Issues in Behavioural Science - Essay Example

Nature means heredity, which, according to scholars, is a genetic makeup, or a genotype carried from birth until death of an individual (McLeod, 2007). On the other hand, nurture covers a broad area of both environmental and external factors faced by individuals in their lifetime. Behavioral science seeks to accomplish legitimate and objective summations through a rigor of formulations and observations. This nature notion expounds the tendencies that one can prescribe biologically and deals with tendencies and capabilities of a person in their life-long dynamics.

Discussion a. Nature versus Nurture The issues revolving around nature and nurture highlight a polarized interaction and continuity. Generally, it is an approach to anthropological questions established on an axiomatic division between alliance processes and social aspects of family commonly referred to as biological aspects of kinship. However, one should note that in an apt manner, it describes the pivotal process that controversy of nature and nurture involves. As such, this controversy does not solely describe the effect of environment or heredity on the observable outcomes (McLeod, 2007).

However, this controversy discusses more the extent at which these two forces affect the development of a human being and the means by which the numerous factors affect each other. Studies of twins and adoption are relevant for the advocates of both sides of the debate (Cowen, 2011). b. Twin and Adoption Studies A particular scientist by the name of Francis Galton, a British, commenced the journey of studying the influence of genetics on human intelligence. Referring to Galton, evaluations deduce that children usually inherit their intelligence from their parents (Ridley, 2003).

Additionally, Galton strongly believes that genes are pragmatically accountable for human intelligence. Thus, to prove his theory completely, Galton carried out this study in two twins (McLeod, 2007). In nature and nurture debate, this twin study is of paramount importance to researchers. This is because identical twins possess identical genetic compositions. Recent studies conducted on twins reveal that genetics influence almost all the character traits of an individual. Genetics impact features like height of a person, while factors of the outside world influence character traits such as intelligence.

Furthermore, in order to highlight the impacts of the environment and genetics on the psychological features of an individual, the Upper University of Illinois carried out a longitudinal study on twins. As a result of the study, the researchers found out that generic relatedness and kin categories provide a symmetrical way of understanding the envelope describing human family arrangements. In the year 1979, Thomas J. Bouchard began analyzing the fraternal and identical twins separated in their early life and brought up in different locations via psychological and medical assessments.

Nevertheless, you should note that it is agreeable that kin terms are always and almost logically independent from those of strict genealogical relations. The psychological assessment is comprised of mental abilities, multiple measures of personality, psychomotor skills, interests, values, writing, reading, and spelling. In the medical assessment, the research focused on standard blood battery, medical life history, detailed periodontal and dental examinations. Upon separating the identical twins, the Upper