1) In your own words, define the term nature and define the term nurture.
To me, these two variations of life are very important for children across all ages and geo demographics. Nature is what the child is born with, what their genetic make-up is completely. Of course, this can be a blessing or a curse, all depending on what the parents are made up of. If a parent has some sort of auto immune disorder, the chances of the baby having the same disorder is higher. However, if the parent is a tall, athletic build, with amazing genetics, the child may be a great sports member as well. Nurture is something that comes along with having children. The wish of children coming with user manuals has been something all parents wished would happen. However, that is not the case when it comes to having your first child. Being able to teach your child certain traits or characteristics is something that comes with experience as well. It is known that a parents first child is going to be more difficult, since the parent isn’t quite educated enough to raise a child. The more children you have, the easier it becomes to raise them. Furthermore, working with you child from the day they are born till the day they turn 18, will bring them security of nurture from the mother and father alike.
2) The controversy regarding nature versus nurture dates back hundreds of years. Using Chapter 1 of the textbook, imagine a debate between John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the nature-nurture controversy. Summarize the argument each historical figure would make for either the nature side of the debate or the nurture side of the debate.
The debate between John Locke and Jean-Jacques was a logical debate, dating back all those years ago. This is something that is still brought up now days while determining which factor plays a more important role, nature, or nurture. According to Laura E. Berk, Locke was referred to as someone who supported nurture, while Rousseau believed more in the value of nature (Berk, 2021). In the debate, Locke would continue to refer to the child being a blank slate, being educated and coached along the way by the child’s parents, rewriting their foretold destiny. While Rousseau would continue to bring up that children are noble savages, where they naturally can determine from right and wrong with their innate behaviorism from nature. Rousseau believed that parents are only there to be receptive during the four stages of life: infancy, childhood, late childhood, and adolescence. Where Locke believed that parents should be there to nurture their child to progress them throw life, cleaning their wounds, teaching them skills, loving, and caring for them, and finally bringing them to be successful people as they age.
3) Peruse Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and/or Chapter 4 of your textbook for two examples of nature and two examples of nurture. Be sure to cite the textbook information/research findings to support your ideas. Explain how each of your examples illustrate nature or nurture.
On page 12 of the textbook, there is an example of nature and nurture within the same sub-section. According to Laura E. Berk, at the beginning of the sub-section, it states that children are born evil, stubborn, and need to be civilized by the Puritans, who used excessive force and discipline to right their children as they aged (Berk, 2021). This is an example of nature, since they believed all children are born the same, and need to be righted from their innate sin. Further in the sub-section, Laura E. Berk states that when they came to the New World, they began to venture away from the Puritans, and began teaching their children the difference between right and wrong, moving more to the nurture side (Berk, 2021). It goes on to say that they would turn more towards a balance between severity and permissiveness.
Another example of Nurture is on page 27 where Laura E. Berk talks about the Exosystem, which nevertheless affects children’s experiences in immediate settings from allowing the parent to have paternity/maternity leave for their child (Berk, 2021). Parents having jobs is always an important role, in order to provide for their child. However, it can also hinder a parent/child relationship. Children that have their parents around more often, can be nurtured better. Finally, the last example for nature is on page 51 where it begins discussing phenotypes and genotypes that are given to the child from the parents. According to Laura E Berk, phenotypes have the ability to change as a parent ages and experiences new things, causing new children to be different looking than their earlier children (Berk, 2021).
4) Contemporary developmentalists now grant roles to both the influence of nature and nurture on development, but believe the relative contribution of each influence can vary. To understand the relationship between nature and nurture, scientists have proposed various ways to understand how nature and nurture work together. Concepts that have been proposed include Gene-Environment Interaction, Gene-Environment Correlation, and Epigenesis. Briefly describe each concept, making clear which one you believe explains the relationship between nature and nurture best.
According to Francis Collins, Gene-Environmental Interaction is the influence on the expression of a trait that results in the environment interacting with the gene (Collins, n.d.). I would consider this to be nurture since the child would be brought out into the environment more often than not. A child isn’t born into nature, so it would need to be brought into the environment, while also experiencing different types of weather. According to a study, Gene Environmental Correlation is the individual’s propensities and what they choose to put themselves around all the time (Jaffe, 2008). So, if a person tends to be more extroverted, they may seek out to find like minded people, or find more experiences to pursue. I find this to be more of a nurture type concept since extroverts are typically raised in open households and relationships. And finally, Epigenesis is how a child is created from single cell organisms into single organs, and finally the full embryo (Berk, 2021). This of course is all nature, and how complex it is to create a child within a woman’s uterus.
5) Your opinion: Based on the Unit 1 and Unit 2 readings, do you think nature, or nurture, or both play(s) the bigger role in development? Why?
Upon completion of these chapters, I feel as though there needs to be a magnificent balance between both nature and nurture. Of course, on the nature aspect of it, bearing a child when you have been diagnosed with some sort of disease, could be a detriment since the child may develop said disease as well. But on the flip side, teaching the child how to handle the disease and keeping it maintained would be able to raise the child into a successful life. I also believe that a child’s upbringing is extremely crucial as well. It is always said that you must play the hand you are dealt, however, parents are able to shuffle that deck and restart if needed. As stated earlier, it is hard to raise your first child, but it has been being done for centuries. Putting forth the effort to raise your child to become someone successful or full of love is determined on the parents since their first 10 years are so important. Physical abilities may be obtained through genetics (nature), or through hard work and dedication (nurture). It all depends on how hard a person wants to push themselves. I am a prime example of having great genetics, but a horrible upbringing, which put a toll on my adolescent years. However, it is possible to shuffle that deck of cards, and create your own happiness, even if your parents didn’t put forth the effort.
-Cyral I Callender III
References
Berk, L. E. (2021). Infants, Children, and Adolescents (9th Edition). Pearson Education (US). https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9780135494271
Collins, F. S. (n.d.). Gene Environmental Interaction. Retrieved from: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Gene-Environment-Interaction
Jaffee, S. R., & Price, T. S. (2008). Genotype-environment correlations: implications for determining the relationship between environmental exposures and psychiatric illness. Psychiatry, 7(12), 496–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mppsy.2008.10.002
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