AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the “nature vs nurture” debate, nurture refers to personal experiences (i.e. empiricism or behaviorism). Nature is your genes. The physical and personality traits determined by your genes stay the same irrespective of where you were born and raised. Nurture refers to your childhood, or how you were brought up.

Detailed explanation-2: -What are some examples of nature vs. nurture? Eye color and skin pigmentation are examples of “nature” because they are present at birth and determined by inherited genes. Language and having a regional accent are learned after birth and occur through “nurture."

Detailed explanation-3: -Nurture assumes that correlations between environmental factors and psychological outcomes are caused environmentally. For example, how much parents read with their children and how well children learn to read appear to be related. Other examples include environmental stress and its effect on depression.

Detailed explanation-4: -The nature vs. nurture debate is an ongoing one. The modern debate often centers around the effect genes have on human disposition as opposed to the influences that early environment and development might have. As culture changes, so have popular understandings of this debate.