The debate over what was more important in shaping the human personality, nature or nurture, has been going on since the 1600’s. The whole debate began with a man named Richard Mulcaster. Mulcaster began this war with the writing of his book, Nature Makes the Boy Toward, and Nurture Sees Him Forward (1612). He wasn’t the only one who brought the question to the attention of the public. Shakespeare, himself, incorporated this theme into his play “The Tempest.” “A devil, a born devil, on whose nature/ nurture can never stick” (Fulkerson 1). Shakespeare was saying that a devil’s innate existence could never be influenced by his surroundings. Charles Darwin, a evolutionary scientist, had a cousin, Francis Galton, who was the first thought to use the phrase “Nature vs. Nurture.” (Fulkerson 1 1839) If one supports the nature side of the debate, they believe that no matter what kind of environment an individual is in they will turn out the same. Moreover, the nature side believes that people are born with everything they are going to need in life. Conversely, the nurture side of the debate states that people are born with blank slates and their experiences throughout their life and the environment in which they are raised shape
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As the children approached one year old, they responded to someone’s distress by getting an object to soothe the other person or by hugging or patting the person in distress. Nothing that Lombros says still stands up today, but the debate over the heritability of criminal behavior still is raging, and, in 23 states, it is legal to make criminals impotent, although it isn’t enforced anymore. However, researchers have had difficulty separating the role of genetics and environment. The infants did not suck quickly for the first sound, with which they had become familiar. Instead, each gene is a single player in a wonderfully intricate story, involving non-additive interaction of genes, proteins, hormone, food, and life experiences and leading to effect on a variety of cognitive and behavioral functions. The researcher learned that the environment in which the children were raised impacted their intelligence regardless of the race of the individual. “Since the black-white IQ gap averaged about 15 points at the time these studies were done, they imply that about four-fifths of that gap was traceable to family-related factors (including schools and neighborhoods)” (Jencks 1).
Studies on twins also support the idea of genes as a factor in personality type, behavioral characteristics, and general intelligence (Berkowitz 7). The crying exhibited by the baby shows that his sympathetic reaction must be innate. On the other hand, scientists have completed studies, which point to the idea that children may be born with an innate perceptual ability for language. However, those on the nurture side thought that this could not be true. This study implies that children are born with the ability to perceive differences in sound classes, which is important to acquire language. Plomin titled these genes “smart genes” (Wright 1). In the third stage of empathy, the child can use language to comfort the upset person.
Approximate Word count =
3150
Approximate Pages =
13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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