Nature versus Nurture - Essay Example

Introduction The issue of nature versus nurture presents one of the oldest debates in psychology and among developmental theorists. There exist two contrasting points of view as to whether human beings are a product of their hereditary as well as other biological dispositions, or whether the environment in which they grow up shape them (Shaffer 11). Francis Galton is credited for initiating the debate regarding nature versus nurture and the controversy basically has to do with whether what we inherit from our parents or what we learn from social experiences determine who we are and what we become.

Galton held the belief that inherited intelligence explains the reason as to why some individuals become prominent scientists, government officials, and leaders in business (Cullen and Wilcox 431).In the beginning of the 20th century, the debate between the opposing sides was clearer, with such behaviorists as John Watson maintaining that experience and learning determine behavior. Watson even claimed that given a dozen ‘well-formed’ healthy infants, he could control their environment and see to it that he turned them into lawyers, doctors, chief, artists, merchants, thieves, or even beggars, irrespective of their penchants, talents, vocations, abilities, tendencies, and their ancestors’ race.

He believed that such thing as an inheritance of mental constitution, talent, capacity, behavior characteristics, and temperament does not exist. Arnold Gessel on the other hand believed that biological processes play an important role in the development of children. Darwin’s evolution theory influenced him heavily and according to him, the development of a child progresses through a series of genetically determined transformations that reveal in accordance with the plan of nature (Nevid 329).

Contemporary developmentalists are generally in agreement of the fact that all complex human traits such as personality, temperament, and intelligence result from a long and complex interaction between environmental forces and biological predispositions – nature and nurture combine/interact to bring about developmental transformation (Shaffer 11). In children, aggression is an excellent example of an anti-social behavior that can be explained in terms of inherent factors (nature) as well as learned factors (nurture).

The cause of aggression can be either innate, designating connection between biochemical activities and behavior, or it can result from societal and environmental factor that influence behavior. According to John B. Watson (the father of behaviorism), the conditioned reaction is the minimum element of behavior, and more intricate behavior can emanate from it. Proof in support of aggression as a behavior that one learns hails from behavior studies in natural and experimental environments, social and cultural variables’ effect, as well as social learning theory.

Behavioral studies have revealed that like in any other operant behavior, punishment and rewards influence aggression. For instance, if one gives a toy to a child to prevent him/her from displaying tantrums of anger, the toy reinforces the behavior and the child discovers that being aggressive can help them win parental attention and control such resources as toys. If a child gets positive reinforcement after being aggressive, he/she will possibly reiterate the behavior to get more rewards. Aggression is therefore learned through positive reinforcement (De Souza 5).

Cullen and Wilcox also explain that social learning theorists claim that children learn aggression through imitating actions from adults or the violence they see in the media. As De Souza explains, theorists explain that biologically, aggression may have a genetic, hormonal, or chemical component. They explain that such neurotransmitters as norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are the most common brain chemicals linked with aggressive tendencies. Testosterone, the male sex hormone, is linked with aggression in people as well as animals.

In some women, it elicits aggressive behavior particularly in the premenstrual period. Other innate contributors of aggression include electrical lesion and stimulations in definite areas of the hypothalamus, genetic contributions, among others.ConclusionApparently, environmental and biological factors (nature and nurture) are important contributors of aggression in children. Aggressive behavior results from a long and complex interaction between forces in the environment in addition to biological predispositions – in other words, nature and nurture combine/interact to bring about aggression in children.

Works CitedCullen, Francis T. and Wilcox, Pamela. Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory, Volume 1. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE. 2010. Print. De Souza, Daena V. Is Aggressive Behaviour Biologically or Environmentally Based? Articlesbase. 2007. Web. 3 June 2012. .Nevid, Jeffrey S. Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning. 2012. Print. Shaffer, David R. Social and Personality Development. Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning. 2008. Print.