
• The difficult
child
• The slow-towarm-up child
NURTURE
Is your brain hard-wired and
unchangeable- or does the
environment actually produces
changes in the brain?
It depends….
MALE PATTERN BALDNESS=100%
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES IN
WOMEN=30%
ENVIRONMENT IS COMPLEX
• Culture= similarities/diversity
• Circumstances
• Economics
• Opportunities
• Skills learned
CRITICAL PERIODS
• Time when we are especially
sensitive to learning
• Begins and ends abruptly
• Beyond this period, growth will
not occur
IMPRINTING =RAPID, PERMENANT
LEARNING
•Confined to a “definite”
time period
•Irreversible
•Long-term consequences
•Konrad Lorenz
PRENATAL INFLUENCES..
• Teratogens
• Congenital
problems
• Fetal Alcohol
syndrome
GENDER…
Your biggest
environmental
influence?
BIG BOYS DON’T CRY…
Gender Role
Gender Identity
Roles, mannerisms,
behaviors and
interests (taught by
culture)regarded as
male or female
Your own personal
sense of being male
or female
NO DISTINCT
SEX (IN
APPEARANCE
OR BEHAVIOR)
ANDROGYNOUS
INFLUENCE OF MEDIA ON GENDER?