Nature v. Nurture.
What constitutes a person's makeup? Can they genuinely change for the better? Or are they doomed to a poor genetic disposition...?
This particular topic in the psychological debate arena is still very much so alive and kicking to this day.
However, there are now degrees to which people align themselves within this debate. There are five different skews on this, including the ends on both sides of the spectrum. Starting from the nature end, we have the “Biological approach,” next up “Psychoanalysis,” and after that, we have “Cognitive psychology,” from there, we look at “Humanism, and lastly, on the nurture end, we have ”Behaviorism.” These all have their particulars, of course. But why is this still such a widely contested area of debate? Well, before we dive headfirst into it, the short and sweet of it is this.
We want to know why or what makes people tick, especially those that have committed heinous crimes! A part of us wants to be reassured that there’s a reason for such evil or terrible deeds committed by an individual! Because if there’s a reason for it, we can work on solutions to said problem.
But If there are no explanations for XYZ incidents, then we have no absolute control over the outcomes. And if it happens once, it could happen twice or three times. Or maybe even dozens of times.
I hate to be a spoilsport, but there have been numerous cases of foreign and domestic serial killers.
In most cases, they have a profile for said killers or people who commit heinous crimes. But that won’t stop the initial crime; that will only help to understand what or who the authorities are dealing with and how to catch them, or rather how they hope to catch them.
That’s the sad reality if we’re being completely honest and maybe a bit morbid. There is evil in this world, and believe it or not, it’s not 100% because of “demons”; we are just sinful, fallen creatures capable of great evil. With that said, it’s essential to realize the nature v nurture argument also applies to thieves, thugs, druggies, Alcoholics, and a whole mess of other standpoints within someone’s makeup.
I digress; let’s look into those five separate categories for “approaches to psychology.”
When we examine the scale, we see that the “biological approach” focuses on the genetic standpoint as well as a host of similar and related areas of study within genetics. This asserts the base level, “You’re born a certain way, and you can’t escape your genes argument.” The one right next to it is still in the nature camp but closer to nurture, that one being “Psychoanalysis.” This one takes the approach that it’s tied to an innate drive of sex and aggression (Nature) while still aligning with social upbringing as a kid (Nurture). Meanwhile, “Cognitive psychology” seems to be smack dab in the middle of the debate.
Second to last, we have “Humanism,” which seems to rely heavily on “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” Lastly, we have “Behaviorism,” which deals with the classic “you’re a product of your environment argument.”
All of these have their base level p.o.vs. Are they accurate? And how exactly does one determine where an individual falls on the spectrum? Well, that’s the argument. At the end of the day, there is merit to both ends of the spectrum. However, we do have to look at it from an objective point of view. Otherwise, we’ll be all over the place.
Let’s look at the genetics of it all. When we consider DNA and gene gnomes, what are we looking at? Well, we’re looking at a comprehensive list of components and markers imprinted onto the very fiber of our uttermost being. So like it or not, we’re much more like our parents than we’d like to admit…
This is why we hear the phrase “You’re just like your father” thrown around and usually in a derogatory sense. or in a humorous way. But hardly ever is it used to denote something genuinely positive. It’s usually to point at a character flaw or personality trait.
There is, however, this factor to consider, that being “Generational curses.” They can be anything ranging from alcoholism, Marital affairs, Gambling, various levels of Abuse, and so on.
All it takes is for one to two family members to embed the negative pattern of behavior into the rest of the family. If not adequately dealt with or unrecognized, it will continue to wreak havoc on the family members until it is stopped. There are, however, statistics where one sibling will fall into the generational curse. In contrast, the other sibling will run in the opposite direction—bearing in mind that the siblings will have grown up in the same house and environment. We’ll take a look at this excerpt on the very concept.
”How do these generational curses develop in our families? It’s simple. Let’s say your great great great grandfather fought in a war and saw terrible things happen in his lifetime. This had a negative effect on his mental state, and he began self-medicating with alcohol. His son and daughter dealt with his alcoholism growing up. One said she would never drink like her father, but the other became depressed and began drinking too. And the cycle continues with his daughter, and on and on, down to you.”
Take, for example, ‘alcoholism’; it’s a prevalent curse passed down in the genealogy, but is it solely in the genes? I would make the case that in-person experiences also reinforced it while growing up.
If you consistently see something being normalized in everyday life. It’s going to become routine for you as well. You may find yourself gravitating towards it, not because you’re a terrible person by any stretch of the means but solely because that’s what is customary to you. This means until you realize it’s a debilitating habit or someone else close to you in your life points it out and you actively do something to change it, you’ll go through life believing that’s how everyone goes about their daily life. This is problematic because, often, it’s a highly unhealthy habit to continue along in life.
Nevertheless, even when the issue is pointed out or addressed, it takes more conviction to do something about it and change your life around to avoid that generational curse. It’s not enough to say, “Yeah, I do that,” and leave it at that; you have to take steps towards changing. Of course, first, you have to want to change…
If you don’t genuinely want to change your poor habits and choices, you’ll never truly arrive at the place where you’re capable of breaking the cycle. So you’ll continue to perpetuate the cycle until someone else comes along and does such, or maybe nobody does… Let’s be honest, though not everyone gets the fairy tale ending we see and hear about in the movies. Sad but true!
We’d be remiss if we didn’t look at this aspect of the scenario, though. It lends to the idea that there are apparent traits imprinted upon us, and from birth, they are present in our lives even if, in this case, we are separated at birth. Which ultimately gives the “Nature” point of view some credibility.
Why is this a critical component to understand? Because if you think about it for a minute, you’ll realize there are quite a few of these cases. Now granted, there is a fair share regarding nurture stories as well. But let’s pick at this thread for a moment. How is it that a child whose not raised in the same home as their biological parents can still exhibit traits from their biological parent without ever actually being exposed to them growing up? Well, the evidence points to “Nature” Some things are inherent to our biological DNA. Is this controversial? Most definitely! Why? Because it asserts the very argument that a leopard can’t change its spots and is merely born with them. Why is that a problem? Because when you dissect things, you see a lot of negative traits being passed down. Abuse, Addiction, Gambling, Lying, Thieving, Assault, Marital affairs, and, as mentioned earlier, a whole host of negative traits.
But here’s the silver lining in it. For as many negative traits as there are passed down in the Genes, there are also positive traits that frankly don’t get enough air time.
Such as:
Ambitious
Considerate
Cooperative
Friendly
Gracious
Insightful
Objective
Respectful
Steady
Thorough
Well-rounded
These positive traits are in part related to what’s known as “The big 5 personality traits.” or “O.C.E.A.N.”
With “the Big 5” in mind, we must ask ourselves this question.
”What matters more when it comes to personality, nature or nurture? Just how much does your DNA influence your personality? Researchers have spent decades studying family, twins, adopted children, and foster families to better understand how much of personality is genetic and how much is environmental.”
As well as this excerpt from the same article.
”Are personalities born or made? The fact that children exhibit personality characteristics in infancy suggests that genetics plays a part, but changes in personality over time also point to a nurture component as well.
Kids display early signs of their personality in the form of temperament, which is estimated to be 20% to 60% due to genetics.7 Children generally have one of three basic temperaments: easy, difficult, or slow-to-warm-up.”
https://www.verywellmind.com: Nature v. Nurture
I’ll end by saying this with regard to the topic of this piece. There are copious studies done on this very debate, and while I have stated some of the stats and information on it. I would never be able to provide all the facts and information for one to become an expert in this debate. But such is the way of life. You’ll never be provided with all the answers in a nice pretty package. So if this topic is of interest to you, or you just like Psychology related topics, I suggest you get to work researching this topic; who knows, maybe… you’ll even learn something more than my preliminary assessment.