B1 The nature/nurture debate GapFill

The nature versus nurture debate has been discussed by psychologists for many years. There are two sides to the debate.

Some psychologists believe that  lifestylenatureincomenurture has more influence on human behaviour.  This means that genetic   inheritancemutationsfaultschemistry and other biological factors are responsible for the development of psychological characteristics.  This includes how an individual will tend to behave and how their personality and mental abilities will develop.  This argument is, therefore, that these psychological characteristics are   predeterminedguaranteedunexplainedinfluenced before we are born.  This would occur in the same way as physical characteristics such as height and eye colour appear to be determined by biology.  One theorist from the biological perspective was Arnold  ParsonsGesellBanduraGermaine.  He believed that human development is caused by a genetically programmed sequence of change.  He called this  growthmaturationdisengagementmenstruation, which refers to changes such as growth, puberty and the menopause.  Another psychologist from the biological perspective is Noam   GermaineParsonsBanduraChomsky. He believes that humans are born with an innate language acquisition device (LAD) which helps us to develop language and makes us unique from other living beings. 

In contrast to this, the nurture side argues that  internaleconomicintrinsicexternal factors that occur after conception, such as social and environmental factors, influence development.  Theories include Bowlby’s theory of  detachmentattachmentmaternitypregnancy, which views the bond between mother and child as something that develops as part of a process.  They also include Bandura’s social learning theory, which emphasises the environment as it aims to evidence that children learn through   communicationentertainmentschoolobservation and through imitation of role models.

So, what about approaches to development that take into account both nature and nurture, and how do these two influences interact with each other?  The  catharticcognitivediathesiseducation–stress model of mental illness is one such approach.  The first part concerns the degree to which someone has a predisposition towards developing a mental illness. The second part, 'stress', refers to the role of life events in triggering the development of mental health conditions.  Therefore, mental health problems are much more likely to develop in someone who has a genetic predisposition and has also experienced stressful life events.