compare and contrast the influence of heredity and hormones on human behavior?

Question

Please help me understand this by answering in detail.

Answer 1

heredity is like the foundation of a building with all the piping in tact but none of the structure yet.. it has all the possibility but nothing has been realized and actualized... hormones are a large part of the building/realization/actualization of our lives..

in other words heredity dictates the possibility of the range of hormones and levels we may have in our life.. but the hormones themselves are what dictate change.. . our moods.. puberty.. depression.. anxiety.. they can all many times be linked to hormones.

another thing.. we can have some influence on hormones because they are what is happening now.. our diet.. exercise.. medication.. even the mood we are in.. these can all effect our different levels of hormones.... once heredity is set.. it is set (some would argue that genetics is a study of trying to alter what has been set.. and to an extent this is true.. but we are still years away from being very effective with this)

Answer 2

Nature versus nurture debate.

Nature means our personalities are fixed from the moment we are born (hereditary) - look up Freud's psychodynamic theory, Erikson's stage theory or Bowlby's attachment theory.

Nurture means that our behaviour is learnt - look up Bandura's social learning theory.

The nature/nurture debate centres on this question – ‘is our ability to learn determined by our inherited genes and characteristics? (i.e. NATURE) – or – is our ability to learn determined by our upbringing? (i.e. NURTURE)