Nurture vs Nature: Decoding the Mysteries of Human Development

[Erus]

I was watching something on this the other day, about how serial killers or odd people who were brought up well but still turn out to be the opposite of how they were brought up. Pondering it, I came up with a few questions.

Could too much nuture lead to negative feelings towards people, things, places?

Could the concept of nurturing be quite subjective? Think of how many different ways nuturing could be done, from nuturing your child psychologically, extremely, etc.

Too much nurturing could cause the later natural lifestyle of the individual.
Also too little the same can happen. Then again, nurture is apart of nature and nature does not keep everything too slick and easy.

Naturally your brain is wired a certain way. Some people find educational shows boring, I myself find them entertaining. Does that depend on my upbringing?

 

[the number 42]

Could too much nuture lead to negative feelings towards people, things, places?

I have always wondered what causes dyslexia, but if we are going to have a narture/nuture debate, I'm not playing.

 

[magus niche]

*say the individual is consisted of:
part life experience up to the present moment (nurture?),
part genetic information (nature?).

*yep, it seems the upbringing of an individual plays a substantial role.
too much nurture could be negative. balance is desirable.


*but this is not the whole truth of the matter.

*other major factors of influence upon an individual may include:

>media intake (ie. television, radio, internet, books, imagery etc.)

>chance/fate/external phenomena (ie. natural disasters/miracles, fortune, suffering, day to day encounters etc.)

>any other sensory input.


hope this
helps hint
in a constructive direction----------------->

 

[0TheSwerve0]

It's all in the horoscope...

 

[the number 42]

And I'm definitely not up for one of those nature/nurture/nebula debates...

 

[honestrosewater]

Could the concept of nurturing be quite subjective? Think of how many different ways nuturing could be done, from nuturing your child psychologically, extremely, etc.

It seems there's a misunderstanding. In the context of the nature v. nurture debate, nurture means "experience", not "caring for, tending to, providing for, etc." The word nurture is used because of its similarity to the word nature, that's all.

 

[opaper]

I see what you are trying to say here however I think that you may also consider that although we do draw on our experiences in our decision making, we also were influenced by our parents when collecting many important experiences. Therefore one may consider that each person’s cognitive landscape assimilates experience not only at different rates but also with different rules. It maybe the unfortunate experience of a child to grow up in the company of parents that undermine critical thinking procedure and therefore skew the chances of a successful outcome when interpreting common experiences. It may only be one’s nature (shall we include brain chemicals here?) that allows them to overcome this obstacle. It’s my belief that nature and nurture will remain forever married as long as we remain a thinking organism. As far as how to raise good children, I’ve always felt that looking them square in the eyes is a good beginning.

 

[the number 42]

... nature (shall we include brain chemicals here?)...

Ish. Lots of biochemicals are affected by the environment e.g. serotonin by sunlight.

As far as how to raise good children, I’ve always felt that looking them square in the eyes is a good beginning.

Staring at children is probably a prerequisite of any healthy parenting style. If they don't blink first, reward them with some fruit.

 

[misogynisticfeminist]

Asking about nature or nurture to social scientists is like asking texans would they vote republican or democrat.

 

[hitssquad]

Definitions of nature and nurture

It seems there's a misunderstanding. In the context of the nature v. nurture debate, nurture means "experience", not "caring for

Nurture means environment. The M-W Unabridged says nurture means:

--
4 : the sum of the influences modifying the expression of the genetic potentialities of an organism
--


And it says nature means:

--
14 : the genetically controlled qualities of an organism <nature ... modified by nurture — E.G.Conklin>
--

 

[honestrosewater]

Eek. I shouldn't have been so brusque. I also didn't know why 'nurture' was used; It was just a guess. Sorry, I was young, live and learn. FYI:

Richard Fulkerson calls our attention to a line from the 17th century, "Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward" (Richard Mulcaster) and from Shakespeare, "A devil, a born devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick" (The Tempest). But it was Galton (Darwin's cousin) who called this question the "nature vs nurture" debate.
-http://environmentalet.org/psy111/naturenurture.htm

Several other sites also claim Galton coined the phrase.

 

[saltydog]

The child is father to the man. Growth is highly non-linear: the slightest perturbation can lead to an avalanche of change, a catastrophe in fact. You know, like "he snapped". That's why it's so difficult to interpret our developmental history: one grows to be a lawyer; the other, a beggar. A random, casual encounter on the street one morning leads to a relationship, a family, children, an entire life, all because of a 50-cent newspaper!

 

[Charles Brough]

A person should be able to take every close relative in his life and figure out what traits that person had on his own developments. I can do that myself, so I imagine anyone can. Whether I grew up sociable or a loner-type, however, had to do largely with other things. Also, the different nature of your sex urges is apparently all genetic and also makes a difference. The I.Q. would be genetic. It is possible for a person to look at him or herself and figure out where everything came from. After all, that is what science is, the finding of cause. On top of that, of course, there is the general pressure of public opinion. We instinctively look to it for cues and the advertisers respond. Why else are we so materialistic and consumer driven?