Nature Vs. Nurture Essay, Research Paper

IT IS A CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT ON NATURE OR NURTURE HAS A MORE PROFOUND AFFECT ON A HUMAN BEING. NATURE IS WHAT A PERSON IS TAUGHT THROUGH FAMILY AND SOCIETY. NURTURE IS THE GENETIC MAKE UP OF A PERSON. MANY THINGS AFFECT HOW A PERSON BEHAVES. THE WAY A PERSON BEHAVES SHOWS THE TYPE OF PERSONALITY A PERSON HAS. LEARNING IS A HUGE PART OF HOW A PERSON BEHAVES. YOU LEARN CERTAIN THING FROM THE ENVIRONMENT YOU ARE RAISED IN. BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE ARE IMPORTANT, AND THEY BOTH CAN DETERMINE A PERSON’S PERSONALITY. ONE IS NO IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER.

FIRST, A PERSON’S BEHAVIOR WILL OR WILL NOT DETERMINE A PERSON’S PERSONALITY. BEHAVIOR IS THE WAY HUMAN BEINGS AND OTHER ORGANISMS ACT (WORLD BOOK 1998). MANY PEOPLE USE THE WORD BEHAVIOR TO MEAN CONDUCT (WORLD BOOK 1998). THIS IS HOW A PERSON’S ACTIONS FIT SOCIETY’S IDEA OF RIGHT AND WRONG (WORLD BOOK 1998). THIS CAN PLAY A BIG ROLE IN FORMING SOMEONE’S PERSONALITY.

MOST HUMAN BEHAVIOR RESULTS FROM MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. ALTHOUGH BEHAVIOR HAS MANY CAUSES, SCIENTIST LOOK TO ISOLATE SINGLE CAUSES (WORLD BOOK 1994). THIS MAKES THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR VERY HARD. MOST RESEARCHERS IN PSYCHOLOGY USE CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS IN WHICH THEY CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF ONE FACTOR AT A TIME ON A PARTICULAR TYPE OF BEHAVIOR (WORLD BOOK 1994).

SECONDLY, LEARNING IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH BEHAVIOR CHANGES AS A RESULT OF EXPERIENCE OR PRACTICE (WORLD BOOK 1998). A PERSON LEARNS A LOT OF BEHAVIOR THROUGH NEW SURROUNDINGS THAT GIVE EXAMPLES OF NEW BEHAVIOR. LEARNING TAKES PLACE OFTEN BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS BEING GIVEN NEW PROBLEMS TO SOLVE, OR ARE BEING SHOWN NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS (WORLD BOOK 1998). THIS IS ANOTHER WAY PERSONALITIES ARE FORMED.

NEXT, PEOPLE CAN BE INFLUENCED BY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND OTHER OUTSIDE INFLUENCES. THIS COULD BE IN A NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE WAY. YOUR FAMILY COULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO WELL IN SCHOOL AND MAKE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF. THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU WILL DO IT. IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE PERSON. YOUR FRIENDS CAN PRESSURE YOU TO DO SOMETHING, BUT IT’S YOUR CHOICE WHETHER YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT. IT’S ALL ABOUT MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS.

LASTLY, BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE CAN DETERMINE HUMAN BEHAVIOR, AND IT COULD NOT. A PERSON CAN GROW UP IN AN EXCELLENT FAMILY WITH GOOD MORALS, CAN BECOME A SERIAL KILLER. ON THE OTHER HAND, A PERSON CAN GROW UP IN A FAMILY OF DRUGS AND NO MORALS AND BECOME A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE. NATURE AND NURTURE DON’T ALWAYS HAVE AN EFFECT ON HUMAN BEINGS. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT COULD WORK ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, OR BOTH WAYS.

Nature: Comptons Encyclopedia

(http://comptonsv3.web.aol.com) (2000)

Nature: Hutchinson Encyclopedia

(http://ukab.web.aol.com) (2000)

Nurture: Encarta Online Concise

(http://www.encarta.msn.com) (2000)