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Running head: NATURE VS

NURTURE

Nature VS Nurture: The assets to a childs development and behavior


Nia Williams
Hampton University

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

Abstract
This dissertation examines the impact of nature vs. nurture; giving view on how ones
environment--the upbringing, culture/ religion, and the involvement of parents effects the child-or geneticswhat is inherted fromhave a role in child development. Through a multi- layered
study of the topic Coming of Age: Children Growing up and acting up, I examined the
importance of each benefactor to a childs growing and behavior and how they all contribute to
the evolvement of a child. While illuminating the reasoning behind each impact and the
developmental factors to a childs upbringing, I found that there are alternate and unlimited
factors that affect the child. The impacts include; the home environment the raising techniques
used by parents affect and even coming of age rituals. And with the questionwhat effects a
childs growthin mind, I collected data from archives, interviews, Surveys, an old research
assignment on the topic: The effect of the Father Role; as well as some published reports. And
with these sources, I was able to find the answer to the popular and ongoing, nature-vs.-nurture
question. The answer was both, my findings showed that its not simply just the environment or
biology but rather the complex interplay of the two.

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

Nature vs Nurture, the most prominent argument for centuries: Is it the childs up bring or the
environment that effects the childs development and behavior? Although internal traits are one
of many assets to a childs development, children are strongly affected by their external world as
well. What makes up a childs environment includes: The home; the specific and general
physical space in which the child lives--This includes the community/neighborhood. Another
factor would be, the family; the individuals who live in the family and the relationships that exist
between them. Another resource for a childs maturation is Culture. The familys culture,
influences the traditions, expectations, beliefs, religion, and child-rearing routines. And lastly, the
school classroom; another setting with unique sets of rules, expectations, routines, and
relationships that can influence behavior.
Nature VS Nurture
Nature and nurture relates to the relative importance of an individual's inborn qualities as
compared to an individual's personal experiences in causing individual differences, especially in
behavioral traits (Wikipedia, n.d.). Nature can be defined as genetic inheritance or the genetic
makeup. According to Stephanie Mojica, author of the article How Do Nature and Nurture
Influence Human Development? several things in an individual are genetically inherited; from
gender, eye color, risks for certain diseases, exceptional talents and height (Brighthub.com, n.d.).
Nurture, in contrast to nature, can be defined as the different environmental factors to which a
person is subjected from birth to death. In the article, Mojica states that environmental factors
include both physical environments--prenatal nutrition-- and social environments--such as the
neighborhood, media and peer pressure (Brighthub.com, n.d.). For both physical and social
environments, they each have different levels of impact on human development due to the
involvement of multiple layers of action. For the social environment, the first layer is the

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

Immediate. Immediate is families, friends, and neighborhoods (Brighthub.com, n.d.). These


three groups are the first hand impact on you; from the way you talk, act or even behave. The
next level is, societal contexts. This level includes, school systems and local governments. And
although these layers are major factors, Mojica voices that these levels are also impacted by
other macro factors outside them. These macro factors would be parental ideals, community
standards or ethnic views (Brighthub.com, n.d.).
Child Development
And although we have an understanding on what nature and nurture are and what they
contribute to a childs upbringing, we still need to understand what child development is. Child
development refers to the biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human
beings between birth and the end of adolescence. It is a continuous process with a predictable
sequence yet having a unique course for every child (Wikipedia, n.d.)It does not progress at the
same rate and each stage is affected by the preceding types of development. Because these
developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events during prenatal
life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as part of the study of child
development. Developmental change may occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes
known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly
involves an interaction between the two. It may also occur as a result of human nature and our
ability to learn from our environment (Wikipedia, n.d.).
How Nature affects child development
Nature vs Nurture continues to be one of psychologys oldest debates. Nature suggest that all
of a persons genes and heredity factors directly affects how one grows up to be. Nature begins at
conception. During reproduction, cells containing chromosomes that act as a blueprint for human

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

life. This blueprint will give vital genetic instructions, passed from both parents to influence how
a person develops and the traits they will have. However, knowing how to distinguish between a
childs genetic inheritance and the actual expression of those genes are vital to understanding
nature. With nature, the theory is that genetics, is the major part of development. Nature suggest
that who we are and how we act are genetically made up from our parents. Meaning our
personalities extroverted or introvertedare due to genes. However in the article What are
genes by Dr Ananya Mandal, MD, genes is defined as the study of heredity. Heredity is a
biological process where a parent passes certain genes onto their children or offspring. Every
child inherits genes from both of their biological parents and these genes in turn express specific
traits. Some of these traits may be physical for example hair and eye color and skin color etc. On
the other hand some genes may also carry the risk of certain diseases and disorders that may pass
on from parents to their offspring ( (What is genetics, n.d.). So how do people become who they
are?
How Nurture affects child development
As I did more research about how nature affects child development, the answer seemed clear;
genetics had nothing to do when it came to the influence on how a child develops. However, I
had to remember that genetics may just be one piece of the puzzle that makes up a child's life. I
had to consider the question, Does environmental variables; including parenting, culture,
education and social relationships also play a vital role? The answer was yes. A childs early
home environment can have long-term effects on development. For example, the home front.
The home is what initiates the development of the child first hand. The home is where culture,
parenting and life lessons are taught. When it comes to the culture in a home that plays an
important role. The culture is what shapes the childs identity. Culture helps shape the childs

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

ideals and values. For example, a Hispanic girls 15ht birthday is called a Quinceaera. Its a
Hispanic tradition of celebrating a young girl's coming of age - her 15th birthday ( (Quinceanera,
n.d.). The traditional ceremony of father and daughter, is the changing of the shoes. The father
changes the daughters shoes into heels, signifying the change from child to woman. Once they
are now considered a woman, said 32% of my survey takers when asked the question: How did
your cultures coming of age ceremony change you? They have to take the responsibilities of a
woman/man. Meaning cooking, cleaning and helping with the kids or even getting a job. But
besides just culture, parenting techniques are another vital source for child evolvement. The way
a parent raises their child, whether strict, lenient or in the middle, it has some type of cause and
effect. For example a child was spoiled, meaning was never told no and got away with miss
behaving, then with the child not growing up to know right from wrong will stay with the child
up to adulthood. In the house hold the parents involvement is important, whether both or just
one. And according to previous research, Freakonomics.com, a research based website-- has a
long-standing interest in the role parents play in the lives of their children. Freakonomics suggest
in past research a fathers involvement with his children is linked to all kinds of beneficial
outcomes, from higher academic achievement, improved social and emotional well-being, to
lower incidences of delinquency, risk taking, and other problem behaviors. According to
Freakonomics both boys and girls can show signs of decreased delinquent behavior if only their
mothers spent time with them during their adolescence, however despite the efforts of a mothers
involvement, mothers do significantly more talking with their daughters than with their sons; a
potential contributor for why sons are more affected by the absence of a father than daughters
are. It is because of this that mothers appear to lack being able to compensate for the complete
absence of a father figure by increasing their involvement with their children. Freakonomics

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

finds those males without a father figure in their lives engage in fewer healthy activities and talk
about fewer issues with their mothers. Another previous research showed that over 30% of
survey takers for my survey: Nature VS Nurture, agreed that your parents do have an effect on
the child. Most of the survey takers agreed that because they were raised in home with educated
families, they wanted to go to college. Especially since the parents were very involved in the
childs education. And not only does a home environment play into childrens upbringing, but
also the neighborhood and the school systems. It was stated in the article: Behavior due to
environment by Kristin Reinsberg, that if a child is subjected to a negative community or
neighborhood, they are more likely to become a product of their environment. As for school, she
states that the school teaches children society norms, meaning what is acceptable in the work
world. Schools teach team work, diversity, basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Schools
alsooutside the home lifeup held a certain standard of behavior, and if disobeyed or broken,
consequences were given. And due to all four of these different pieces of nurture, the child is
raised into who he is.
Conclusion
In the end, the evidence shown above gave proof to the theory of the pressing argument: Is it the
way that the child was raised or was it the environment that affected the childs development and
behavior? My findings and the evidence shown above, revaluates the argument of one being
more beneficial than the other; instead it shows, that even though children have embedded
internal traits that affect the childs development, children are definitely affected by both their
external setting and internal traits. Its not simply just the environment or biology but rather the
complex interplay of the two.

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE

References
(n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture
(n.d.). Retrieved from Brighthub.com:
http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/110288.aspx
(n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_development
(n.d.). Retrieved from urbanchildinstitute.org:
www.urbanchildinstitute.org/.../TUCI_Data_Book_VII_2012.05_family
(n.d.). Retrieved from What is genetics: http://www.news-medical.net/lifesciences/What-is-Genetics.aspx
(n.d.). Retrieved from Quinceanera: http://www.quinceaneraboutique.com/quinceaneratradition.htm
(n.d.). Retrieved from Nature Vs Nurture Survey: http://goo.gl/forms/4sbLcWgwc7
(n.d.). Retrieved from Behavior Due to Envionment:
http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/social--emotional/behaviorand-discipline/articles/behavior-due-to-environment.html
(n.d.). Retrieved from Do children inherit genes:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/562015-do-children-inherit-their-parentspersonalities/

Running head: NATURE VS


NURTURE
(n.d.). Retrieved from Genes and development:
http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/genes-anddevelopment.htm
(n.d.). Retrieved from The Ongoing debate: Nature VS Nurture:
http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/110288.aspx
(n.d.). Retrieved from The interplay of nature ad nurture:
http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2011/03/childrensdevelopment-depends-on-nature-nurture-and-the-interpla.html
(n.d.). Retrieved from what is genes: http://www.news-medical.net/lifesciences/What-is-Genetics.aspx
(n.d.). Retrieved from Quinceanera: http://www.quinceaneraboutique.com/quinceaneratradition.htm
(n.d.). Retrieved from Vanderbilt Developmental psychology:
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/developmentalpsychologyblog/2014/05/parentalinfluence-on-the-emotional-development-of-children/

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