NATURE VS. NURTURE

Nature vs. Nurture is the latest controversy surrounding human ideas and beliefs. This is a term used in psychology related to whether heredity (nurture) or the environment (nature) most impact human psychological behavior. Francis Galton, a biological scientist, was the first person to use the term “nature vs. nurture” inspired by his cousin, Charles Darwin, and the book he wrote, “Origin of Species”. Galton is recognized as the “father of behavioral genetics”. A few topics that are part of the debate are if: behavior, habits, intelligence, personality, aggressive tendencies, sexuality are all caused by nurture or nature. The general consensus of the debate between Nature vs. Nurture is that our psychological behavior is formed by both our environment and how we are born. In my opinion our behavior has more to do with our past experiences than with what we are born. Some of born with more potential than others but how we are treated and helped by our environment that is how we will be. If a child goes to school and his parents are always trying to make ways so that he feels comfortable and happy with it, he will surely be more intelligent that someone that didn’t even go to school.

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SOURCES: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/Section/What-does-nature-versus-nurture-mean-.id-305406,articleId-36981.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/galton.shtml

CHARLES DARWIN AND HIS THEORY

Charles Darwin was born at February 12, 1809 in a town at England. Charles was one of the first evolutionary biologists that developed a theory that would change people’s believes. His most famous books published were: “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” and “The Descent of Man” which would soon be greatly criticized specially by the Catholic Church. Darwin arrived to the theory of Natural Selection after making his voyage in the HMS Beagle captained by Fitz Roy. This ship navigated through all the world were Darwin saw that many animals were from the same species but had different characteristics to adapt at their environment, especially in the Galapagos Islands. From these observations he developed his theory that said that “survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism’s ability to adapt to its environment. Through many experiments and after 20 years of collecting data he wrote his book. In the 18 hundreds when he developed this idea and wrote his book many people were against him because of the power that religion had. This theory was like killing God and would have a great impact in society. Darwin had so much anguish over developing his theory and publishing his book because he was a Christian and somewhat believed in God. Also, he knew the social impact that would happen if this theory was accepted by people; if there is no God, there is no good and everyone would live only for survival. People would become more like animals and this could become very dangerous. At last he published his book with the authorization of his wife in 1859.

Sources: http://www2.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/96feb/darwin.html

             http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Darwin.htm

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior. It seeks to understand and explain thought, emotion, and behavior in a living being. Applications of psychology include mental health treatment, performance enhancement, self-help, ergonomics, and many other areas affecting health and daily life. Psychology is very important for us because we learn about the behavior of people, animals and other creature; understanding how and why they act in a certain way can help us or psychologists make their life easier and more comfortable.

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychology101/f/psychfaq.htm

http://www.st-aug.edu/academics/divisions/socialscience/psychology/whatispsychology.htm