Nature Vs Nurture Research Paper
How do Nature and Nurture Affect our Brains? The debate of nature versus nurture has been on going for years. Nature, which is the field in which factors such as genes are concerned, affects the biological factors of our bodies. Nurture, the environment around us, affects our personalities, but can also affect the biology of our brains and bodies. Genes are “the units of heredity, which partially determine an organism’s characteristics” (Grison, 69). Our genetic makeup is the foundation that our bodies are created from. Most things about a person is determined by their genetic makeup, including anything from their personality traits to diseases that may develop as they age. The biology of the brain is very complex, but understandable.
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Though genes are more widely known in determining a person’s features, they also come into play through the development of someone’s personality. The connection of genes and personality has been made through the study of biological relatives, such as twins, that have been raised together or apart. A study of the “Jim twins” is an example of this. Identical twin brothers, separated at birth and raised apart, shared many of the same aspects in their lives, such as their names, the names of wives and ex-wives, the names of sons and dogs, types of vehicles, careers and vacation locations, and habits. “The many similarities in the Jim twins’ lives point to the strong genetic influence in shaping personality and behavior” (Grison, 70). Alike the argument of nature, nurture also affects biological factors in life, but is also thought to have a strong influence over such things as personality.
Nurture involves the environment around someone, their social and home life. These factors are widely thought to be the basis behind some characteristics and habits and person may have or develop. Alongside this, scientific study shows the biological effects nurture has on a person. This is the case in the study of Michelle Mack, a woman who suffered from a stroke while still inside her mother’s womb, causing the left hemisphere of her brain to be “obliterated” (Grison, 71). Despite the damage to her brain, Michelle developed skills that should have been impossible in her state. The left hemisphere “controls language,” and “motor actions for the right side of the body” (Grison, 71) Michelle, though with difficulty, is able speak and control the right side of her body; “her right hemisphere developed language processing capabilities as well as functions that ordinarily occur across both hemispheres” (Grison, 71). Michelle’s case exhibits what nurture is capable of, which is the ability to adapt in difficult situations. The debate over nature versus nurture will probably never but be settled, but research for both argument will most likely
continue.
Though genes are more widely known in determining a person’s features, they also come into play through the development of someone’s personality. The connection of genes and personality has been made through the study of biological relatives, such as twins, that have been raised together or apart. A study of the “Jim twins” is an example of this. Identical twin brothers, separated at birth and raised apart, shared many of the same aspects in their lives, such as their names, the names of wives and ex-wives, the names of sons and dogs, types of vehicles, careers and vacation locations, and habits. “The many similarities in the Jim twins’ lives point to the strong genetic influence in shaping personality and behavior” (Grison, 70). Alike the argument of nature, nurture also affects biological factors in life, but is also thought to have a strong influence over such things as personality.
Nurture involves the environment around someone, their social and home life. These factors are widely thought to be the basis behind some characteristics and habits and person may have or develop. Alongside this, scientific study shows the biological effects nurture has on a person. This is the case in the study of Michelle Mack, a woman who suffered from a stroke while still inside her mother’s womb, causing the left hemisphere of her brain to be “obliterated” (Grison, 71). Despite the damage to her brain, Michelle developed skills that should have been impossible in her state. The left hemisphere “controls language,” and “motor actions for the right side of the body” (Grison, 71) Michelle, though with difficulty, is able speak and control the right side of her body; “her right hemisphere developed language processing capabilities as well as functions that ordinarily occur across both hemispheres” (Grison, 71). Michelle’s case exhibits what nurture is capable of, which is the ability to adapt in difficult situations. The debate over nature versus nurture will probably never but be settled, but research for both argument will most likely
continue.