• Question: What is your opinion on the nature versus nature debate within psychology?

    Asked by anon-180743 to Abby, Amy, Noel, Sam, Viren on 12 Jun 2018. This question was also asked by anon-180741.
    • Photo: Noel Brick

      Noel Brick answered on 12 Jun 2018:

      I think most evidence now suggest that it’s not a case of “versus”, but more a case of “and”. Both nature and nurture are important. Yes we are born with certain traits (nature), but our environment (nurture) also influences us. An amazing area of research is epigenetics. Basically, while you might have a certain genetic make up (nature), your diet, exercise habits, sleep habits, and overall environment (nurture) all influence how these genes work. Our lifestyle and environment can mean that some genes become more active, and some become less active, and this can have massive implications for your physical and mental health. So both are important. Check out this really nice YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50yMwEOWGU

      The great thing is that we still have so much to learn about these areas – so the next generation of scientists, like you, can research and find out answers to some really important things!

    • Photo: Sam Burton

      Sam Burton answered on 13 Jun 2018:

      Similar to what Noel said really, it’s more a case of how the two interact, as both can influence behaviour. I can’t really add to what Noel said, he hit it out the park with that answer

    • Photo: Amy Warnock

      Amy Warnock answered on 13 Jun 2018:

      I think the nature vs nurture debate is absolutely fascinating and it’s something that is brought up quite a lot in obesity research! I have to agree with Sam and Noel in that it’s definitely likely a case of an interaction between the two. Something which I have been really interested in during my PhD is how early life experiences can influence what and how much we eat later in life. There are so many factors in early life that can change feeding behaviour later in life, for example if a mother is malnourished during pregnancy, her children will actually have a much higher likelihood of becoming obese! This is probably because when the fetus is developing it will become adapted to an environment in which there is not much food available, so when it is born into an environment with high food availability it is more likely to overeat! I could go on forever but as Noel said their is still so much to learn!

    • Photo: Abby Hunter

      Abby Hunter answered on 13 Jun 2018:

      Absolutely agree with what Noel said. It is a case of your genetic predisposition and your environment interacting together which shape you. Certain conditions are more influenced by genetics, e.g. bipolar disorder.

      It is interesting if you consider identical twins. They have the same genetic makeup but they can be very different individuals because they are shaped by their environment.

      I have identical twin boys nearly 4 years old, and although they look the same and do have very similar traits, there personalities are becoming more and more different, despite being raised by the same parents in the same household. It is fascinating!

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