Nature versus Nurture

I do not side strongly with one particular viewpoint on the Nature vs. Nurture debate as I think both viewpoints provide relevant and important information since there is a biological and social interplay involved in shaping a person. One aspect of the debate, just nature or just nature, is not solely responsible in shaping a person because both aspects are involved. However, I do designate significant value to the nurture side of the debate as their are numerous environmental influences that can affect a person, though a person's biological nature determines many characteristics as well.

How people develop depends greatly on socialization, or the developing awareness of self in society. There are numerous agents of socialization, or groups or contexts that shape our developing awareness, including family, school, work, peers, and the media, each of which has instrumental power in molding a person (Giddens, Duneier, Appelbaum, Carr, 2012).

Personally, I attribute part of my personality and success to the influences of my family and school. My mother, grandfather, and aunt foster my interest in education and learning, encouraging me to earn good grades, study, and develop a sound and confident, yet humble voice. They particularly emphasize my inherent right to be strong and intelligent, and that as a woman, I should own this power rather than back down from it, thereby admonishing the fading yet traditional gender stereotype of women being "less". Their encouragement has served to strengthen my self-confidence and motivation to continue excelling. When I knew what characteristics and attainments they valued to be important, I adopted the same principles, partially to please them and satisfy my human need for attention and affection, but mostly because I came to believe the principles myself. If I had been born into a different family, my personality might have developed differently, thus illustrating the influence of nurture.

Another instance of the importance of nurture is feral children. Our book touched on this subject with the Wild Boy from Aveyron and Genie. There is also another known instance of Oxana Malaya who was raised by dogs. See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PyUfG9u-P4
It is interesting, but quite sad. This further illustrates the importance of socialization, particularly at a young age. If one is not exposed to socialization in the early years of life, one is unlikely to develop properly in terms of expected human behavior, especially in terms of language.

I also want to note that biology also plays a part in a person though. For example, a boy is born color-blind, which is determined by his genes. He does not develop color-blindness due to his socialization (at least not that I know of).
There is also fascinating evidence on the power of genetics in studies of how identical twins reared apart still developed the same. In fact, in a study on a pair of twins, the men grew up in different homes in different parts of the country and did not know of each others existence. Upon a reunion as adults, it was discovered that their wives, sons, and dogs all had the same names and the men shared the same interests and similar occupations (Myers, 2010). While not related to gender, this still lends power to strength of nature.

In terms of gender, both nature and nurture are involved. There are many natural, scientific differences between genders. Besides the obvious physical differences, males and females also possess differences in hormones and brain structure thereby affecting actions, interests, and personalities. It was fascinating to learn in Psychology that men and women cannot think the same as our brains our different (Ohhh that explains a lot, right?!).

However, in relating nurture and gender, I learned of the social influence theory in Psychology, which states that we learn the appropriate gender roles through imitation and observation and by being rewarded or reprimanded for adopting the appropriate behavior (Myers, 2010). This goes hand in hand with gender socialization in Sociology in that we learn our appropriate gender roles through society: girls are taught to play with dolls, like the color pink, be sweet, play house, and eventually be a mother and raise a family. Boys are taught to be tough and strong, play sports, and eventually work and provide for a family. These traditional stereotypes are indeed traditional and they run deeply through our society, shaping our social roles and self- and social identities.

In the podcast, Ms. Lerner brought up equalizing genders and that we cannot do this unless we raise children differently. Children are the foundation to the future, so I agree. It would be difficult to completely go against the grain of society and completely break the standards of gender, so I think it is mostly important to raise people who develop a strong sense of self, empowerment with knowledge, and confidence and security within themselves to respect others and the differences among them. This may be a good starting strategy for developing greater gender equalization.

In summary, I believe in both nature and nurture. People are born with natural biological distinctions. Their composition greatly determines who they are and how they develop. Environmental influences or agents of socialization also greatly affect people and development too. Both sides of the debate mold a person, so I believe in the power of both.


Giddens, Anthony; Duneier, Mitchell; Appelbaum, Richard P.; Carr, Deborah (2012). Introduction to Sociology (8th ed.). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.  
Myers, D. G. (2010). Psychology (9th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishing.