Biological psychologists focus their study on the human
nervous system and how it affects behaviour
Genetics plays a “key role” in the nature vs nurture” debate
Researchers aim to
understand to what extent
heredity & environment
play a part in shaping
personality.
In 1979, Thomas J. Bouchard began a long-term study of
twins who were raised apart to try to determine just how
much twins’ similarities are based on genetics.
The Jim Twins:
Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were separated at
4 months and reunited at 39 years of age.
The similarities were eerie! Both had interests
in carpentry, drove the same blue Chev, had dogs named
“Toy”, chain-smoked the same brand of cigarettes, had
married and divorced a woman named Linda and
remarried a woman named Betty!
In the 1950’s, Stern designed an experiment
to prove that the right environment could
create a genius!
He used his daughter Edith as the subject of his experiment
He played classical music to her, engaged her in
mathematics and showed her flash cards from infancy.
By the time she was 5, she was able to read the entire
Encyclopedia Britannica … and at the age of 18, she had
obtained a PhD at Michigan State University!
Do you feel this is largely the result of environmental factors?
In reality, all biological and psychological characteristics are
constructed during development when genes interact
with local environmental factors. DNA alone, is simply not
sufficient to produce psychological or biological traits.
Therefore, when it comes to understanding the
development of a trait in a particular person, nature can
never be separated from nurture.
"Genes are devices for extracting information from the
environment. Every minute, every second, the pattern of
genes being expressed in your brain changes, often in
direct or indirect response to events outside the body.
Genes are the mechanisms of experience.“ Matt Ridley