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Name _____________________Period _____Date _______________Ms. De PintoNature vs. NurtureThe nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest philosophical issues within psychology.So what exactly is it all about?KEY TERMS:Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are— from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics.Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture.___________________________________________________________________________________The way that you carry a conversation, respond to failure, form relationships with others, and generally behave is in part related to your genetics - but your world and life experiences also shape your attitudes and behaviors. This combination of your genetics and experiences ultimately form your personality, identity, and influences your behavior.Consider this example: Jennifer and Karen are identical twins. If both girls have genetic information (genes) associated with obesity, does this mean that they will have no control over their weight? Or, if the girls are adopted by different families and have different life experiences, will their environment dictate how much they will ultimately weigh?How do genes influence who you are and what you do?Genes are instructions that dictate how a person’s body is made, in the same way that blueprints are instructions to build a house. Information from genes let the body know what characteristics a person will have, like if they will have hairy or hairless ears and/or a small or big chin. These instructions come from our parents; when their genes are mixed together, our genes are formed. This is why we often look like a mixture of our parents! I have my mother’s blue eyes, but my father’s stature. Almost everyone has different information in their genes, which makes sense given how much diversity there is in how people look and act.Now consider the exception - identical twins. Identical twins look exactly the same because each twin shares the same genes as their identical sibling. Why? When a mother is pregnant, the egg holds the mixture of genes from both the mother and father. Occasionally this egg splits into two eggs with the exact same mixture of genes. This results in two identical people who are similar to another in the way they look and behave.Genes can carry instructions that can make it more likely for you to develop certain illnesses or conditions. For example, Jennifer and Karen both have genes associated with obesity. Their genes could tell their body to:increase the size of their fat cells or dictate how they use fat in their bodyrelease chemicals (like hormones) which control hunger and appetiteinfluence behavior as Jennifer and Karen interact with their environment. For example, if Karen begins to gain weight, she may seek out fewer opportunities to exercise because going to the gym makes her feel uncomfortable.How do your life experiences influence your genes?Suppose Jennifer is raised by wealthy parents who have access to the best, healthiest foods. Her parents cook nutritious meals like vegetable risotto and lentil soup and limit the amount of sugar, salt, and fat their daughter consumes. Jennifer learns to love fruits and vegetables, and doesn’t crave excessively salty or sweet foods. Her parents have a significant amount of time to play with her and teach her to live an active lifestyle. By eating nutritious foods and staying physically active, the genes increasing her chance of developing obesity are not expressed and she never develops obesity.Karen however is raised by low-income parents who live in an area where fresh, healthy food is scarce and expensive. Because her parents can’t afford fruits and vegetables, Karen eats a lot of frozen, packaged meals and fast food, which are higher in sugar, fat, and salt. Her parents both work multiple jobs, and Karen spends her time alone in front of the television. Karen’s eating and physical activity habits enhance the expression of her genes for obesity.right1661348 characteristics (physical traits and behaviors) that you are born with and what you experience throughout your life are both important. Your characteristics can impact your experiences and your experiences can impact your characteristics. Karen and Jennifer’s life experiences influenced when and how their genes were expressed. The relationship between your genes and behavior can change over time as you have new experiences. In some situations, genes play a larger role in determining your behavior; in other situations, environment plays a larger role in influencing your behavior. If you had a whole different set of experiences over your lifetime your genes may be expressed in different ways, and you may behave differently than you do now. If Jennifer and Karen had grown up in the same environment, their health behaviors would probably be more similar to one another.THINK QUESTIONS:What does the term “nature” refer to in the phrase “nature vs. nurture”?What does the term “nurture” refer to in the phrase “nature vs. nurture”?Why do you think nature versus nurture is debated?Do you think it is possible to answer this question definitively? Why or why not? ................
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