Human Development: Nature & Nurture

This solved assignment examines human development as a continuous process shaped by both nature (genetics and physical environment) and nurture (parenting and social interactions). It analyzes how these factors contribute to human growth from conception to death, emphasizing the significance of social relationships within cultural contexts. The assignment references various theories and studies to support its arguments.

Running Head: PSYCHOLOGY
Human Development
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The term human development is typically a dynamic term which is used to describe the
process through which an individual grows and experiences changes throughout the lifetime. It
can also be described as a qualitative change that an individual experience from birth to death.
Thus, through this way, development can be described as the process of life which encompasses
cognitive, physical, personality, psychological, motor, emotional and social. It is important to
note that the development of an individual in all these areas are interrelated (Green and Piel
2015). Development on an individual is shaped by both the nurture and nature in terms of
cultural context. Nature can be described as the hereditary contribution that an individual
receives from his parents during the time of conception. Genetics determine certain aspects of
the of a person’s development, like physical appearance and functioning paired along with the
psychological characteristics. Whereas, nurture refers to the social ecology and the physical
environment within which an individual grows and develop. The different aspects of child’s
ecology (social institutions, physical facilities, school and rituals) all influence the development
of a child in several ways (Robinson 2012). This study is based on the extent of human
development influenced by the social relationships, physical environment and genes.
In order to assess the extent to which an individual in influenced by the genes, physical
environment and social relationships. Delving into each of the factors in detail can reveal the
individual influence. Genes are hereditary and thus a person’s physical characteristics is strongly
influenced by the genes inherited from the parents. Various physical attributes of an individual
are dictated by the genes that are inherited. An instance of environmental impact on an individual
can be seen in population affected with sickle cell anemia (Ware et al. 2017). This disease is
hereditary and when the population that gets adapted to it remains protected from malaria.
Individuals that experience the good psychological health and good quality of life, develops a

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sense of belonging. This helps an individual to develop in to a moral human being. Whereas, if
the upbringing is not in a healthy environment, then an individual may turn into an immoral
being with distorted mindset (Ungar, Ghazinour and Richter 2013).
Genetic influence- Transmission of genetic material is a complex process. The majority
of the characteristics observed in human beings are a result of the combination of the genes. Due
to the numerous permutations and combinations of the genes, a large number of differences exist
in psychological and physical characteristics. The monozygotic twins or the identical twins have
the same set of chromosomes, because they have formed from a single zygote. Whereas, the
twins from the di-zygote develop into two separate individuals who do not exhibit the similar
characteristics like the single zygote twins (Sigelman and Rider 2014). Genes can be both
recessive and dominant. Through various studies it has been found that in comparison to the
females, the males are more color blind as well as color sensitive to certain colors. Likewise, a
grandmother or a mother can transfer the same condition to a male child without being a color
bind themselves. The reason is that the disease or the disorder is common in males in comparison
to the females. Genes form pairs, and if both the genes are dominant then an individual will
express a particular characteristic (for example: color blindness). Whereas, if one gene is
recessive and the other is dominant then the dominant gene will prevail over the recessive. The
recessive gene will pass on to the next generation but will not express, although it may get
expressed in the subsequent generation (van Opijnen and Camilli 2012). The gene which is
dominant, is responsible for expression of a particular characteristic or trait. The visible
characteristic (eye color) which show up are called the phenotype. The recessive genes do not
show up as a trait, if the gene is not paired up with the other similar type of gene. The traits or
the characteristics that are carried genetically in the recessive form are called the genotypes.

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Thus, genotype can be described as the genetic material that a person is inheriting from their
parents. Whereas, phenotype refers to the behavioral and physical characteristics that are
determined by the environmental and genetic factors (Wachs and Gruen 2012).
Environmental influence- a child whatever inherits from his or her parents is referred to
as nature. While, the environmental influence on the development of a child can be referred to as
nurture. Thus, in order to understand the influence of environment on a person, there is a need to
understand the complex interaction between the nurture and the nature or environment or
heredity. The environmental influences at the postnatal and the prenatal stages of human
development are important. When the fetus is within the mother’s womb, then the external
agents like the alcohol, drugs, pollutants are actively harm the development of an unborn baby.
Whereas, the emotional stress, mother’s nutrition, diseases can also adversely affect the
development of a fetus. After birth, the different types of the environmental factors influence the
development of a child (Evans, Li and Whipple 2013). Ecological systems theory identifies the
five different environmental systems with which an individual interacts. The theory presents a
concentric circles of systems and the at the center point exists the individual. The micro-system
consists of the immediate home environment of an individual or a child. The meso-system is a
relationship of a child with the family, neighborhood and school. The exo-system can be
referred to the influences upon a child through the indirect agencies like the work places of the
parents and the community services (Neal and Neal 2013).
Influence of social relationships- the social environment influences how the children
and the parents engages in to a social environment. Maintaining and developing a positive social
relationship is actually fundamental for good quality of psychological health and good health. the
individuals who have good relationship, exhibit a sense of belonging and also receive support

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from the other members of the community (Heckman and Mosso 2014). This enhances the
normal day to day function and also helps to survive during the difficult situation. Social
relationship provides the scope to generate the concerns, discussing issues, new ideas, sharing
good news and at the same time obtaining the emotional, economic and social support. However,
there are certain social relationships which involve the negative behaviors and emotions which
may degrade an individual’s quality of life and wellbeing. If a child lives in a good social
environment, then there is a greater chance that a child will develop a positive social
environment. Living in a social environment which is good, increases the tendency of a child to
develop a positive social relationship (Kagitcibasi 2013).
Therefore, from the above study it can be concluded that, human development is a
continuous process which involves the development of the fetus to its birth and subsequent
death. The development of the human being depends upon the influences of both the nature and
the nurture. The aspects of nature include the physical environment and the social relationships,
whereas the aspects of nurture involve the parenting and the genetic characteristics inherited
from the parents. This study focusses on the extent to which the genetics, physical environment
and the social relationships plays on the development of a human being. The role of the physical
environment and genetics is on a greater pedestal, although the influences of the social
relationships on the human development is more dependent on the cultural context.

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Reference
Evans, G.W., Li, D. and Whipple, S.S., 2013. Cumulative risk and child development.
Psychological Bulletin, 139(6), p.1342.
Green, M.G. and Piel, J.A., 2015. Theories of human development: A comparative approach.
Psychology Press.
Heckman, J.J. and Mosso, S., 2014. The economics of human development and social mobility.
Annu. Rev. Econ., 6(1), pp.689-733.
Kagitcibasi, C., 2013. Family, self, and human development across cultures: Theory and
applications. Routledge.
Neal, J.W. and Neal, Z.P., 2013. Nested or networked? Future directions for ecological systems
theory. Social Development, 22(4), pp.722-737.
Robinson, L., 2012. Psychology for social workers: Black perspectives on human development
and behaviour. Routledge.
Sigelman, C.K. and Rider, E.A., 2014. Life-span human development. Cengage Learning.
Ungar, M., Ghazinour, M. and Richter, J., 2013. Annual research review: What is resilience
within the social ecology of human development?. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,
54(4), pp.348-366.
van Opijnen, T. and Camilli, A., 2012. A fine scale phenotype–genotype virulence map of a
bacterial pathogen. Genome research, 22(12), pp.2541-2551.
Wachs, T.D. and Gruen, G.E., 2012. Early experience and human development. Springer Science
& Business Media.

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Ware, R.E., de Montalembert, M., Tshilolo, L. and Abboud, M.R., 2017. Sickle cell disease. The
Lancet.