For example during the 1900s Nauru Island population was diagnosed with diabetes. Nauru Island is in the specific ocean. They live on fish diet, catching fish with their natural resources. The Western nurses came on the Island and bought in sugar, burger etc. Suddenly these group of population developed diabetes, has they were pre disposition to diabetes but has they change their diet they then developed the illness. 8 out of 10 were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This shows that everyone has pre disposition to something of our diet we don’t develop. Lifestyle can change the pre disposition of individuals and what they can develop.
It was also argued by Alfred Adler, that the environment in which an individual is raised as has a big influence on his or her intelligence and how we an individual develop later in life. Therefore according to Alfred nurture is the most important factor. Recently research suggests that children, who are brought up in a rich environment where they receive lost of love and mental motivation, are much more likely to develop higher levels of intelligence that children who are not brought up in such an environment. For example feral children who are raised by animals.
One famous example of a feral child was a boy named Victor; he was discovered in a French forest at aged seven and afterwards studied by Gaspard Itard. Regardless Itard’s effort to teach Victor, he never did achieve a normal level of intelligence. Genie was also found in 1970. She was kept tied to a potty chair in a complete darkness, as result she did not have any language skills. The left hemisphere of her brain which controls language was so under stimulated, that her brain physically shrunk and she could never develop her capacity for learning language. However, after she was discovered, Genie learned numbers of words but she was never able to learn proper grammar and syntax which is an important requirement for using language correctly. This shows that, as human beings we may all have the potential to achieve a certain level of intelligence, which is determined by genetics, it is the environment we are exposed to which determines whether or not we realise that intelligence.
Feral children also shows that our early years of childhood is very important in developing intelligence, and that if intelligence is not given a chance to develop, then after a certain period in life it may never fully develop. Therefore in life, it is likely that both nature and nurture are important in developing intelligence. Our genetics may determine how intelligent we become and our environment will either allow us to inhibit it.
Physical development of a feral child
Feral children have a variety of physical abnormality. Their bodies are normally covered with hair and various differences in shape of skull. Their arms and legs are normally longer than what we classify has ‘normal’
Intellectual development
Victor and Genie are a fine example that shows that language could be a factor of nurture. In their cases, they never developed language because their left brains got smaller, due to lack of stimulation. Their brain never developed the capacity of language. Children, who have been brought up by animals, never have had any human contact. “Chomsky theory stated that ‘language is innate to humans’. He states that from an early stage, humans are not only able to make sounds but can also apply meaning to them, which is highly complex”. This shows that unless children are exposed to language in the critical period, they lose much of their natural ability to learn a language.
Our environment is entirely responsible for providing us with language, the ability to think. However nature also plays an important role. For example the brain is the control centre of the central nervous system, which is responsible for our behaviours. “John Locke’s theory states that, people learn and acquire ideas from the environment. As human being we are born with an empty mind, having no knowledge whatsoever. People acquire ideas from the surrounding world, turning simple ideas into complex ones. This blank slate of mind starts off empty of any knowledge but then it is written on a person lives and experiences. Therefore, a person has no identity until after birth”.
Our genetic results have a large effect on the intellectual abilities and other characteristics of human beings. As an individual it very important in developing language and that if this language is not given a chance to develop, then after a certain period in life it may never fully develop. Therefore it is likely that both nature and nurture are important in developing language. For example, nature may have endowed a child with the potential to become six feet tall but if his or her nutrition is poor he or she may become five feet two or the child may have the gene to become a great musician but with no opportunity to learn, the environment will not allow the child to inhibit at talent. This shows that, an individual can go beyond his or her hereditary potentially. Language needs to be developed between the ages of six; if this is not developed then grammar will not be formed.
Emotional and Social development
As feral children, they find it hard to socialise with the outside world. It’s very complex for them to from a secure attachment with individuals. Attachment is very important for early relationships in childhood development. When a child does not from secure attachments, it then becomes a failure to form attachment in early life. For example, with Edik he also learned dog behaviour but he developed his language because he received some human contact from his parents, he had much better chance of recovering in terms of language. However, he lacked emotional and social development because he missed out the opportunity to socialise with others. Erikson’s theory stated that if children don’t have their basic needs for security met early life, they can become distrusting and fearful.
