Nature and Nurture

Looking at what shapes our uniqueness and our

commonalities

Genetics

The branch of biology that deals with the

mechanisms of heredity.

Genes

The biochemical units of heredity that govern the

development of an individual life (20 000- 25 000)
Heredity is the passing on of physical or mental
characteristics genetically from one generation to
another.

Evolutionary Psychology

A subfield that uses the principles of

evolution to understand human social
behavior
Adaptations are not only physical, but
behavioral as well

Evolution: Principles of Natural

Selection

Within a species, no two are alike.

Individuals differ in their suitability to their
environment.
Those better suited are more likely to
______________________________

Evolution: Principles of Natural

Selection

Within a species, no two are alike.

Individuals differ in their suitability to their
environment.

Those better suited are more likely to survive and

reproduce

Reproduction perpetuates the genes of

______________________________

Evolution: Principles of Natural

Selection

Within a species, no two are alike.

Individuals differ in their suitability to their
environment.
Those better suited are more likely to survive and
reproduce
Reproduction perpetuates the genes of those best

suited to survive in the given conditions

Behaviour is strongly influenced by inherited

factors
All human beings act to enhance their inclusive
fitness to increase the frequency and
distribution of their genes in future generations

Evolutionary Psychology

Natural selection has crafted our minds for life

in environments like the African savannah
For most of our evolutionary history we lived
in hunter-gatherer societies and it was only
recently that humans started cultivating their
own food

Evolutionary Psychology

The human brain consists of neural

circuits that have developed to solve
problems that our ancestors faced during
our evolutionary history
Adaptations evolve to meet challenges in
the environment

Evolutionary Psychology

Reproduction is a key avenue of research and explanation as

evolutionary psychology seeks to identify factors that
maximized reproductive success
Women feel attracted to healthy men but are especially
attracted to wealthy men who can take care of their offspring
Men are attracted to young fertile women because they have
a biological impulse to mate widely

Major tenets

Evolution: Adaptive behavior in

humans and

non-humans

Aggression: effective aggressors

gain and maintain access to
food, water, and desirable mates
These aggressive
behaviors increase the
likelihood of survival and
reproduction

You cannot experiment and those in this field begin with the
effect and work backwards to come up with an explanation
Evolutionary psychology does not take current socio-cultural
factors into account when constructing explanations and it
presumes that much of who we are is hard-wired
Over emphasizes gender differences and downplays contrary
evidence

Criticisms of Evolutionary
Psychology

The Nature-Nurture Debates

Extreme biological position
Extreme biological position

Personality traits, physical characteristics, etc. are all

programmed or hard-wired

Extreme environmental position

All traits and characteristics are shaped by life

experience

How do we study and quantify

nature vs. nurture?

Heritability

A statistical estimate of the percentage of the

variability of a trait within a group that is
attributable to genetic factors. (Note: the
percentage depends on the environment)

Heritability

What does it mean when we say something is heritable?

O
100 % down
to
environment

Intelligence (50%)
Height (90%)

1
100 %
down to
genes

So 50% with respect to intelligence means

that genetic influence explains 50% of the
observed variation among people w.r.t.
intelligence
In other words, we are looking at the
extent to which difference among people
are attributable to genes

Heritability means

The Nature-Nurture Debates

Twin-Study Method

Comparison of pairs of identical and fraternal twins of the same sex

Identical Twins

Are genetic clones - genetically identical

Share DNA, but not fingerprints
Have identical brain wave patterns
Share the same prenatal environment

Adoption Studies

Comparison of twins and other siblings reared together with those

separated by adoption

The Nature-Nurture Debates

Jim twins

Jim Springer and Jim Lewis

Identical twin brothers separated 37 days after birth and raised by
different adoptive families
Reunited at age 39
When reunited, how were they alike after growing up in different
environments?

The Jim Twins

Jim twins
Similarities:

Married women named Linda, divorced, then married women named Betty

Oldest sons named James Allan and James Alan

Liked math, but hated spelling in school

Worked as deputy sheriffs, pumping gas, and McDonalds

Enjoyed stock-car racing and woodworking

Mannerisms, tastes, habits, etc.

Nature and Nurture

Genetic influences

Based on the Minnesota personality studies:

When raised together, monozygotic twins are

more similar than dizygotic twins.
Twins raised apart are almost as similar to each
other as those living in the same home.

The Nature-Nurture Debates

Other studies of twins and adoptees show:

Genetic factors account for some differences in

intelligence, verbal and spatial abilities,
criminality, vocational interests, and
aggressiveness.
There is a genetic component to psychological
disorders, such as alcoholism, depression, and
schizophrenia.
And, there is evidence for a genetic link to
peoples attitudes toward issues and activities.

This study involved

The
Nature-Nurture
Debates
672 twins who rated
their attitudes on
various issues and
activities.
The results show
some influence of
genetic factors.

The Nature-Nurture Debates

Genetic differences typically account for

less than 50 percent of the variation in
personality.
Environmental factors account for the rest
of the variation.

The Nature-Nurture Debates

A study of 5,542 threeyear-olds found that

Children with older brothers had

higher masculinity scores
Children with older sisters had higher
femininity scores

These results support the

nurture hypothesis.

The Nature-Nurture Debates

The Interplay of Nature and Nurture

Genetic and environmental influences are not

independent.

Identical twins receive more similar treatment from their

parents compared to fraternal twins.

Peoples genetic makeup influences how they are

treated by others, the environments in which they
live, and the way they perceive and recall the details
of that environment.

Gender: A Great Divide?

Gender differences have been found in
the following biological areas:

Age when puberty is reached, height,

weight, fat content, and amount each
sweats
Also, women are expected to live longer
than men are(but the gap varies)

Gender: A Great Divide?

sexuality
In
the Are
area of
_________________
, men and
How
Men
and Women Different?
women report different attitudes and
behaviors, with men, in general, expressing
more interest in sex.
In the area of _____________________
Physical aggression
, men
generally are more physically aggressive
compared to women.
In the area of _____________________
Cognitive Abilities
, males
tend to do better on tests of math and spatial
abilities and females typically score higher on
tests of verbal skills.

Gender: A Great
Divide?

Evolutionary
(Biological) Perspectives
Why Do
These Differences
Between
These perspectives focus on the different
Men and
Women
Exist?
levels of sex hormones, estrogen and

testosterone, which have their greatest

impacts during prenatal development and
puberty.

Gender: A Great Divide?

Why Do These Differences Between

Environmental Perspectives
Men and Women Exist?

Males and females have different life experiences

because of how others treat them, that is, how
they are socialized.
Gender Roles

Sex-typed behaviors promoted by social learning.

Gender Schemas

Beliefs about men and women that influence the way

people perceive themselves and others.

Gender: A Great Divide?

Why Do These Differences Between

Men and Women Exist?

A Biosocial Theory

Sex differences develop from an interaction

between nature (biology) and nurture
(environment).
For example, although biological predispositions
lead to a division of labor, culture has a strong
effect on the work roles of men and women.

Gender and Sexuality crashed

The Nature and Nurture

Of...Sexual Orientation
Origins of Homosexuality

Origins of Homosexuality

Both biological and environmental theories are offered to

explain the origins of sexual orientation.
Twin studies support the theory that sexual orientation
has biological roots.

A survey of gay men and their twins and adopted brothers found
that 52 percent of the identical twins were gay, while only 22
percent of fraternal twins and 11 percent of adoptive brothers
were gay.

The Nature and Nurture Of...

Sexual Orientation
Bems developmental theory of
Daryl Bems Developmental Theory
homosexuality states that genes
determine childhood behaviors
that later affect adolescents
attraction to either the same sex
or the other sex.
Other theorists view sexual
orientation as developing from
both nature and nurture.