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One of the big debates that occupies a lot of many people's time is the Nature/Nurture controversy. It is also sometimes known as the genetic / environmental controversy. The Nature vs. Nurture controversy is the argument between whether inherited genes or the environment influences and effects our personality, development, behavior, intelligence and ability.
Some people believe that it is only genes that effect our ways of life, others believe that it is the environment plays a major role, and some believe that both of these influence us. Either way researchers have been struggling for years, maybe even centuries, trying to decide whether our personalities are born or made. There are three types of gene / environment relations. The first one is called a passive correlation. It is to be explained as, for example, if a musical ability was genetic, and a child was passed a musical ability trait, than the child would most likely have musically inclined parents. Their parents then would provide them with the genes and environment to promote the development of that ability.
The second one is called evocative. This happens when genetically distinct people evoke different reactions from peers and parents and others. And the third association is called an active correlation. This is when people actively select experiences that fit with their genetically influenced preferences. If we take a baby human, and a baby monkey and give them both the best environment that we can imagine, the child will be radically different from the monkey and the differences will be almost totally caused by genetic differences.
At the extreme, the proponents of the Nature side of the controversy would have us believe that the differences in human behavior are like the difference between human behavior and monkey behavior, just less extremely. Similarly, if we take identical twins, and give one the best environment possible, and put the other one in closet for eighteen years the differences will be profound, and caused totally by environmental differences between the two children. At the extreme the proponents of the Nurture side of the controversy would have us believe that the differences in human behavior are like the differences in the twin's behavior. Believers in the Nature side of the argument tell you that split-twin studies are wrought with misinformation and bias.
Twins who volunteer for that sort of research are perhaps more likely to have kept in touch, and thus, theyll be more similar to each other due to their continual exposure to each other. A problem arises in the opposing data: qualities like intelligence and sociability are delicate, and hard to measure quantifiable. If only fractions of identical twins with identical "natures" exhibit some behaviors (such as homosexuality or even sneezing tendencies and names of pets) while others do not, it must then be that nurture and the environment are accountable for a significant portion of those difference. One area of contention is the reason for differences between individuals; for example, in performing intelligence tests. The environmentalist position assumes that individuals do not differ significantly in their inherited mental abilities and that subsequent differences are due to learning, or to differences in early experiences.
Opponents insist that certain differences in the capacities of individuals (and hence their behavior) can be attributed to inherited differences in their genetic make-up. To understand why, take a trait like shyness, which seems to be partly heritable. But it is not heritable the way, say, eye color is. If parents overprotect a shy toddler, she will probably remain shy; if they encourage, even force, her into spending time with other tykes, she has a good chance of overcoming it. Instinct is also an aspect of nature. It is an innate, automatic, disposition toward responding in a particular way when confronted with a specific stimulus.
Instincts produce behavior of which an animal has no control. The muscles used during instinct all take place in a certain pattern. For it to be an instinct, it has to follow four rules; there must be a fixed action pattern, which is a stereotypical pattern of behavior and released by appropriate environmental stimuli, secondly, all members of a species must display the same behavior. Third, no learning must take place, and lastly, there must be a releasing stimuli, which is a stimulus that causes the pattern of behavior. Instinct ensures the survival of a species. Reflexes allow for the survival of an individual, and is another part of nature.
It is an involuntary and unlearned reaction in the form of swift, automatic movements in response to external stimuli. Imprinting is also a part of instinct. Imprinting is when an animal physically follows and forms an attachment to the first object they hear or see. This happens during the critical period. Each animal has only a certain number of time to imprint.
An example of imprinting would be the farmer and the geese. When the geese ere born the first thing they saw were the farmers rubber boots, so they developed an attachment to the rubber boots. There will always be arguments as to which plays the bigger role, Nature or Nurture, perhaps there is no answer to this question. Maybe the only thing we can say is that they both play a part in our development.
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Research essay sample on Identical Twins Human Behavior
