Nature vs. Nurture in Human Behavior: A Psychological Perspective

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2.1
There are a number of factors which lead to changes in the behavior of a person. Biological social and
environmental surroundings can affect the mental as well as the physical state of any individual.
Biological factors such as the genetics that an individual shares with he or her parent leads to the
development of behavior. On the other hand as the individual grows, the social and environmental
surroundings cause changes and further development of the behavior. Psychologists believe that the
genetics of an individual play an important role in the behavioral development (Trzaskowski et al, 2012).
Off springs can inherit traits from parent and therefore these traits shape the behavior of the individual.
For example, if the parent is alcoholic then it is very likely that the child will also grow up to be an
alcoholic. This is called behavioral genetics (Laland and Brown, 2011). Looking the other way around,
when the development of the behavior take place through the environment it is known as behavioral
development. As the individual grows and experiences new, different things in life he or she develops
different perceptions about things. The environment in which an individual is brought up plays an
important role in the development as well. A kid who’s born in a violent household is more likely to have
a violent nature than one who has been brought up in a calm environment. The behavioral perspective
and theory provide a link between the behavior of an individual and the environment around that
person. Friends, family, colleagues are a factor leading to behavioral change (Lea, 2015).
There are theorists who believe that only genetics affects the behavioral development where as there
are others with an opposing view who say that the environment plays a major role. This is the Nature
Versus Nurture Theory. The conflict between the ideas of how the behavioral development of an
individual takes place is what this theory talks about. In reality, it is not necessary that an individual’s
behavioral development takes place only genetically or just due to environmental factors. For an
individual who lives far away from family, it is very likely to have same behavioral traits as the parents. It
is also very likely for an individual to become violent even when living in a calm environment ( De Carli et
al, 2007). Charles Darwin in his theory suggested that behavioral traits are hereditary. An individual gets
most of the traits from his or her parents. His ideas were based on the theory of natural selection.
Erikson’s theory which talks about the 8 stages of psychosocial development suggests that the
environment plays a key role in the development process of human behavior. As a person grows up, the
events and environment, friends and family all affect the individual’s behavior (Haber, 2006). Changes
take place in the mental state of the person and therefore there is behavioral development. In
conclusion, it is difficult to find out which of the two have a more impact on the development. All these
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factors play an important role in the development process and it is a difficult task to rank all these
factors with respect to the impact they have on the development process (Stiles, 2008).
2.2
Understanding the concept of human behavior is very important for people. It is a very complex topic
and to understand and analyze the concept in terms of the psychological theories in necessary. In an
individual’s life, social roles play a very important and necessary role in the development of the
behavior. Social roles such as parent, friends, teaches, peers are very important in the development of a
child. If genetics can influence human behavior, the environment and social factors can also be
considered a valid cause for the changes in the development (Bar-Haim et al, 2006). This is keeping in
mind the nature versus nurture theory. The childhood phase of development of an individual is
considered very important by many theorists. Parents, teachers, friends, environment are all very
important in factors and play a crucial role in the development process of the child. Therefore, it
becomes important for all these factors to understand the concept of human behavior. There is enough
data provided by the development theory which can be applied in the real world for human
development. Childhood period plays a significant role in the development of behavior. What an
individual learns in this phase stays with the individual his or her whole life. Experiences in childhood
develop the personality the individual is going to have in adulthood (Dai, 2010). There can be many
disbeliefs relating to behavioral development. It is very important that these disbeliefs are rectified so
that the development is proper. For example, it is a common believe that if a child is crying then he or
she should be left crying so that there is no over attachment between the kid and the parent. In reality,
this should not be done because the kid could actually be hungry or could have some other need which
is not provided in time. This will then have a negative impact on the development of the child. The gap
between the child and the parent will widen which is not good for both, the child and the parent.
Schools provide a platform for the growth and development of a child (Lippa, 2005). How the teachers
and friends behave around the child in school affect the child’s behavior. The teaching techniques, the
kind of friend circle the kid has impacts how the kid will behave in the future. Lev Vygotsky, a very
famous psychologist in the field of cognitive development talks about how all these factors lead to the
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development of human behavior. Health care professionals also play a very important role in the
development of behavior. It becomes very important that these people have a good understanding of
human behavior with respect to psychological theories of behavior and development. How they treat
patients has a huge impact on all the patients and can alter their behavior when they get discharged.
Proper understanding of human behavior allows them to build a healthy relationship with their patients.
It helps them to analyze and treat their patients effectively and efficiently within the area of health and
social care (Plomin and Asbury, 2005).
REFERENCES
 Trzaskowski, M., Zavos, H.M., Haworth, C.M., Plomin, R. and Eley, T.C., 2012. Stable
genetic influence on anxiety-related behaviours across middle childhood. Journal of
Abnormal Child Psychology, 40(1), pp.85-94.
 Laland, K.N. and Brown, G.R., 2011. Sense and nonsense: Evolutionary perspectives on
human behaviour. Oxford University Press.
 Lea, S., 2015. Instinct, Environment and Behaviour (Psychology Revivals). Psychology
Press.
 De Carli, M., Olesen, B.W., Zarrella, A. and Zecchin, R., 2007. People's clothing behaviour
according to external weather and indoor environment. Building and
Environment, 42(12), pp.3965-3973.
 Haber, D., 2006. Life review: Implementation, theory, research, and therapy. The
International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 63(2), pp.153-171.
 Bar-Haim, Y., Ziv, T., Lamy, D. and Hodes, R.M., 2006. Nature and nurture in own-race
face processing. Psychological science, 17(2), pp.159-163.
 Dai, D.Y., 2010. The Nature and Nurture of Giftedness: A New Framework for
Understanding Gifted Education. Education & Psychology of the Gifted Series. Teachers
College Press. 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027.
 Lippa, R.A., 2005. Gender, nature, and nurture. Routledge.
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 Plomin, R. and Asbury, K., 2005. Nature and nurture: Genetic and environmental
influences on behavior. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science, 600(1), pp.86-98.
 Stiles, J., 2008. The fundamentals of brain development: Integrating nature and nurture.
Harvard University Press.
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