Essay, Research Paper: Nature Or Nurture

There is a big controversy between whether inherited genes or the environment influences and effects our personality, development, behavior, intelligence and ability. This controversy is most often recognized as the nature verses nurture conflict. Some people believe that it is strictly genes that effect our ways of life, others believe that it is the environment that effects us, and some believe that both of these influence us. Either way, social scientists have been struggling for centuries deciding whether our personalities are born or made. Tests are done often on identical twins that were separated to see how they are influenced. In the past twenty years, it has been discovered that there is a genetic component to about every human trait and behavior. However, genetic influence on traits and behavior is partial because genetics account on average for half of the variation of most traits. Urie Bronfrenbrenner, who studies genetics, said, "It is not nature vs. nurture, but the interaction of nature and nurture that drives development." Researchers are finding that the balance between genetic and environmental influences for certain traits change as people get older. Also, people may react to us in a certain way because of a genetically influenced personality and, we may choose certain experiences because they fit best with our instinctive preferences. This means that our experiences may be influenced by our genetic tendencies. One way researchers study the development of traits and behaviors is by measuring the influence of genetics through out ones life span, and it is found to be that the genetic influence on certain trait increase as people age. A research was done to see whether a trait would show up in a child if it was environmentally influenced or genetically influenced. A child was given more negative attention than another was, and it increased the chances of the child having depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior. But these symptoms disappeared when accounted for genetic influences and how parents treat their children. 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. This doesn't mean that there are no environmental influences on behavior, because, for example, it is found to be that a loss of a parent during childhood promotes alcoholism in women. It is shown that genetics play a big role on influences in people and society. Leadership is a big quality that everyone has and has a wide range of variations. Heritability is what researchers call 'the degree to which behavioral variations within a population can be accounted for by genes.' Heritability is what is found to make up a lot of one's personality. For a while, scientists have been trying to draw a line between heredity and leadership also. There is no single leadership personality. Even intelligence can go so far with leadership. It also involves how people make decisions, and how they give and carry out rules, how they are involved with a group, how they inspire and respect others. The list of characteristics appears to be endless. Although genes seem to play as a map for a person's life, researchers caution that genes act only as an influence. Anyone who has enough will or a strong enough experience could effect the way they act or react for the rest of their life. In other words, if an environmental background is changed, the amount of variation that is due to genetics can change. In conclusion, it is safe to say that the role of genetics and the environment equalize people's traits and behavior. It is hard to blame either one because without one, it seems, the other would not be activated. Genes effect a lot of our personality and behavior but the environment can mutate and mold the way people are going to act. I think that this will always be an ongoing controversy because it is nearly impossible to pin point accurately where the role of genes and the environment steps in.


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