Several significant subjects currently dominate the study of developmental psychology. Problems regarding which psychologists do not have a common opinion and distinguishing views are supported by substantial arguments are called debates or issues. The nature of developmental change, the significance of crucial and sensitive moments, life span techniques against more specialized methods, and the nature-nurture debate are only a few examples. This paper examines the nature vs. nurture debate in child psychology. Although many aspects of human life are determined by nature and genetics, environmental factors, including nurture, also have a significant impact.
The nature-nurture issue is an old debate in child development: how much of a person’s behavior can be traced to genetics, nature, or nurture, the physiological and social contextual elements in which a child is raised. In this regard, nature refers to inherited traits, skills, and attributes from one’s parents. It includes everything resulting from a predetermined expression of genetic makeup, also termed maturation. Nature determines whether people have blue or brown eyes, long curly hair their entire lives, or go bald and how athletic kids become (Kandler & Zapko-Willmes, 2017). Nurture alludes to the ecological variables that impact behavior. Some of these influences are physiological, such as the impact of a pregnant mother’s alcohol or cocaine use on her unborn fetus or the total quantity of food available to children. Interpersonal environment influences include how families teach their children and how peer influence affects teens. Furthermore, some effects are the result of larger, societal-level issues, like people’s socioeconomic circumstances.
Various studies are being conducted on what is more influential – nature or nurture. For example, Immordino-Yang et al. (2019) emphasize the relationship between these factors. The environment gives various possibilities, and with the same conditions, a person is likely to choose a particular pattern based on their genetic inclinations. The most interesting point from the article is that understanding these processes and their dynamics is essential for the child’s development.
In conclusion, there would theoretically be minimal disagreement over whether a child’s appearance and behavior are solely determined by nature or nurture. However, this is not relevant for the vast majority of critical development aspects when the intelligence level of an individual is considered. Whether cognition is principally impacted by hereditary, genetic factors, nature, or by environmental conditions, nurture has aroused passionate debate. The subject has spread beyond the realms of science and into the realms of politics and societal policy.
References
Immordino-Yang, M. H., Darling-Hammond, L., & Krone, C. R. (2019). Nurturing nature: How brain development is inherently social and emotional, and what this means for education. Educational Psychologist, 54(3), 185-204. Web.
Kandler, C., & Zapko-Willmes, A. (2017). Theoretical perspectives on the interplay of nature and nurture in personality development. In Personality development across the lifespan (pp. 101-115). Academic Press. Web.