Nature Vs. Nurture Debate

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Nature vs Nurture, is one of the biggest ongoing debates in the psychology world. Originally termed and defined by, Sir Francis Galton, it was and still is one of the basic concepts of study for psychologist-to-be. The concept of Nature Vs Nature, debates in itself, whether or not, either nature or nurture dictates a person’s mind. While Galton himself favored nature over nurture, even the “Father of behavioral genetics” work has been challenged by many world renowned psychologist. In this essay, I will compare, and contrast the two, and give supporting evidence for each. Nature, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is defined as “the way that a person or animal behaves or the character or personality of a person or animal”. In the Psychology realm, nature is often defined in as “genetic …show more content…

Many psychologists, that believe in the nature aspect over the nurture aspect, believe that people are who they were born to be, that no matter what circumstances, that person will not, and simply cannot change who they are mentally. Their beliefs and actions are dictated by genetics, for example the child of a criminal or murderer would have a higher chance of becoming the same as their parents via genetic inheritance. An example of nature would be a child of two former drug addicts, being raised in a loving and caring home, turning to drugs. Since the parents were prior addicts, the susceptibility of the child becoming an addict is higher. Psychoanalyst like John Bowlby, believed that children come into the world preprogrammed to form attachments with others, rather than taught to do such. One of the most currently debated topic in the nature vs nurture realm, is the “gay gene”. While not clinically or medically proven to exist, naturist