Nature vs. Nurture: Do We Have Control Over Our Destiny Or Is It Pre-determined For Us?
Do we have control over our destiny or is it pre-determined for us? This age-old question, which has been pondered since the age of Socrates, continues to cause much debate today. Psychologist will favor one side or the other with much controversy on the issue. They have been trying to explain or excuse human behavior in order to have a deeper understanding for development. Many professions have solicited the assistance of psychologists in trying to pre-determine the psychology of potential people for areas such as employment and placement. The legal profession has sought out psychologists on both sides to prove their theories of the mental abilities, behavior explanations or predictions of behavior of a defendant or plaintiff. “Society has been fighting a continuous fight from the debate nurture to nature, leaving behind a number of bewildered social scientist. Yet we still love to phrase everything in terms of one influence or the other, rather than both.” (Waal, 1999). In the educational profession, understanding the balance or affect of both nature and nurture is essential to designing an effective plan for each pupil’s advancement. Even though, today, it is widely accepted that the child’s …show more content…
Piaget suggested that nature and nurture are inseparable and interactive. His theory states that at each age, people develop schemas. Schemas are general ways of thinking about ideas and objects. According to him, as children actively manipulate and explore their surroundings, internal mental images of objects and actions guide them. Experience modifies these schemas. These schemas, in turn, organize past experiences and provide guidelines for understanding future experiences. Human development is accomplished by a process of organization and adaptation (Berger,