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The storm of controversy that developed around Jenson’s claims was not mainly due to logical and empirical weaknesses in his argument. It was more to do with the social and political implications that are often drawn from research that claims to demonstrate natural inequalities between social groups. What’s more, this doesn’t only apply to the debate over I.Q. It is equally relevant to the psychology of sex and gender, where the question of how much of the (alleged) differences in male and female behavior is due to biology and how much to culture is just as controversial. Polygenic Inheritance Another way of studying heredity is by comparing the behavior of twins, who can either be identical (sharing the same genes) or non-identical (sharing 50% of genes). Like adoption studies, twin studies support the first rule of behavior genetics; that psychological traits are extremely heritable, about 50% on average. Levitt M. Perceptions of nature, nurture and behaviour. Life Sci Soc Policy. 2013;9(1):13. doi:10.1186/2195-7819-9-13
At the other end of the spectrum are the environmentalists – also known as empiricists (not to be confused with the other empirical/scientific approach). Freud (1905) stated that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. Color of eyes, straight or curly hair, pigmentation of the skin, and certain diseases (such as Huntingdon’s chorea) are all a function of the genes we inherit.If these advances are not to be abused, then there will need to be a more general understanding of the fact that biology interacts with both the cultural context and the personal choices that people make about how they want to live their lives. However, environmental factors, such as exposure to language-rich environments, also play a crucial role in language development, highlighting the intricate interplay between nature and nurture in child development. Nature vs. Nurture in Personality Development nature and culture interact in a host of qualitatively different ways (Gottlieb, 2007; Johnston & Edwards, 2002). The “how much” question assumes that psychological traits can all be expressed numerically and that the issue can be resolved in a quantitative manner.
This realization is especially important given the recent advances in genetics, such as polygenic testing. The Human Genome Project, for example, has stimulated enormous interest in tracing types of behavior to particular strands of DNA located on specific chromosomes. Franke HA. Toxic Stress: Effects, Prevention and Treatment. Children (Basel). 2014 Nov 3;1(3):390-402. doi: 10.3390/children1030390 Research by Flynn (1987) showed that average IQ scores have increased over generations, suggesting that environmental improvements, known as the Flynn effect, can lead to substantial gains in cognitive abilities. Researchers in the field of behavioral genetics study variation in behavior as it is affected by genes, which are the units of heredity passed down from parents to offspring. The nature vs. nurture debate in psychology concerns the relative importance of an individual’s innate qualities (nature) versus personal experiences (nurture) in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits. While early theories favored one factor over the other, contemporary views recognize a complex interplay between genes and environment in shaping behavior and development. Key TakeawaysNature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and other biological factors. influence development independently of environmental factors; genetic and nongenetic factors always cooperate to build traits. The reality is that Feldman MW, Ramachandran S. Missing compared to what? Revisiting heritability, genes and culture. Phil Trans R Soc B. 2018;373(1743):20170064. doi:10.1098/rstb.2017.0064 It underscores the importance of the early-life environment and its long-term impacts on an individual’s mental health and stress resilience. Epigenetics: The Agouti Mouse Study
For example, research by Caspi et al. (2003) demonstrated that a particular gene (MAOA) can interact with childhood maltreatment to increase the risk of aggressive behavior in adulthood. Behavioral genetics has enabled psychology to quantify the relative contribution of nature and nurture concerning specific psychological traits. Those who adopt an extreme hereditary position are known as nativists. Their basic assumption is that the characteristics of the human species as a whole are a product of evolution and that individual differences are due to each person’s unique genetic code.More fundamentally, they believe that differences in intellectual ability are a product of social inequalities in access to material resources and opportunities. To put it simply children brought up in the ghetto tend to score lower on tests because they are denied the same life chances as more privileged members of society. Nurture assumes that correlations between environmental factors and psychological outcomes are caused environmentally. For example, how much parents read with their children and how well children learn to read appear to be related. Other examples include environmental stress and its effect on depression. The classic example of the way this affects our physical development are the bodily changes that occur in early adolescence at puberty.
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