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Nature and Nurture in Psychology

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Nature and Nurture in Psychology
Name : Mavin Ochola Waganda

Topic : Nature and nurture of Psychology

Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Nature and Nurture 3
The three distinctive schools of thoughts 3
Nature and our Biology 4
Nurture and our Behavior 4
Black and Whites in 17th centaury 5
Intelligence 5
Hostility 6
Nurture and the Inborn 6
Children perspective 7
Conclusion 9
Bibliography 10

Introduction

Nature and nurture issue has its root far back in the seventeenth century when psychologist wanted to know more about psychology. Before we even start discussing this big issue that has brought a lot of argument amongst scholars, it is important first of all to understand psychology itself and how it is related to nature and nurture. According to (G.Myers, 2001), he defined psychology as the science of mental process and observable behavior. He derives this refined definition from psychologists in the 1960s after debate of how psychology should be defined in which they came to a conclusion that it should encompass the behavior aspect of it and the mental processes that infer our behavior. To explain further, behavior is any activities that can be observed and recorded and the mental process is the internal subjective experience we can infer from behavior.

Nature and Nurture

The three distinctive schools of thoughts

After getting a little glimpse about psychology, we should now get to know what nature and nurture is. (Ateel, 2006) Explain three possible ways of how different category of people may analyze the personality in us. These include those who believe personality is natural, personality is nurtured, and personality is spiritual. With the nature aspect group, they believe that your personality is as a result of evolutionary process. You inherit behaviors due to complex interaction of genes. They control your behaviors. So you don’t have a free will to act otherwise. The nurture group argues that you don’t get your personality inherited. Your mind is a blank slate at your birth. It is



Bibliography: Ateel, S. A. (2006, 10 27). About us: Personality and Aptitude Career test. Retrieved 1 28, 2011, from Personality and Aptitude Career test web site: http://www.personality-and-aptitude-career-tests.com/art Cohen, D. B. (1999). Stranger in the nest. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Cramer, R. L. (2001). Creative Power. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc. Myers, D. (2001). Psychology. New York: Worth Publisher. Lawson, R. B., Goldstein, S. G., & Musty, R. E. (1975). Principle and Methods of Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. McClearn, G. E. (1993). Nature, Nurture and Psychology. Journal of Psychology , 9. Sorenson, H., Malm, M., & Forehand, G. A. (1971). Psychology for living. New York: McGraw - Hill, Inc.

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