Influence of Nature and Nurture Developmental Research Essay

How many bald, six-foot-six, 250-pound volunteer firefighters in New Jersey wear droopy mustaches, aviator-style eyeglasses, and a the influence of nature versus key ring on the right side of the belt? nurture. The answer is two: Gerald Levey and Mark Newman. They are twins who were separated at birth. Each twin did not even know 25. 2 Describe developmental the other existed until they were reunited—in a fire station—by a research techniques. fellow firefighter. . . The lives of the twins, although separate, took remarkably similar 25.Discuss prenatal paths. Levey went to college, studying forestry; Newman planned to development. study forestry in college but instead took a job trimming trees. . . . Both men are unmarried and find the same kind of woman attractive: â€Å"tall, slender, long hair. † They share similar hobbies, enjoying hunting, fishing, going to the beach, and watching old John Wayne movies and professional wrestling. Both like Chinese food and d rink the same brand of beer. learning outcomes 25. 1 Compare and contrast The remarkable range of similarities we see in many pairs of identical twins raises one of the fundamental questions posed by developmental psychology, the study of the patterns of growth and change that occur throughout life. The question is this: How can we distinguish between the environmental causes of behavior (the influence of parents, siblings, family, friends, schooling, nutrition, and all the other experiences to which a child is exposed) and hereditary causes (those based on the genetic makeup of an individual that influence growth and development throughout life)? This question embodies the nature–nurture issue. In this context, nature refers to hereditary factors, and nurture to environmental influences. Although the question was first posed as a nature-versus-nurture issue, developmental psychologists today agree that both nature Gerald Levey and Mark Newman 282 Chapter 8 development and nurture interact to produce specific developmental patterns and outDevelopmental psychology The comes. Consequently, the question has evolved into How and to what degree branch of psychology that studies the do environment and heredity both produce their effects? No one grows up patterns of growth and change that free of environmental influences, nor does anyone develop without being occur throughout life. affected by his or her inherited genetic makeup. However, the debate over Nature–nurture issue The issue of the comparative influence of the two factors remains active, with different the degree to which environment and approaches and different theories of development emphasizing the environ- heredity influence behavior. ment or heredity to a greater or lesser degree (Pinker, 2002; Gottesman & Hanson, 2005; Rutter, 2006). For example, some developmental theories rely on basic psychological principles of learning and stress the role learning plays in producing changes in The nature–nurture issue behavior in a developing child. Such theories emphasize the role of the enviis a key question that is ronment in development. In contrast, other developmental theories emphasize pervasive throughout the the influence of one’s physiological makeup and functioning on development. field of psychology, asking Such theories stress the role of heredity and aturation—the unfolding of biohow and to what degree logically predetermined patterns of behavior—in producing developmental environment and heredity change. Maturation can be seen, for instance, in the development of sex characproduce their joint effects. teristics (such as breasts and body hair) that occurs at the start of adolescence. Despite their differences over theory, developmental psychologists concur on some points. They agree that genetic factors not only provide the potential for specific behaviors or traits to emerge, but also place limitations on the emergence of such behavior or traits. For instance, heredity defines people’s general level of intelligence, setting an upper limit that—regardless of the quality of the environment—people cannot exceed. Heredity also places limits on physical abilities; humans simply cannot run at a speed of 60 miles an hour, nor will they grow as tall as 10 feet, no matter what the quality of their environment (Dodge, 2004; Pinker, 2004). Figure 1 lists some of the characteristics most affected by heredity. As you consider these items, it is important to keep in mind that these characteristics are not entirely determined by heredity, for environmental factors also play a role. Developmental psychologists also agree that in most instances environmental factors play a critical role in enabling people to reach the potential capabilities that their genetic background makes possible. 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