Abstract
The paper discusses how Steven Pinker, in his article "Why the Nature/Nurture Debate Won't Go Away," responds to three "reasonable beliefs" offered by radical moderates and presents his belief in "chance events", where an individual's uniqueness determines his responses to events and shapes his personality and destiny. The paper then looks at how De Waal, in his article "The End of Nature vs. Nurture," rejects genetic determinism as the force behind the dynamics of the human mind and society with his belief that a continuity exists between the culture of primates and marine animals and human beings. The paper provides a comparison of both authors' beliefs and points out that both authors visualize an oncoming integrated approach to the opposition between nature and nurture.

Outline:
Summaries
Comparison

From the Paper
"In an attempt at understanding which between nature and nurture is responsible for the human mind and society, Steven Pinker (2002) responds to three "reasonable beliefs" offered by radical moderates. The first states that the mind begins as a black slate. The second states that the human personality is determined or influenced partly by nature and partly by nurture. And the third states that nature and nurture should not be disentangled. About the first "reasonable belief," many contend that a person's make-up is largely influenced by his parenting. Considerate, respecting and loving parents bring up confident, strong and upright children. Selfish, harsh, or overprotective parents produce insecure and unfit children. It is largely the parents' fault if children do not turn into productive and fulfilled adults. But Pinker argues that parents not only nurture children but also supply them with their genes. The belief that good parenting produces good children only explains the same genes only incline children to be similar to their parents. This has not been proven in the case of adopted children. Existing evidence even dispels the assumption that stepparents are necessarily caring less for a child just because they do not have the same genes (Pinker)."

Tags:genetics, parenting, personality, evolution, primates

Abstract
This proposal details a project that explores the foundations of the nature versus nurture debate and how education, juvenile delinquency, and sexuality are affected by the social environment. The focus of the research intends to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how the social context influences these factors related to the human experience relative to the impact of genetic constraints on behavior.

Tags:nature, nurture

Abstract
Nature vs. nurture has been a long-standing debate since the 17th century and refers to the degrees in which a person's natural human experiences influence a persons' physical and behavioural traits as opposed to environmental influences. This paper looks into a variety of different theories from different fields of psychology, from cognitive to biological and developmental and critically assesses the issues involved.

From the Paper
"Ideas from a biological theory has advanced and evolved from many years, and will probably continue. Research has proved that sex hormones are a cause of our behaviour but according to a book by Gisela Kaplan and Lesley J Rogers 'Gene Worship' proves otherwise. They state that the brain controls the amount of sex hormones secreted into the blood. Most of the times at a stable range but from time to time these vary, especially at different times of the day for women, allowing sex hormones through the blood fairy quickly. Stress and experiences has an affect on the brains control of these hormone levels altering levels of Luteinizing Hormone and Follicle Hormone released from the pituitary gland, proving that sex hormones in the blood can change in response to the external environment. "

Tags:cognitive, biological, developmental

Abstract
This paper examines the nature vs. nurture debate with respect to cloned humans, examining relevant sources and concluding that both nature and nurture exert an effect but that nurture, or environment, exerts the greater effect.

From the Paper
"The debate on nature versus nurture or genetics versus environment has long generated argument as to whether we are influenced by our environment in the development of our personality or are endowed with it inherently. The biopsychosocial approach considers the influences of biological, psychological and social-cultural factors as an amalgam that explains the issue more completely than any of other approaches can do in isolation. The textbook's author David G Myers states..."

Tags:nature, nurture, environment, genetics, gene, genome, clone, behavior, personality

Abstract
This paper explains that the nature-nurture controversy is the continuing debate over whether the individual's various traits and characteristics are influenced more by inborn factors, or nature, or by cultural influences and other aspects of experience, or nurture. The author points out that, today, scientists view human development as a combination of nature and nurture, while the British philosopher, John Locke, in the 1690s, suggested that the human infant is like a blank slate, or "tabula rasa", on which experience in the form of human learning writes messages on the infant's unformed mind. The paper relates that Sigmund Freud's theory of development states that human development is the product of both internal urges and external conditions, particularly children's sexual and aggressive urges, and how parents handle them.

From the Paper
"Many professions have solicited the assistance of psychologists in trying to predetermine the psyche of potential persons for areas such as employment and placement. The legal profession has sought out psychologists on both sides to prove their theories of the mental abilities, behavior explanations or predictions of behavior of a defendant or plaintiff. "Society has let the pendulum swing wildly back from nurture to nature, leaving behind a number of bewildered social scientist. Yet we still love to phrase everything in terms of one influence or the other, rather than both." In the educational profession, understanding the balance or affect of both nature and nurture is essential to designing an effective plan for each pupil's advancement."

Tags:Piaget, freud, locke, erickson, watson

Abstract
This paper discusses the issue of nature versus nurture regarding intelligence. It examines whether persons' potential for learning and success is due to their environment or their genetic makeup. It contends that whether nature or nurture influences intelligence remains a matter of debate between scientists. However, it appears that nurture outweighs nature when it comes to intelligence.

From the Paper
"Many scientists believe that people behave as they do according to genetic predispositions or "animal instincts (Powell, 2003)." This is known as the "nature" theory of human behavior. Other scientists believe that people behave in certain ways because they have learned to do so. This is known as the "nurture" theory of human behavior. Increasing understanding of the human genome suggests that both sides are partly right. Nature provides human beings with inborn abilities and traits; nurture takes these genetic tendencies and develops them as we learn and mature. However, despite these common beliefs, scientists still argue over how much of who we are is shaped by genes and how much by the environment."

Tags:genetics, environment, behavior

Abstract
This paper is about the role of nature and nurture in gender development. The author examines aspects such as socialization and biological traits that impact on a child's gender development.

From the Paper
"Gender is defined as the differences in traits and behaviors that males and females are presumed to have. In childhood years, gender is a large part of life. At a young age, children begin to establish their gender identity, or perceptions of themselves as masculine or feminine. They begin to establish roles that coincide with their gender. A girl for example may learn to cook and clean. On the other hand, a boy may learn to fight or play sports. The gender development children go through during the young ages is a discerning factor in the rest of their life. Both nature and nurture contribute to this development."

Tags:psychology

Abstract
The paper shows that studying twins has been one of the most fruitful methods for comparing the differences between nature and nurture. The paper analyzes studies involving identical twins and twins separated at birth. It also examines studies involving twins that show there is a correlation between genetics and intelligence.

From the Paper
"The most famous results of the twin studies have been those involving intelligence. Generally, we tend think of intelligence as something that is not genetically inherited, but cultivated through intense study. In the Enlightenment, thinkers believed that people began life as a totally clean slate and that anything could be impressed upon them through proper education, religious indoctrination, and a solid and respectable upbringing. This concept, often referred to as tabula rasa, or "the mind before it receives the impressions gained from experience" seems soundly refuted by the Minnesota Study of Twins reared apart (Webster's II 1177). Instead of finding support for the Enlightenment notion, the study found that twins' intelligence tended to correlate very strongly despite differences in upbringing, and subsequent studies have supported this conclusion."

Tags:evidence, IQ, upbringing, education

Abstract
This paper examines what is the underlying cause of human behavior and in what proportion nature and nurture influence human behavior. The writer discusses early theories of Freud and his contemporaries regarding human nature and shows how this question is still debated by scholars today.

From the Paper
"Why is human behavior different? Why are some people smarter, why are some people more stressed or depressed than others? For many years, two categories of reasoning have been given to answer these types of questions: heredity (nature) and environment (nurture). This is the fundamental question of many sociologists, psychologists, and behavioral scientists. Nature versus nurture is one of the most controversial issues discussed in defining what determines human behavior. Today, the nature-nurture controversy has largely been resolved by many behavioral genetic scientists who have taken the position that both nature and nurture contribute to the variances in behavior traits."

Tags:psychology, controversy, genetic, heredity, environment

Abstract
This essay examines the nature\nurture debate as it is applied to personality development. The author compares the perspectives held by Freud and Adler, Freud believing that personality is a result of biology and Adler believing in environmental factors as playing a major role. The author analyzes the above perspectives and proposes ways to accommodate the two.

From the Paper
"So it can be seen in the above essay that while Freud believed that heredity had the most influence in the formation of personality, Adler placed far greater importance on the role that the individual plays in personality formation. The essay also shows current thinking seems to have reverted back towards Freud's view and that more emphasis has been placed on heredity. This can be seen in the following quote from Plomin: "Ask not what is heritable, ask what is not heritable (Plomin: 1989: p108)."

Tags:psychology, perspective, approach, theory, theorist