Assignment 2: Culture and Nature vs. Nurture

Sana Tariq
January 8, 2014
Question 1.) It is said that culture is pervasive but that people are unaware of it. List 30 things you did today you might have done differently in another culture.
I am an asian so, I might do things different from americans. The following are 30 things that I as an asian do different in a day than other cultures:
1. I wake up at 5:00 a.m. to pray, then go back to sleep.
2. I wake up again at 10:00 a.m. and cook breakfast for the family and we eat breakfast together everyday. In breakfast we eat some traditional food of Pakistan and sometimes pancakes, cereal, oatmeal, etc...
3. After a good breakfast it is important for me to have a hot cup of seperate tea everyday.
4. The whole family sits in the family room and we talk about how our studies are going, what we have planned for that particular day, what's new and much more.
5. My childeren are homeschooled so, I check their studies, grade thier papers, help them with whatever they need help in.
6. In the middle of the day I pray four more times at different timings.
7. At 6:00 p.m. it is essential for the family to drink a good cup of tea with some snack. It's just a habit.
8. I eat traditional home made food everyday rather than going to a fast food resturant.
9. As a women I go to the bathroom during the day. In some cultures women only go to the bathroom in the shelter of the dark night.
10. I never go out of the house without dressing properly. In some cultures it ok for a women to go out in pajamas or in an uncovered outfit.
11. I celebrated my cousins birthday with the whole family. In some cultures people don't really care about where their relatives are or how they are. I always celebrate every holiday with my whole family.
12. I speak two different languages in a day (urdu and english).
13. Wheat and flour products are considered mainstays of the daily diet, and the use of pickles, chutneys, preserves, and sauces along with curried meats, seafood, vegetables, and lentils and are why Pakistani cuisine has such a unique flavor.
14. I wear regular shoes while people from netherlands where wooden shoes to keep their feet dry.
15. I greet people by saying aslamualykum which means hello in urdu. Other cultures say things like good morning/hello, namaste, or Kon'nichiwa.
16. I got to places by car, many cultures go by buses or subways.
17. I watch urdu language t.v. and movies. I also listen to different type of music which is in urdu and has different music.
18. I do yoga everyday while other cultures might jog, run, box, etc...
19. I like to sleep on the floor because it stretches your body and keeps you straight.
20. I spread a clean sheet on the floor and eat on that while other cultures perfer to eat on the dining table.
21. When I meet people I like to hug them or shake their hand while in other cultures people just pass by and say hey.
22. I am very hygenic, I perfer to where socks or sandals inside of the house and all the time except when going to bed. In other cultures people go bearfoot most of the time.
23. After lunch, I always take a two hour nap everyday.
24. I put mustard, olive, or coconut in my hair everyday before going to bed to keep my hair healthy.
25. I don't apply makeup on my face while other cultures perfer to apply makeup.
26. I put black eye liner (kajal) at night before sleeping to keep my eyes healthy.
27. Womens like to wear gold jewelry on a daily basis, including me.
28. I clean the house everyday on a daily basis.
29. In my family we have to eat traditional sweets (kheer, barfi, gulab jamun) after dinner everyday.
30. I wear a traditional salwar kameez dress at home, instead of wearing jeans, shirts or pajamas with a t-shirt.

Sana Tariq
January 8, 2014
Question 2.) The nature-nurture debate can apply to many issues. Ask three people to tell you their theories about what factors create a criminal and how criminals should be punished or rehabilitated. Identify which theory described in this chapter is closest to each explanation you are given. There are certain factors in our societies, cultures (family values), system (educational, political, law-enforcement...), economy, and so on that endorse the potential of criminal activities of an individual. So, I askesd three seperate individuals of what they think is the root cause of commiting a crime. The first individual belives that the root cause of commiting a crime is poverty. When a individual has no money and he connot provide the essential needs for himself or his family (food, clothes, shelter, etc...) he loses his sense to distinguish between right and wrong which leads to crime (robbery, murder, breaking laws, etc...). As income levels rise, crime levels often decline proportionately. People living in poverty commit crimes because, for them, the benefits of stealing something outweigh the risk of getting caught. Also, poor people have high rates of illiteracy and high levels of poverty. A lack of education leaves few opportunities for well-paying jobs, which increases the likelihood that an individual might succumb to poverty and commit crimes. The effects multiply since one person in a neighborhood who commits a crime sends a message to others in the neighborhood that criminal behavior is acceptable. According to this individual collective society should be punished, not the individual who commited the crime. Collective society is the real culprit because they tolerate unjust societies that allows poverty. Behaviorism theory best describes this explanation. The second individual belives that the root cause of commiting a crime is poor parenting, specifically, the failure of some parents to teach their children the values of respect for the law and for the rights of others. Children who are neglected or abused are more likely to commit crimes later in life than others. Similarly, sexual abuse in childhood often leads these victims to become sexual predators as adults. This individual also thinks that single-parent families are not only more likely to live in poverty, but they also are more likely to commit crime. Children who grow up in single-parent households are more likely to commit crime as both teenagers and adults. According to this individual councils should make greater use of their powers to force violent parents to attend counselling or face court. Psychoanalysis theory best describes this explanation. The third individual believes that the root cause of commiting a crime is drug and alcohol abuse. The urge to commit crime to support a drug habit definitely influences the decision process. Both drugs and alcohol impair judgment and reduce inhibitions, giving a person greater courage to commit a crime. Drugs are related to crime in multiple ways. Most directly, it is a crime to use, possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime through the effects they have on the user's behavior and by generating violence and other illegal activity in connection with drug trafficking. This invidual also believes that alcohol consumption alters three fundamental factors relating to motor vehicle crashes. It decreases driver performance, increases risk-taking behavior and decreases the chance of survival of occupants involved in crashes. According to this individual it is hypocrisy for society to permit alcohol but prohibit heroin as both drugs are dangerous. Alcohol is a greater factor in violent crime than any other drug while nicotine results in many deaths. Drug supply can only be reduced by reducing demand, and demand is caused by poor nutrition and a lack of education and wisdom in matters pertaining to health. The re-eduction of all children in basic dietary needs of the human body is a primary solution to drug addiction. Prisons should not be used as places of punishment, but rehabilitation. The health approach is fare wiser and humane than the severe authoritarian imposition of punishment. Generally we need a more tolerant,informed, educated and less judgmental approach to drug crime. Punishment usually fails to reform. Treatment of causal factors can accomplish much more. Biological approach theory best describes this explanation.

Sana Tariq
January 8, 2014
Question 3.) Pick one of your traits, and explain the influences that both nature and nurture have on it. For example, if you have a short temper, explain its origins in your genetics, your culture and your childhood experiences. One of my major traits is caring. Caring is hereditary in my family. My mom and grandfather are caring. My grandfather was a landlord in Pakistan and he use to do allot for people who were poor, like giving them a free land and telling them not to worry about anything. My mom use to help every one of her relatives and friends in their time of need. I am a caring person since I was born, during my childhood, I use to care allot for my family including my parents, grandparents, siblings, and my friends by doing little things for them. For example, my sister and I use to share a bed and blanket, and in the middle of the night, she would take the whole blanket to herself in her sleep and I would let her sleep with the blanket while I sleep without it. So, caring is in my nature, it's how I am. My personality of caring nurtured while growing up. I went a level up in caring and made caring my profession by becoming a nurse (LPN). Now not only care for my family and friends I also care for my patients. I am proud to care for people who are in need of medical help and I am glad to help them. I also have three childeren now and I show them that I care for them by homeschooling all three of them. I work four to five days a week, twelve hours per day, just for them, so that they can have a good childhood and life ahead.

Sana Tariq
January 8, 2014
Question 4.) People sometimes wonder how any pregnant woman could jeopardize the health of her fetus. Consider your own health-related behavior in the past month...exercise, sleep, nutrition, drug use, medical and dental care, disease avoidance and so on. Would you change your behavior if you were pregnant? Would it make a difference if your family, your partner, or you yourself did not want a baby? Yes, I would definately change my behavior if I was pregnant. I would change my whole lifestyle. I would eat healthy, do exercises that are good and healthy for me and the baby, sleep on time and if I was taking any unhealthy drugs I would stop, basically I would not jeopardize the baby's life under any circumstances. If I had any bad habits like smoking or drinking alcohol I would try my best to leave all my bad habits and take care of the baby. No, it would not make a difference if my family, my partner, or I, myself did not want a baby. I would still care for it and take care of it.