A Not Quite Twin Study
Tamara Richardson
Seminole State College of Florida
Abstract
This paper is going to discuss the Nature vs Nurture debate. There will be history of the debate, where it is presently and where it may go in the future. We will look at the beginning of the debate, the battle that started with Descartes and was pushed further by BF Skinner, Bandura and Piaget. We will further look at Bandura and Piaget and look at Social learning theory verses biology. Interviews with a sibling set of sisters, one adopted and one biological separated by 4 months in age will show us how being raised in the same environment will over shadow biological beginnings. The Nature vs Nurture debate will be discussed in detail comparing and contrasting the sisters likes and dislikes, social skills, talents and education. We will see where the debate stands today. This has been a century’s long debate and we will touch on current research and what studies are showing.
Nature Vs Nuture
A Not Quite Twin Study
There has been a battle raging with experts poised on either side in the Nature vs Nurture debate. It is a battle that has been debated for many years dating back to Rene Descartes (1596-1650). Descartes was a French philosopher who believed that a person’s nature, where they came from, would influence the behavior they exhibited, the way they learned and their thought process. (Ipfw.edu, 2009) Descartes also believed that when we entered the world, we came with preconceived ideas about the world and that infants were born with knowledge of some aspects of life. (ipfw.edu, 2009) It would seem that Descartes believe that Nature played a stronger role in a person’s life. In contrast to Descartes, both B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura believed that it was not genetics, but the environment in which a child is raised plays a far greater part in a person’s behavior. (Farmer-Dougan) Social Learning theory indicates that behavior is learned.