Essay | Nature/Nurture Debate

Over the years, psychologists have debated whether one's behavior or traits are molded by nature or nurture. This debate is extremely significant for psychologists to pinpoint how individual differences originate. Nature refers to anything biological or innate such as genes, hormones or brain injuries. Nurture is everything environmental that occurs outside the body. For example, upbringing, pollution, culture, and psychological factors. This essay will explore the debate by firstly giving a brief history, then explaining the usage of twin and adoption studies in measuring genetic influences and finally illustrating the importances of nature and nurture in determining the many causes of schizophrenia.

Years ago, psychologists separated into two groups; one believed nature was the solitary cause of one's traits or behavior and the other argued that nurture as the sole contributor of one's development. Charles Darwin belonging to the former group argued that genetics manipulated one's behavior (Myers, 2001)....
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