- Join over 1.2 million students every month
- Accelerate your learning by 29%
- Unlimited access for just £4.99 per month
The nature/nurture debate in childhood development.
- Essay length: 2638 words
- Submitted: 17/03/2004
-
Marked by teacher:
Sam Morran
Teacher essay summary
This is an excellent essay that demonstrates good research and understanding. It is evident that the writer knows what they are talking about.
The writer could extend by discussing a little more application of the theory to the context they are discussing
*****
Marked by teacher Sam Morran 01/12/2012
The first 200 words of this essay...
The nature/nurture debate in childhood development
The nature/nurture debate is the controversy surrounding the relative influence of environment and heredity on children's behaviour. Particularly, does nature and nurture interact? Questions include; is language acquired because the environment demands it or because it is genetically determined? Are boys more aggressive than girls because of the culture we live in or because it is in their genes? How is emotional development influenced? The debate revolves around nature verses nurture, nature with nurture, nature alone or nurture alone.
In 350BC Plato believed that most ideas were innate, a view still held in 1600's by Descartes. Wiggam (1923) stated "Heredity, not environment is chief maker of man... the differences among men are due to differences in germ cells with which they were born." Alternatively, empirical philosopher like John Locke (1632-1704) insisted that the mind is blank, a "tabula rasa". Locke argued that all ideas came from experience.
Early studies have focused mainly upon the environmental influence, e.g. in the home. More recently there have been moves towards researching biological effects on the roots of behaviour and development. One reason is new technology allows psychologists and physiologists to study the
Found what you're looking for?
- Start learning 29% faster today
- Over 150,000 essays available
- Just £4.99 a month
Not the one? We have 100's more
Child Development (view all)
- Health and Social care
- Health, Social Care and Early years provisions.
- Professional development
- Describe the expected stage of social development of childre...
- Barriers to Communication.
MbT essay summary
This is an excellent essay that demonstrates good research and understanding. It is evident that the writer knows what they are talking about.
The writer could extend by discussing a little more application of the theory to the context they are discussing
*****
