Nature vs. Nurture

[Guy]

Something that has been debated on for the longest while. Do you think nature such as genes plays a larger role on the outcome of one's future or do you believe nurture such as how one is brought up plays a larger role on the outcome of one's future?

For example, if your father is a great musician does it mean you have the genes to become a great musician as well? Or if you were adopted into another family and raised to play sports more than music, is it still in your genes to play music like your paternal father or does the way you were raised to participate more into sports have a larger effect on what you do?

Just something interesting I was learning in Psychology that I thought I could bring up here.

 

[Luck]

What I think doesn't have any effect on the actual outcome.
Nature plays a relatively larger role, but there are always exceptions to these rules. Mozart was a genius at music composition, and I don't think any amount of music knowledge from his parents at the time could make him that talented.
Nurture still has an effect, but on a much smaller scale in most cases.

 

[poopnoodle]

They both rule more over different aspects of human qualities, and we all know this varies from person to person. You can't just pick one, both are heavily influential to the outcome of one's personality and abilities.

 

[PKFL_531]

Nature decides what you will be like. Nurture changes it. Psychologivally(smartness) and aesthetically(looks) that depends on nature. Physically(strength), that depends on nurture.

People who come out "different" is either because their parents weren't nurtured the right way and have caused the nature of their offspring to not come out the right way.
People who look "different" than others depend on nature, but nurture can effect it. There was once a girl in my class and she looked really cute and pretty. She didn't nurture her skin very well and she started to break out.
People who have "different" strengths are not dependent on nature, it depends how they are raised.

The answer depends on how well/bad you have been raised. Nature doesn't have much part of it.

 

[The Led Zeppelin Experience]

I'm big on Thomas's Hobbes "Tabula Rasa" theory, the idea that humans are born as blank slates. No one is born evil, no one is born knowing a language, we learn through exxperience and situation and grow from these things. Nurture all the way

 

[jupotatoes]

Behaviourism, enough said I think.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Something that has been debated on for the longest while. Do you think nature such as genes plays a larger role on the outcome of one's future or do you believe nurture such as how one is brought up plays a larger role on the outcome of one's future?

For example, if your father is a great musician does it mean you have the genes to become a great musician as well? Or if you were adopted into another family and raised to play sports more than music, is it still in your genes to play music like your paternal father or does the way you were raised to participate more into sports have a larger effect on what you do?

Just something interesting I was learning in Psychology that I thought I could bring up here.

Well....I don't know if your father has musical talent if you too will necessarily display such talent.

However, you are are with a predisposition to certain things. Soon (maybe already?) you can have your baby tested to determine their strengths (music, math, sports, etc.).

You may have a talent for something, but you don't know because you haven't had the opportunity to discover it.

It's not mutually-exclusive though. Some can be taught or trained. But for some...if just comes more naturally.

 

[Bay]

To me, nature has part in some things, like certain diseases, looks, and in some cases intelligence. Those things you inheirted it for the most part.

I moreso believe in nurture, though. Many talents like sports and music you can't know if you have those when you're born. Later on though, you later learn some tricks and determine which things you're good and not good at. Yeah, Mozart is a music genius when he was young, but I like to believe it's moreso that he's able to be comfortable quickly with the music and that his intellect is part of it.

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

Both play important roles in how someone develops. Sometimes, a mental handicap cannot be prevented because it was carried down by genetics, but it can be worsened depending on the conditions in which the child grows up.

Nurture most likely has a larger role, but nature's role cannot be undermined.

 

[Spearow]

I don't even want to vote on this since it's such a contentious topic of debate. Personally I don't think it's as simple as one or the other (it rarely is).

And I also find it interesting that people are saying that it depends on how "well" you were raised if you will come out "the right way". Who dictates what the "wrong" and "right" ways to develop are?

 

[Bay]

I don't even want to vote on this since it's such a contentious topic of debate. Personally I don't think it's as simple as one or the other (it rarely is).

And I also find it interesting that people are saying that it depends on how "well" you were raised if you will come out "the right way". Who dictates what the "wrong" and "right" ways to develop are?

I agree. I don't think there's a right and wrong way to raise someone. Heck, parents/guardians from different countries have different ways to raise someone, part of it the country's culture.

 

[Eliminator Jr.]

Yeah I did this in psychology last year. I'd have to go with nurture here. All you need to do is look at that Russian girl who was raised by wild dogs and her actual brain had developed differently and stuff. Genes play a certain part, like whether you get a temper, but you can learn to control it. Red hair can be dyed a different colour etc. Most things nature throws up can be altered today. If it was genetic, it would mean that every drug user has drug using parents, every person who gets top school marks had parents who did the same thing.

 

[Åzurε]

This reminded me of some dude on the Tyra Banks show who said that he cheated on all of the girlfriends he's had over the years due to his genetics. He thought he had a cheating gene. I was like "Wow, there's a load of bullcrap." Some people really put too much stock in genes defining your behavior.

I say, DNA can make us more suceptible to certain behaviors, but there's nothing that can't be changed when it comes to mentality. Hang around certain people who act a certain way, you will likely reflect those traits. I don't even think it limits intelligence, unless the person happens to have a diagnosed condition (which actually means little when you think about it, but that's a story for another time). You can always learn more, but you still may not want to learn it. One's social life and upbringing define a good amount of their self.

 

[Esper]

I want to believe that nurture takes the biggest role in a persons development, but I can't completely ignore the role nature plays. Either way, I see it as a moot argument. Talk of nurture/nature seems to come in two varieties: excuses for bad behavior and creating uberchildren for the wealthy. Both are based on the assumption that nature is the predominant factor so generally I see only problems when people think that nature is stronger than nurture.

 

[twocows]

Always a little of both. Trying to determine which one plays a different role is a pointless endeavor; it's like trying to compare apples to oranges (for lack of a better metaphor). Fruitless, if you will. :D Each one has its unique purpose in development.

 

[♣Gawain♣]

Usually it's both. Let's say, that your father has the ability to play the cello, and you have it too(I know, it's just an example). But if some factor like teaching him to play the trumpet, of course he'll absorb it. Thus both are beneficial to him.

 

[.little monster]

Both.

Which one is more important may very among people; however, just like twocows said, it's pointless to determine which has more impact.

There have been genes linked to certain personality traits. Personality plays a large rule in how far you go in your life. But isn't the determining factor on whether or not you will be successful.

 

[Miz en Scène]

I refuse to vote because I believe in both.

Having unofficially studied psychology, I know how to analyze my siblings well and have noticed that my Mother tries to treat us equally and yet my personality is more of my Mother and my brother is more that of my father. So yeah, nature has bearing towards personality but nurture controls it to an extent.