Sociology - Essay Example

Humans acquire of their behavioural traits from nurture thus come a philosophy called tabula rasa or blank slate. In recent years, both nature and nurture have been recognized to play interacting roles in development. These two are tied in mutually in ways that many of us do not see. Both are important influences to a person as they are developing their traits. What we have inherited is essential basis of what kind of person we are, but our environment can alter and develop us even more. In acquiring or altering traits in a person, these two factors are important.

Some psychologists agree that nature and nurture are both major influences to the development of behaviour. Psychologist Robert Plomin said, "…. But the genetic influence on traits and behaviors is only partial: Genetics account, on average, for half of the variance of most traits. That means the environment accounts for the rest." Though we receive genes from our family, our surroundings and nurturing can alter that if strong enough, as an influence. We might not notice it, but nature and nurture are mixed in with each other, influencing traits of everyone. 2. What are the common themes in the ideas of Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, Mead and Erickson?

In what ways do their theories differ? The common theme in the idea of the Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, Mead and Erickson is child development. They all believed that society played a vital role in the development of the person. However, they all developed variety of concepts in the psychoanalytic point of view. Sigmund Freud developed the elements of personality. He declared humans had two basic needs or drives: eros, a need for bonding and thanatos, which related to a drive for death.

Freud's perspective combined both these basic needs and the influence of society into a unique model of personality. Freud’s work highlights the internalization of social norms and the importance of childhood experiences in the socialization process and the development of personality. Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development centred on human cognition or how people think and understand. He identified four major stages of cognitive development: sensory motor stage, post-industrial societies, concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage.

Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory of moral development. He used Piaget’s theory as a facilitator for a study of moral reasoning. He suggested three stages: preconventional stage based on pain and pleasure, a conventional stage (in the teenage years), where right and wrong is understood within cultural norms, and a postconventional stage, where abstract critique of the social order is possible. However, his work is gender limited to boys only. Carol Gilligan in response to Kohlberg’s theory developed the theory of gender and moral development.

She concludes that males and females make moral judgments in different ways. Males use a justice perspective: "It's wrong if the rules define it that way". Females use a care and responsibility perspective: "It's wrong if it damages relationships." Her recent research on self-esteem demonstrates that female self-esteem begins to slip during adolescence as they encounter more authority figures who are men. George Mead developed the theory of social self. Mead's analysis focuses on mental processes and is often referred to as social behaviourism.

He emphasized that the key to developing the