
Liam Moore and Riley DeWaters Nature Vs. Nurture
Nature Side • Your personality is based on your genes. • The personality traits you are born with stay the same regardless of the environment you grow up in. • This refers to the individuals innate qualities. • Personality begins to develop during the “critical period.”
Nature > Nurture • Nature has more effect on someone’s personality than nurture does. • DNA is a crucial determinant of personality. • Genes are the basic units that pass on personality from one generation to the next. • It is not determined by one gene. - Many genes work together to determine it.
Twin Study • Scientists have conducted studies on twins who were separated at birth. - Twins who met when they were adults had many personality traits in common. - When separately interviewed, the twins’ answers were nearly identical. - This is a result of their identical DNA. • Separated identical twins share mannerisms. - Posture
DNA Study • Psychological/personality traits are influenced by heredity. - Intelligence, traditionalism, risk avoidance, aggression, and leadership • Identical twins’ DNA allow their personalities to be more similar than fraternal twins’. • Scientists have a theory that intelligence is inherited.
Intelligence Study • Cognitive abilityis said to be inherited • Example: A child with intelligent parents, but raised in a less intellectual environment would do poorly in their early ages, but their IQ would spike at an older age.
Disproving Nurture • During twin studies, nature/nurture was tested. - Identical twins who had grown up in two different households had identical personalities. • Someone’s genes gives them a personality, it’s what they are born with. - Everyone should be nurtured, but it doesn’t create a personality.
Traits determined by heredity… • Eye / hair color • Height / Weight • Social potency / leadership • Vulnerability • Interest in aesthetic experiences • Inherited homosexual gene (through generations)
Conclusion • Personality traits are inherited. • Your genes have more effect on your personality than your environment does. • Although good parenting is important, it does not determine who you are. • Nature determines who you are.
Bibliography • Arthurs, Spencer A. Psychology, Principles in Practice. Austin, [Tex.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1998. Print. • "Nature vs Nurture." - Difference and Comparison. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nature_vs_Nurture>. • Flat World Knowledge. "PY141 General Psychology." Is Personality More Nature or More Nurture? Behavioral and Molecular Genetics. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2012. <https://new.edu/resources/is-personality-more-nature-or-more-nurture-behavioral-and-molecular-genetics>.