Question

Are we "Blank Slates"? That is, is most of our behavior learned and shaped by the environment we grow up in?
Or, do our genes and biologically based traits, talents, and temperament control our behavior and determine our destiny?

Answer 1

• This is the age-old nature–nurture controversy. By nature, we mean inborn biological givens—the hereditary information we receive from our parents at the moment of conception. By nurture, we mean the complex forces of the physical and social world that influence our biological makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth.
• Behavior is determined by a combination of inherited traits, experience, and the environment. Some behavior, called innate, comes from your genes, but other behavior is learned, either from interacting with the world or by being taught. In some situations, genes play a larger role in determining your behavior; in other situations, environment plays a larger role in influencingyour behavior.
• Information from genes let the body know what characteristics a person will have, like if they will have hairy or hairless ears and/or a small or big chin. These instructions come from our parents; when their genes are mixed together, our genes are formed.
• The characteristics (physical traits and behaviors) that you are born with and what you experience throughout your life are both important. Your characteristics can impact your experiences and your experiences can impact your characteristics.
• If you had a whole different set of experiences over your lifetime your genes may be expressed in different ways, and you may behave differently than you do now.
• Those who adopt an extreme hereditary position are known as nativists. Their basic assumption is that the characteristics of the human species as a whole are a product of evolution and that individual differences are due to each person’s unique genetic code. In general, the earlier a particular ability appears, the more likely it is to be under the influence of genetic factors. Estimates of genetic influence are called heritability.
• Examples of an extreme nature positions in psychology include Chomsky (1965), who proposed language is gained through the use of an innate language acquisition device.
• At the other end of the spectrum are the environmentalists – also known as empiricists. Their basic assumption is that at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate) and that this is gradually “filled” as a result of experience (e.g., behaviorism).
• From this point of view, psychological characteristics and behavioral differences that emerge through infancy and childhood are the results of learning. It is how you are brought up (nurture) that governs the psychologically significant aspects of child development and the concept of maturation applies only to the biological.
• For example, Bandura's social learning theory states that aggression is a learned from the environment through observation and imitation. This is seen in his famous Bobo doll experiment. Also, Skinner believed that language is learnt from other people via behavior shaping techniques.
• In practice, hardly anyone today accepts either of the extreme positions. There are simply too many “facts” on both sides of the argument which are inconsistent with an “all or nothing” view.
• Instead of defending extreme nativist or nurturist views, most psychological researchers are now interested in investigating how nature and nurture interact. For example, in psychopathology, this means that both a genetic predisposition and an appropriate environmental trigger are required for a mental disorder to develop.
• Therefore, it makes more sense to say that the difference between two people’s behavior is mostly due to hereditary factors or mostly due to environmental factors.