...research into the Nature vs. Nurture theories. Being that do we inherit traits from our biological parents or does the environments in which we are raised contribute to how we turn out as adults. Sometimes it seems that that there is no black or white answer to the age-old question of what contributes to human behavior, personality, and psychopathology. There are common traits within biological parents that children can pick up but it seems that in some cases, children can be adaptive to their environment. So we shall examine this curiosity that takes us into finding out whether we are genetically inherit to some of the biological traits of our parents or if living in certain environments develop our social well being. There have been studies into schizophrenia and the genetic traits that may be passed on to the children. The study was conducted to observe children who had biological parents who suffered from schizophrenia and their adoptive parents showed no signs of the illness. The study was also conducted on children from biological parents who showed no signs of schizophrenia adopted by a parent who later showed signs or family history of the illness. The research showed that although there is no definitive answer for what causes schizophrenia, children whose biological parents that suffered from schizophrenia had a higher recidivism rate for contracting the disease. “This study also showed that the adoptees whose biological parents suffered from schizophrenia...
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...2013 Open Adoption vs. Closed: A Narcissism Ride Imagine being blind and experiencing the following. You’re 7 years old and your parents have just been in a devastating car crash and right before your eyes you’re now an orphan. Suddenly within weeks, you’re with a family that is in no relation to you and you have brothers and sisters but you do not know where they are because they have been placed with another family. Now having no source of connection with them, you feel emptiness inside because of this tragic change that has happened around you and your family within a short time span. Personally speaking this would be incapacitating to be around a family that were no resemblance to me; who they were or where they came from, and having them make decisions about my life without having any benefaction of my choice. In what manner do the rights of others have to anyone’s information for medical records through a closed adoption process, halting any of the child’s connections? The steps of adoption is to give the child a better contingency at life, though to interfere and disconnect his or her life ties involving their bloodline and history would not be sufficient to their lives in anyway. In other words to have a closed adoption is like someone telling a child there is no way of acquainting with the birth family or simply there is no history to be told about his or her biological roots. Generally speaking parents who adopt or the parents who put their children...
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...Serial Killer is born a killer not made into one Introduction: This essay will discuss psychopathy, by connecting an individual's criminal behaviour or psychopathic tendencies to their biological makeup. It will do so through analysing the theory of nature vs nurture and three experiments or research. The theory of nature vs nurture will attempt to provide a base for psychological understanding of serial killer tendencies. The essay will then attempt to reassert the nature aspect of theory as a reality through the three experiments that will be discussed. Thesis: In all, this essay will prove to link that biological deviations are the primary cause of criminal or aggressive behaviour in an individual. Paragraph 1: Experiment/ research...
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...2014 Nature vs Nurture The nature vs nurture debate has been a raging topic for decades now. It has caused much controversy in justifying human characteristics, especially concerning the defense of criminal behavior. Many people believe that our actions and conduct comes from the genes we possess, and that we are born with a higher likelihood to act in certain ways. Others believe that our behavior is a result of our childhood, and how we are brought up. Extensive research has been done on the nature vs nurture debate. Although both nature and nurture ultimately affect one’s behavioral characteristics, it seems nurture has a much greater impact. So, is our behavior affected by our heredity and genes, or by the environment we grow up in? What is nature? “Nature is your genes. The physical and personality traits determined by your genes stay the same irrespective of where you were born and raised” ("Nature vs Nurture." Diffen.com. Diffen LLC, n.d. Web. 3 Dec 2014). Taking in the consideration of I.Q., studies prove that genetics has a great effect. Adopted siblings have no more similar of an I.Q. than strangers, while blood related siblings have an I.Q. correlation of .6. Twins especially, having an I.Q. correlation of .86 (Nancy,L. Same-Age Unrelated Siblings: A Unique Test of Within-Family Environmental Influences on IQ Similarity. Journal of Educational Psychology. 1997 June; 89(2): 381-390.) DeNoto, 1 Nature vs Nurture The nature vs nurture debate...
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...Scientist have debated about nature vs. nurture and whether, which one can be scientifically proven to provide evidence about the facts; from human behavior and identical twins separated at birth. Looking through the points of nature argues that put made by their parents, scientifically speaking, every trait and gene is genetically passed down through our parents. On another note, nurture provides us with evidence about our personalities and how they are sculpted through how and where we grew up (Scott, 2008). Of course dramatic experiences change a person’s perspective on certain issues throughout the course of time. Looking through some research I have discovered two main examples that argue both nature and nurture. The movie “Elf” shows us that him growing up in North...
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...Open VS Closed Adoption Background Adoption is a process by which those who adopt a child become the child’s legal parents, and the child ceases to be the legal child of his or her biological parents (Higgins, 2010). All the legal consequences of parenthood are transferred from birth parents to the adoptive parents. The adopted child receives a new birth certificate showing the adopters as the parents, and acquires rights of support and inheritance from the adopting parents. The adopting parents acquire rights to guardianship and custody of the child. Normally the child takes the adopters’ surname. The birth parents cease to have any legal obligations towards the child and lose their rights to custody and guardianship. For an adoption to...
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...Journey 11th Grade 2012 Is Adoption an option? Adoption is one of the decisions that can be made with an unwanted pregnancy. Many women believe this is the best option. Adoption can be very difficult because of the emotional attachment involved. Some women who plan to have their baby adopted change their minds after giving birth. Giving up your child can be a very stressful time in a person's life. Some reasons why women give their baby up for adoption is, because they feel they can not give the baby as much love and support as he/she needs, or they can't financially support a baby at that time. Adoption is something that can be totally confidential and you don't need your parent's signature or consent for anything. Parents can neither force nor prevent adoption because they have no rights to your child. It is only legal to sign papers agreeing to adoption after your baby is at least six weeks old. This gives the mother time to change her mind. An adoption agency will place your child with the best suitable adopters. The mother and father can know as much or as little as they wish about the adoptive parents. After your child has been adopted you then have no right to contact your child. In some cases limited contact may be agreed. When the child is eighteen years old, he/she will legally be able to obtain their original birth certificate and adoption papers. Very few teens choose adoption. There are many reasons why, they bond to their unborn child...
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...Nature versus Nurture Psychology 101 The flight test director for Boeing and a drug addict living in a trailer have more in common than you might think; in this case they are siblings. The brothers are born from the same parents, raised in the same home, given the same opportunities, yet polar opposites of one another. Scenarios such as this pose the question of what makes a person who they are, their environment, or their genes. For centuries the controversy between nature and nurture has been argued among experts. The debate is whether environmental influences or genetic inheritance is responsible for our human makeup. History of Nature versus Nurture From the thirteenth century researcher to present day, the nature nurture controversy is anything but a new topic, although techniques and biases may differ throughout the centuries. In the Beginning In 1874, Francis Galton, published his book English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture, which “lays partial claim to the nature versus nurture phrase” (Groff, 1998, para.1). Galton states nature and nurture, “separates under two distinct heads the innumerable elements of which personality is composed. Nature is all that a man brings with him into the world; nurture is every influence from without that affects him after his birth” (Galton, 1874). However, in 1911 a manuscript was found dating back to the thirteenth century which suggested the terms of nature and nurture as well. Previous to this, the philosophers...
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...genetic factors suggesting that genetics are involved with the aggression of individuals. Research that supports the link between genetics and aggression was conducted by Rhee and Waldman who conducted a meta-analysis of 51 studies and found that there was a relationship between genetic factors and anti-social behaviour suggesting that genetics does have an effect on levels of aggression. Adoption studies have looked at examining levels of aggression between adopted children and their biological parents. If a positive correlation is found between the adoptee and biological parent then a genetic factor is implied but if a positive correlation is found between the adoptee and rearing family then a environmental factor may be implied suggesting that it is not only genetic factors that influence levels of aggression. Research that supports adoption studies was conducted by Hutchings and Mendick who studied 14,000 adoptions in Denmark. They found that boys who were sentenced to criminal conviction, their biological parents also had criminal conviction suggesting that genetics play a role in the aggressive behaviour of individuals. Another research that supports twin and adoption studies was conducted by Miles and Carey. They conducted a meta-analysis of 24 twin and adoption studies that supported the genetic...
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...PERSONALITY Psychoanalytic Freud’s psychosexual theory Structure: id (pleasure principle), ego (reality principle), superego (morals, ideals) Levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious, unconscious Development: oral, anal, phallic (Oedipal complex, penis envy), latency, genital Fixations Defense mechanisms - reduce anxiety Repression (primary) Regression Reaction formation Rationalization Displacement Sublimation Projection Denial Neo-Freudians Adler—social, not sexual tensions * Birth order, inferiority complex Horney—rejected penis envy idea Carl Jung—collective unconscious Assessment Projective tests Rorschach TAT - Thematic Apperception Test Draw-a-person Sentence completion Evaluation: * Repression often not shown (vivid memory often results after trauma) * Terror management theory Social-cognitive Reciprocal determinism—interplay of Personal factors/internal cognition Behavior Environment Personal control (Julian Rotter) External locus of control Internal locus of control *Without internal locus, learned helplessness results Explanatory style (Martin Seligman) Optimistic Unstable, specific, external Pessimistic Stable, global, internal Bandura Personality influenced by observational learning, outside influences (Bobo doll study) Self-efficacy (belief in ability to do things that lead to positive outcomes) Humanism Maslow—self-actualization Hierarchy of needs * Safety—security—love—selfesteem—self-actualization Carl Rogers—person-centered Genuineness Unconditional...
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...impact teenagers almost the same amount as their parents. Teenagers go to their friends for help or to ask questions that they could not ask their parents about. Most of the time their friends give them good advice but then there is the down side when they put pressure on their friends to do something like to smoke, drink, and do drugs. In most cases they tell their friends how to dress and act when around certain people. Love relationships just make it even harder for a teenager to get a good education. Some start to fail in school because they are hanging out with their boyfriend or girlfriend instead of doing their work. Throughout adolescence, teenagers are positively and negatively impacted by several relationships such as friends, family, and love relationships. Friends have a big influence on teenagers because they can say and do many of things to teenagers who think they were friends. They also start rumors and take their friends girlfriend or boyfriend and have them cheat on their friend. Some go out to drink, smoke, or to do drugs just to have fun but some think of driving home and most teenagers do not even make it to their driveways. Some teenagers who are so depressed about their social problems even think about committing suicide. Most start to hurt others turn into “goth’s” by dressing in all black. Many of depressed people show how they feel by dressing differently by acting out and hurting others in school. Parents have a big influence on teenagers because their...
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...Most people believe that they deserve the rights they are granted by the government. An upstanding citizen who pays their taxes, serves their community and abides by the law should be afforded the rights of an American. However, not all citizens are afforded equal rights. Gay and lesbians are consistently denied rights that are typically taken for granted by the average American. Specifically, gay and lesbians couples are denied the right to marry even if they are upstanding citizens. They are held at an unfair disadvantage solely because of their sexual orientation. This discrimination must stop because gay and lesbian couples are law-abiding citizens too, who should be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples. One common problem that plagues gay and lesbian couples that are denied the right to marry is their inability to claim their partner’s social security after he or she has died. The Human Rights Campaign, which work to achieve equal rights for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people, is supporting the effort to attain survivor benefits for domesticate partners. They believe, “Any alteration to the Social Security system must include partners of gays and lesbians in its definition of survivor”(Survivor Benefits 1). Currently, there are no programs that give homosexuals survivor benefits like the ones that are provided for heterosexuals who are married or divorced. Gay and lesbian partners are not able to claim benefits of their deceased, regardless...
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...doesn’t want to go through with her pregnancy. Abortion in today’s society has become very political. You are either pro-choice, pro-life, and there doesn’t seem to be a happy medium. As we look at abortion and research its history, should it remain legal in the United States, or should it be outlawed, we must consider both points of views. November 14, 1979, with the temperature outside at fifteen degrees, a two pound baby girl was found in a field wrapped up in a wet, dirty, old shirt. The umbilical cord was still attached, and the baby had been aborted twelve weeks prematurely. With little chance of survival, the baby was taken to a medical center. The little girl survived surgery and other efforts to save her. The baby was later adopted by Susan Morrison, one of the nurses who attended to her. The baby was named Christelle, and now she and her mother talk to thousands of people about abortion and the pro-life movement. There are 1,600,000 other abortion stories every year in the United States. “Abortion is the termination of pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by death of the embryo or fetus. Because life begins at conception, abortion is more than terminating a pregnancy, it is taking a life. The development of a baby can be medically documented. At 18 to 25 days, the baby’s heart starts to beat. At 40 to 42 days, the brain waves can be detected and at 8 weeks, the baby can grasp its own hands. It can also swim with a natural swimmer’s...
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...Most people believe that they deserve the rights they are granted by the government. An upstanding citizen who pays their taxes, serves their community and abides by the law should be afforded the rights of an American. However, not all citizens are afforded equal rights. Gay and lesbians are consistently denied rights that are typically taken for granted by the average American. Specifically, gay and lesbians couples are denied the right to marry even if they are upstanding citizens. They are held at an unfair disadvantage solely because of their sexual orientation. This discrimination must stop because gay and lesbian couples are law-abiding citizens too, who should be afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples. One common problem that plagues gay and lesbian couples that are denied the right to marry is their inability to claim their partner’s social security after he or she has died. The Human Rights Campaign, which work to achieve equal rights for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender people, is supporting the effort to attain survivor benefits for domesticate partners. They believe, “Any alteration to the Social Security system must include partners of gays and lesbians in its definition of survivor”(Survivor Benefits 1). Currently, there are no programs that give homosexuals survivor benefits like the ones that are provided for heterosexuals who are married or divorced. Gay and lesbian partners are not able to claim benefits of their deceased, regardless...
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...change; for example can you still improve your intellectual skills when you are in your 60’s or 70’s. Or may they be fixed by your 30’s Contextual – contexts include families, schools, peer groups, churches, cities, neighborhoods. Each is influenced by historical, economic, social and cultural factors. Normative age- graded influences- are similar for individuals in a particular age group Puberty Menopause Starting kindergarten Normative history-graded influences- are common to people of a particular generation because of historical circumstances. Living time during a historical event WWII, cold War, great depression, 9/11, The Great Depression Non-normative life events - Individual events that happen to people. Kindergarten parents died Hurricane Katrina, car wreck, young kid has a stroke. Development Stages Prenatal (conception – birth) from a single cell to a complete organism with a brain and behavioral capabilities. Infancy (birth – 24 months) – psychological activities (language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination and social learning. Early Childhood (2-5 yrs.)- “preschool years” young children learn to become self-sufficient and care for themselves. Middle Late childhood (6-11) fundamental skills of...
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