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Nature Vs. Nurture: Theories Of Human Behavior

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In the field of developmental psychology, the highly controversial debate of nature versus nurture remains one of the most convoluted of all time. The phrase "Nature Versus Nurture" originated from the English polymath, Francis Galton, who in 1869 was convinced that intellectual ability was substantially inherited and that the inclination for “genius” to run in families was the consequence of a natural superiority (Galton was actually related to Charles Darwin). The term "nature" refers to the influence of inherited characteristics while "nurture" talks about the impact of one’s environment in human development. On one hand, there is a group that believes human beings behave the way they do due to their genetic predisposition. This group is usually made up of scientists because of the biology and chemistry involved. …show more content…

This is known as the nature theory of human behaviour and is the view adopted by naturalists or nativists (Landau, 2009). On the other hand, there is a group that believes how people think and behave is the summation of what is taught and influenced by the environment or the surrounding people. Psychologists are usually a part of this group. This is known as nurture theory of human behaviour and is the view espoused by empiricists (Spencer et al., 2009). Empiricists insist all or most behaviours and characteristics stem from learning. Behaviourism is a fine example of a theory grounded in empiricism. The behaviourists believe that all actions and behaviours are the product of learning (conditioning). Theorists such as John B. Watson believed that people could be trained to do and transform into anything, disregarding their genetic background. Other renowned thinkers such as John Locke reckon that the mind begins as a blank slate, which is known as tabula rasa. Based on this notion, everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our

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The Cold Cut Combo When someone, or even more than one person, is murdered, most people are interested in who did it and why. What people do not usually think about is what caused the murderer to kill the person(s). The answer to this is simple, it all comes down to their own specific personality. People’s personalities are affected and developed by either their nature, or the way they were nurtured.

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Nature is the predetermined traits that people are born with, while nurture is the influence that affects people after they’re born. The debate surrounding Nature V. Nurture is how much of a person’s traits is predetermined and how much is influenced by the environment. Mary Shelley's believes in nurture more than nature. Victor Frankenstein has certain traits that he’s born with. Frankenstein is born into a prestigious, wealthy family.

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The Genius in All of Us by David Shenk uses everything within its power to dismiss the ideas of nature vs. nurture, which implies one or the other, and implants in the minds of his readers that nature and nurture function dependently on one another. Shenk starts his book stating that instead of the common belief that G+E (genetics + environment) determines traits, it is GxE (genetics x environment) that creates traits. In other words, genetic code is not what makes humans or anything what they are, rather it is the interaction within the environment that allows organisms to adapt and form traits, including artistry, athleticism, and intelligence. Shenk’s goal is to change society for the better by increasing opportunity for more people to

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Introduction Behaviorism, also known as behavioral learning theory, is a theoretical perspective in psychology that emphasizes the role of learning and observable behaviors in understanding human and animal actions. Behaviorism is a theory of learning that states all behaviors are learned through conditioned interaction with the environment. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli. The behaviorist theory is only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can be studied in a systematic and observable manner. Behaviorism has been investigated by numerous psychologists over the years.

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The main theories of behaviourist such as Pavlov, Skinner and Watson is that behaviour is a response to conditioning or reinforcement and that they are all linked to a stimulus. They also believe that nearly all behaviour is acquired through the environment therefore all humans are born as tabula rasa. This suggests that humans do not have a mind of their own but that of their environmental and that person or animal can only go as far as their environment will take them. Watson famously said ‘’give me a dozen healthy infants… and I will guarantee to train them into any specialist or even a beggar’’. McLeod, S. A. (2014).

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It majorly highlights the argument of nature and nurture based perceptions. Furthermore, according to this approach, it is believed that behaviours are learned but biological and cognitive factors affect the behaviour patterns and their magnitude. Another issue goes totally against this approach that is the

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They assume that what we do us determined by the environment we are in, which provides stimuli to which we respond, and the environments that we have been in during the past. Behaviourists are unique amongst psychologists in believing that it is unnecessary to speculate about the internal mental processes when explaining behaviour. The behaviourist approach is deterministic as it argues all behaviours are determined by past events and that all human behaviour is controlled by external events which means that humans do not have freewill. It supports empiricism and argues that only behaviour that can be observed, measured and recorded should be classed as scientific. It also supports reductionism as complex human behaviour is reduced to simple component parts.

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Evil Outline Thesis: Grendel is evil because was he isolated by society, neglected by his mother, and had no identity or purpose. Neglect The fact that Grendel’s mother does not show affection towards him is directly linked to why he has developed into an evil being. “‘Why are we here?’

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Behaviourist Approach Behaviourism was founded by John B Watson. It says that scientific psychology should study only observable behaviour. He told that psychologists shouldn’t study consciousness altogether and should focus exclusively on behaviours that could observed directly. Behaviour referred to any kind of observable response or activity by an organism. Behaviourism views organisms as controlled by by the environment in which it is present and specifically that we are the result of what we hve learned from our environment.

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Behavioural Perspective According to Barnett (2015), behaviourism focuses and studies how humans behave and are to behave to determine differences. Behaviourism believes people have no free will and their environment dictates how they think, act or become. Barnett (2015) stated, Ivan Pavlov was the first theorist to develop behaviourism. He lived with his dogs and would bring food (stimulus) to them daily.

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It also suggests that behavior is the result of a stimulus, either positive or negative reinforcement, and is determined by the individual’s environment. Behaviorists believe that behavior can be objectively and scientifically measured. Behavioral human nature can, simply put, be observed through experiments and lab studies. A well-known, noted example of this would be the experiments with Pavlov’s Dogs, and the Skinner Box. Although behavioral theory provides highly applicable therapy, it disregards mediational process, biology, and implies that individuals have little or no free-will.

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Each perspective with their good and bad sides, there are many perspective ranging from: Behavioural Approach; Biological Approach; Clinical Approach; Cognitive Approach; developmental approach; evolutionary Approach, Forensic; et al. BEHAVIOUR APPROACH PERSEPCTIVE Behaviourism is different from the environment because people are viewed as being controlled by their environment and that humans are a products of what they learn from the environment (Saul McLeod 2007). It is a perspective that focuses on learned behaviour more of a man is a product of his environment that the genes has no influence on the way a human behaves, it focused solely on observable behaviours. For a long time in the 50s, this psychological thought was dominating until the early twentieth

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The nature vs. nurture debate centers on whether human behaviour and personality are inherited (nature) or acquired (nurture); in other words, whether a person’s environment or a person’s genetic inheritance determines their behaviour and personality. Goldsmith and Harman (1994) adopt a neutral position, in which both nature and nurture influence people, stating that they “believe that the fundamental issue concerns the interplay between characteristics of the individual and of the relationship” (54). Goldsmith and Harman discuss temperament and attachment for infant, with temperament being linked to the nature side of the debate and attachment being linked with the nurture side; as a result, the infant’s temperament influences the attachment bond between the infant and the mother, but the attachment bond influences the temperament of the child as well. Therefore, both nature and nurture interact with each other to produce people’s behaviour (Harman et al. 54). Andersen and Berk (1998) take on the nurture perspective, while Leary (1999) claims that nature is the determining factor of a person’s personality.

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John B. Watson Theory of behaviorism: The term behaviorism refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the belief that behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed. Behaviorism was established with the publication of Watson 's classic paper, Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It (1913). Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the environment.

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Nature and Nurture Influences on Child Development Karla White ECE 205: Introduction to Child Development Instructor: Alesia Lane October 2, 2017 Nature and Nurture Influences on Child Development Describe the relationship between nature versus nurture. The nature vs. nature debate is the scientific, cultural, and philosophical debate about whether human culture, behavior, and personality are caused primarily by nature or nurture. Nature is often defined in this debate as genetic or hormone-based behaviors. Our genes determine the different traits that we have, such as eye color, hair, ear size, height and other traits.

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