Nature vs. Nurture, you decide...?

Question

Nature vs Nurture is big debate among psychology classes around the country and would like to see your opinons, please try and back them up with examples. It is for a paper i have to write, but need outside opinions, so it is very much appreciated.

Answer 1

The debate is moot, given that Nature and Nurture are equally important. This is a basic concept in biology: genotype + environment = phenotype. Basically, your genes conjoined with your environment shape you into what you are right now.

For example, your height is encoded in your genotype by genes you had received from your parents (50% from your mother, 50% from your father). Let's suppose that your genotype allows for you to grow to be six feet tall as an adult. If you are not given the proper nutrition as an infant, child, and teen, you will not grow to be six feet tall. Instead, you will be a lot shorter. You can see this in real life. Have you noticed the height of immigrant parents from third world countries versus the height of their children born and raised in the US and the UK? Some of their offspring are a lot taller. This is due to them getting better nutrition while developing.

Here is another example of how Nature collaborates with Nurture. Look at Bipolar Disorder. The corcordance rate of monozygotic twins (identical twins) developing bipolar disorder is 70%. This means that there is a 70% chance that if one twin has Bipolar disorder, then his/her twin will also have it. However, there is a 30% change he/she won't. Why? Nature. There may be elements inherent within the environment that contribute to the activations of the genes (or something that is malfunctioning during the protein transcription process from the genes) that is contributing to developing this disorder.

So, the real issue is not Nature vs. Nurture, but really: How do Nature and Nurture work together?

Answer 2

Nurture. Have you seen the studies of identical twins raised in different environments? Look it up. Very interesting.

Answer 3

Some feel that when born we are a "blank slate" to be nurtured and become who we are.
Others feel we are by "nature" born to be successful or otherwise and will become so despite setbacks, poor nurturing ,etc.