University:
Loyola University Maryland
Course:
PY 222 | Cognitive Psychology
Academic year:

2023
Views:

51

Pages:

2
Author:

Natasya J.

Heredity Versus Environment For as long as scentists have studied animals and people, they have asked questions abour what is caused by heredity - that is, what is actually contar- ned in the genes themselves — and what is caused by the environment — which is what goes on in the world around us. The issue of which is responsible Is called the nature /nurture controversy. Things that do not depend primarily on learving are due to physical factors, or nature; things that are learned are due to the enuronment, or nurture. Before we can understand how chudsen develop, we need to know which abilitles and characteristics are mostly due to their physical nature. We already know that environ. ment. or nurruce, plays a large part in the development ot most skus. Nearly always, though, the source have sclentists begun to study the processes by which this interaction might take place (Bronfonbrenner & Ceca, 1994). Let's consider an exampie. Not that long ago, most people, including so-called experts, claimed that the world of the intant was chaos and confusion. How very wrong this view turned out to be! The interaction berween environment and heredity can be seen clearly un some experiments that show alert and intelligent the seemingly mindless infant reallyis. To understand one study in this area, you have to know fust of all that infants can vary their sucking patterns on nipples or pacifiers.