Nature and Nurture

Chapter 3 99-133
Nature vs. Nurture

 One of the most important

questions in psychology is:
How much of human
behavior is caused by our
physical make up, our
genes (nature) vs. how
much is what we learn by
experience in our
environment (nurture). How much of your personality
is from your parents genetics
And how much did you just learn
From living your life?
Genes: Our Biological Blueprint

 Inside the nucleus of every cell

are 46 Chromosomes (originally
23 from the mother, 23 from the
father).
 Chromosomes contain Genes.
Genes are segments of DNA that
code for making a particular
protein.
 The proteins that are made
become how you are physically
built.
The Human Genome

 The human genome is a complete set of

instructions for making a human.
 The human genome has 3 billion bonded
pairs of nucleotides organized as DNA
sequences. They are being mapped out so
that doctors will know what each one does.
The Human Genome Project

 This Human Genome Project has

the potential to save more lives than
any other technology, it also raises
serious ethical questions regarding
cloning and human engineering.
 Human traits are influenced by gene
complexes – many genes working
together. There is no “angry” gene,
but a number of genes working
together could make someone’s
personality more aggressive. This
type of study is called molecular
genetics.
Evolutionary Psychology

 Natural Selection - The theory that organisms with

the genetic trait variations are more likely to
reproduce and survive.
 For example people are predisposed to enjoy sweets
and fats because our ancestors knew that food
would help them survive famines… however, now
this trait can be a cause of obesity in a world where
food is plentiful, perhaps in a million years there will
be people who are mostly predisposed to eat less?
Gender

 In general men are more likely to initiate sexual

activity regardless of culture or where you live.
 Men are more attracted to youthful, healthy
looking, females who waists are a third narrower
than the hips (a sign of many child bearing years
to come).
 Woman are attracted to healthy looking, mature,
dominant, bold and affluent men – traits that
denote the ability to support and protect.
The most important human trait

 The most important human trait however, is

our amazing ability to use our mind and
reason to adapt to any situation and
condition. This perhaps more than anything
else has made humans a successful species
as well as one that is very hard to predict and
define.
Twin Studies

 Behavior genetics - The study of the

relative power of genes or environment to
influence behavior.
 Environment – every non genetic influence.
Includes prenatal nutrition, post natal care,
etc.
 Psychologists have extensively used Twin
Studies to study nature vs. nurture.
Twin Studies

 Identical Twins – Twins who

develop from a single
fertilized egg that splits in
two, creating two genetically
identical people.
 Fraternal Twins – Twins
who develop from two
separate eggs and sperm.
Genetically they are no
closer than normal sisters
or brothers but they do
share a fetal environment.
Identical vs. Fraternal

Fraternal twins from a racially mixed

Identical Twins developed from
marriage. They come from two separate
the same egg and sperm
eggs and sperm coming together.
Separated Twins/Adoptive Studies

 By studying separated twins and adoptive

children who don’t grow up with their parents
we can learn even more about how heredity
and environment affect behavior.
 For example will adoptive children have
temperaments (how a person emotionally
reacts to things) closer to their birth parents
or to their adoptive parents?
Development video

 http://www.learner.org/resources/series138.html?p
 Heritability
– the proportion of variation
among individuals that we can attribute to
genes. This does NOT apply to individual
circumstance but only measurements among
people as a whole.
Gene-Environment Interaction

 Gene’s and the environment both influence

us but its more complicated than that
because they also continuously influence
each other.
 For example, a baby with a predisposition to
smile a lot not only inherited that trait, but
because people will want to play with that
baby more they will also be influenced by
their environment!
Infant Development

 Prenatal environment is very important for infant

development, even placenta placement can
affect twins and cause one to thrive more than
the other.
 Experience causes brain development. Up to
20% more neural synapses have been recorded
in rats that have “enriched” environments to
develop in. Attention is needed for the brain to
develop. Some animals who receive no attention
after birth even if they are fed regularly will die.
Other Environment Influences

 Peers – Children often listen to their peers more

than their parents. Teens almost always do
 Culture – People self enforce culture norms such
as personal space. Meme’s are used to describe
the creation of cultural ideas that are passed on.
 Culture also affects child rearing promoting
independent ideals or teaching loyalty to the
group
Gender – Nature or Nurture?

 The physical characteristics of male and

female are obviously affected by nature.
However, research shows that mental
dispositions can be affected as well by
genetic control of hormones.
 Nurture controls gender roles or what society
expects a certain gender to do.
Social Learning Theory

 Theorythat we learn social behavior by

observing and imitating what we see being
rewarded and punished.