The Nature-Nurture Debates

 Extreme biological position

 Personality traits, physical characteristics, etc. are all
programmed or “hard-wired”

• Extreme environmental position

– All traits and characteristics are shaped by life
experience

So how do we study this???

Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
Nature and Nurture
Genetic influences
• Based on the Minnesota personality
studies:
– When raised together, monozygotic
twins are more similar than dizygotic
twins.
– MZ Twins raised apart are almost as
similar to each other as those living in
the same home.
 .

Where does this leave

you?
 The Nature-Nurture Debates
 Other studies of twins and adoptees show:

 Genetic factors account for some differences in

intelligence, verbal and spatial abilities,
criminality, vocational interests, and
aggressiveness.
 There is a genetic component to psychological
disorders, such as alcoholism, depression, and
schizophrenia.
 And, there is evidence for a genetic link to
people’s attitudes toward issues and activities.
 The Nature-Nurture Debates

 This study involved

672 twins who rated
their attitudes on
various issues and
activities.
 The results show

some influence of
genetic factors.
The Nature-Nurture Debates

 Genetic differences typically account for

less than 50 percent of the variation in
personality.

 Environmental factors account for the rest

of the variation.
The Nature-Nurture Debates

 A study of 5,542 three-

year-olds found that
 Children with older brothers had
higher masculinity scores
 Children with older sisters had higher
femininity scores

 These results support the

nurture hypothesis.
 How do we study and quantify
nature vs. nurture?

• Heritability
– A statistical estimate of the percentage of the
variability of a trait within a group that is
attributable to genetic factors.
 Heritability
 What does it mean when we say something is heritable?

O 1
100 % down to 100 %
environment down to
genes
 Intelligence (50%)
 Height (90%)
 So 50% with respect to intelligence means that genetic
influence explains 50% of the observed variation among
people w.r.t. intelligence

 In other words, we are looking at the extent to which

difference among people are attributable to genes

Heritability means…
 Each value only refers to the particular population studied
and its unique range of genetic and environmental factors

 The more an environment varies, the greater their

opportunity to account for individual differences and the
lower heritable estimates are likely to be
 Heritability estimates are controversial because they can be

misapplied and because their application is limited

The Nature-Nurture Debates
The Interplay of Nature and Nurture

 Genetic and environmental influences are not

independent.
 Identical twins receive more similar treatment from their
parents compared to fraternal twins.

 People’s genetic makeup influences how they are

treated by others, the environments in which they
live, and the way they perceive and recall the details
of that environment.
 Your time to work on your debates.