Both Nature and Nurture Influence Human Behaviour

‛BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE INFLUENCE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR’ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines Nature as â€Å"persons or animal’s innate character, and innate meaning inborn†. This means that nature plays a large part in how humans inherit the physical characteristics of their parents, but also that their personalities and characters are predetermined by family genetics. The dictionary also defines nurture as â€Å"bringing up, fostering care† which implies learning and training to regulate or correct behaviour and thinking. This essay will be presenting and evaluating the arguments presented by two psychologists Pinker and James and their theories regarding the influence of nature versus nurture on the development of human†¦show more content†¦One example from his book was Neil a rapist, when he was growing up he had little supervision and he was treated erratically and violently when his mother was present, Neil had no friends and as such when he was approached by a man near his house who was talking about fishing, he felt that he had found a friend. Neil was abused by this man shortly afterwards. When he grew up the only way he could express the disgust at what was done to him by this man was to do the same to other people and that was how he became a rapist thinking that by raping this people he was exorcising the demons of the man out from him and into his victims. James said something in his book that is really interesting and that is â€Å"if a convicted violent man is asked about his ch ildhood he will describe an astonishing catalogue of abuse. If he is then asked to give account of the crimes he has committed against strangers, the displacements of his rage towards his parents will be demonstrated in the details of what he did to his victims, with precise re-enactment of some of the things that were done to him† (James 2002, pg 127) This statement summarises James’s debate that the care that we receive as infants from our parents is very crucial to the shaping of our behaviours and that genes have no influence over our behaviours. John B Watson an American psychologist (1920) believed that human behaviour is as a result of nurture and that isShow MoreRelatedNature Vs Nurture Centers On How Much Of A Person s Biological, Cognitive, And Social Development1541 Words   |  7 PagesINTRODUCTION Nature Vs Nurture centers on how much of a person’s biological, cognitive, personal and social development can be attributed to either the genetic (hereditary) determinism i.e. nature or the environmental determinism i.e. nurture. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) noted that â€Å"Physical characteristics that promote survival of the individual are more likely to be passed on to offspring because the individuals with these characteristics are likelyRead MoreEvaluate the Relative Contribution of Nature and Nurture to Human Psychological Functioning1676 Words   |  7 PagesEvaluate the relative contribution of nature and nurture to human psychological functioning. 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