Nature vs. Nurture an Age Old Debate

Nature vs. Nurture

An Age Old Debate

Nature vs. nurture is one of the age old debates primarily within psychology but also within other social sciences such as sociology. Intelligence is often one of the aspects in which the argument hinges upon. There has been some evidence that the first born child in any family is more likely to possess traits consistent with intelligence and aptitude. This would suggest that nurture is a key component in the equation since siblings have relatively similar genetic composition. A strong correlation between being the first born and such measurable personality traits as intelligence would indicate that the manner in which one is raised in regards to their status may influence personal development.

However at the same time it is hard to dispute the role that nature plays. Examples will be provided about cases involving eye sight and depth perception in which the biological capabilities that help to shape one's perception of the world are fairly easily identifiable. Therefore it is reasonable to argue that each plays some role in development and the extent of which nature or nurture influences various characteristics is the factor that must be determined. Yet there is one other possibility that has emerged in a relatively new field of psychology known as epigenetics. The epigenetics argument asserts that nurture or the environment can actually influence nature through the selection of certain genes over others through the means of triggers that can be influenced through environmental stimuli. This paper will give a brief look into some of the arguments that surround each perspective that fueled the age old debate.

First Born Intelligence -- Nurture Argument

The environment in which you are raised undoubtedly plays a very significant role in your development; this is evident through mere intuition. However, intuition doesn't carry much weight in science and such claims must uphold there weight on their own merit through research. One argument that was proposed state that environments have greater intellectual stimuli will produce personalities of a higher intelligence. Therefore when a child represents the first born in the family they have access to both of their parent's intellectual resources. However, when the child is the second born they must share their parents with their sibling and as consequence experience slightly less intellectual stimulation. Therefore one would expect to find that the earlier you rank in birth order then the more likely you are to possess a higher intelligence than your siblings. Various experiments have support this argument with substantial evidence the most famous of which was conducted in the Netherlands (Zajonc & Markus, 1975). This suggests that the environmental influences play an important role in development.

Visual Depth Perception -- Nature Argument

If all of our personality were based upon nurture or environmental experience alone, then there would be little room left for natural instincts. However, research has also identified many examples of instincts; even in humans. One classical example that is often used is that in which a special platform was constructed with an adjourning glass part that made a portion of the platform look like there was an area to fall from (Gibson & Walk, 1960). Infants and babies were placed upon the table and asked to crawl to their mothers. While younger infants represented a sample that was less likely to be bothered by the fear of falling, older babies that had developed a sense of depth perception were likely to show hesitation. This study emphasizes the role that physical capabilities can have to shape development.

Epigenetics -- Nature as a Result of Nurture