Man has always tried to understand why he is the way he is. Why are some people soft-tempered and some tough? Some learn quickly and some late? Some break down in situations, and some become strong right there? Behind all these questions is the same basic debate, which is called "nature vs nurture" in psychology.
This debate is actually an attempt to understand how much of a person's personality, habits, intelligence, and behavior is determined at the time of his birth and how much he learns throughout life. The fact is that a person is neither a blank sheet of paper nor a completely written page. A person is an entity in which both nature and environment together shape him.
What is nature? The Real Truth of Nature
Nature refers to the basic makeup that a person gets at birth. This makeup is transmitted through genes that reach from parents to children. Through these genes, physical characteristics such as height, complexion, eye color, physical strength, and, to some extent, mental sensitivity are transmitted.
Most people take nature in a wrong sense. They think that the habit or behavior that is seen in a person is his nature and will never change. However, the fact is that nature only provides the basic survival kit. It enables a person to survive but does not determine his complete personality.
Human nature is not static like animals. Animals cannot go beyond a certain limit, but humans have the ability to learn, change, and improve themselves.
genes and environment psychology
What is nurture? Environment, training and life experiences
"Nurture" refers to all the factors that a person learns in his life. It includes the home environment, parental behavior, relationship with siblings, education, school, teachers, friends, society, culture, and religious values.
The environment he receives in childhood forms the foundation of a person. If a child receives protection, love, and attention, then confidence develops within him. If he receives fear, uncertainty, or harshness, he can become weak from within. This is why two children with the same abilities can go to different environments and become completely different people.
It is this nurture that creates habits within a person, and these habits are later considered part of nature, although they are learned behaviors.
The relationship between genes and environment
Modern science clearly recognizes that nature and nurture do not work separately but influence each other. Genes tell what a person can become, while the environment determines what he actually becomes.
For example, a child may have the potential for intelligence, but if he does not get the opportunity to learn, that potential is lost. Similarly, if someone has high emotional sensitivity, a good environment can make him compassionate and understanding, while a bad environment can make him weak or anxious.
Understanding Heritability in a Simple Way
Heritability does not mean that an individual’s traits are entirely genetic. In fact, heritability tells us how much of the difference in a group is due to genes and how much to environment.
If most people in a society are the same height, it does not mean that height is solely due to genes. If the same people suffer from malnutrition, the average height will decrease. This shows that heredity can also change with circumstances.
Height: A Clear Example of Nature and Nurture
Height is an example that the average person can easily understand. Genes give a person the ability to be tall or short, but diet, health, and childhood care actually change this ability.
If there is a shortage of food in a society, people cannot grow tall despite their genes. This proves that both nature and nurture are necessary; neither one alone is sufficient.
Intelligence: Innate or Learned?
There is a common misconception that intelligence is completely innate. In fact, genes do play a role in intelligence, but they are not the only factor. Education, experiences, an environment to ask questions, and opportunities to develop intelligence all contribute to intelligence.
Research also shows that parental influence is limited. Children raised in the same household can vary in intelligence and personality. This is because each child experiences, feels, and reacts differently.
Identical Twins: A Mirror of Reality
Identical twins have exactly the same genes, but their personalities, thoughts, and likes and dislikes can still be different. These differences are proof that environment and experiences make a person unique.
If genes were everything, twins would be completely identical, but that is not the case.
German Crayfish Experiment: Science is also surprised
The crayfish experiment in Germany is proof that there are some factors in life that are neither entirely genes nor entirely environment. Despite having the same genes and the same environment, the results were different.
This reveals that random factors also play a role in life that cannot be completely controlled.
Childhood: The most sensitive stage of nature and nurture
Childhood is the stage in a person’s life where nature and nurture collide and merge with each other with the greatest force. When a child is born, he has a foundation in the form of genes, but the environment does the work of building a building on this foundation. If the environment is balanced at this stage, then the weaknesses of nature are also taken care of, and if the environment is spoiled, then even the strong genes are suppressed.
In childhood, a child does not know what is good and what is bad. What he sees, hears, and feels, that is what settles inside him. If anger is normal in front of a child, he starts considering anger as nature. If a child is repeatedly ignored, he starts considering himself unimportant. All these things are not taught by genes; they are taught by nurture.
The Role of Parents: Blame or Responsibility?
People often ask whether parents are responsible for the personality of their children. The truth is that the role of parents is very important, but this role does not have complete control. Parents provide the environment, but each child experiences this environment in their own way.
Why are two children raised in the same home different despite having the same parents, the same rules, and the same facilities? The reason is that each child has a different nature, and each child derives a different meaning from the environment. This is the combination of nature and nurture.
If parents understand that the child is not a project of their will but a free being, they can provide better training.
Education: The most systematic weapon of nurture
Education is the strongest and most systematic form of nurture. Schools, teachers, and the educational environment create a way of thinking within a person. Education is not just about memorizing books but training in asking questions, understanding, and making decisions.
A child who is allowed to ask questions becomes mentally strong. A child who is forced to just memorize becomes a victim of limited thinking. Here, not nature, but nurture decides which direction intelligence will go.
Society and culture: Silent but powerful influence
The society in which a person lives has a profound effect on his personality. Language, customs, religious attitudes, and social expectations gradually shape a person’s behavior. Often a person thinks that he is making decisions on his own, but in reality he is acting according to social pressure.
This is also nurture, but this nurture is so silent that a person does not recognize it.
Habits: Not Nature, but Continuous Training
Many of the things we call nature are actually habits that have been repeated over and over again. The older the habit, the stronger it seems, and the person begins to consider it as his nature.
For example, someone says that "I am angry; it is my nature." If we look at his childhood, we often find anger, scolding, or harshness there. This is not nature but a learned response.
Modern Psychology
Modern psychology believes that it is not possible to understand a person through nature or nurture alone. A person is a complex system that includes genes, environment, experiences, and personal decisions.
That is why today's science avoids calling a child "bad" or a "failure," but rather looks at what factors are at work behind it.
New form of nature and nurture in modern life
The debate between nature and nurture in today's modern life has become more complex than ever. In the past, a person's environment was limited. Home, neighborhood, and a few close relationships were the main sources of nurture. Today, a person is breathing in an environment where the pressure of media, social networks, technology, and constant information is affecting his thinking and behavior.
This modern nurture either stimulates or suppresses the natural tendencies within a person. If a sensitive person is constantly surrounded by negative news, his sensitivity can turn into anxiety. Similarly, a curious mind can make extraordinary progress if it is surrounded by positive information and learning opportunities. This makes it clear that nurture changes over time and its effects also keep changing.
Social media: The new powerful element of nurture
Social media has become a huge form of nurture in today's era. A person is no longer learning only from his home or society, but the thoughts, behaviors, and lifestyles of the whole world are in front of him. This can broaden and confuse a person's thinking.
Some people start to think less of themselves after looking at social media, while some use it as a means of learning and moving forward. Here too, nature and nurture work together. A person who has a strong foundation of self-confidence benefits from this environment, and one who has weakness becomes vulnerable to pressure.
Trauma and experiences: Deep impact on personality
Traumas and intense experiences in life are aspects of nurture that deeply affect a person's personality. Events that occur in childhood or adolescence can have a long-term impact on a person's behavior, confidence, and decisions.
But here it is important to understand that not every person reacts to trauma in the same way. Some people break down and some become stronger. The reason for this difference is both nature and nurture. Innate resilience and the support received from the environment play a role in maintaining or breaking a person.
Self-Responsibility:
The most important conclusion of the nature versus nurture debate is that man cannot consider himself completely helpless. If everything were determined by genes, change would not be possible, and if everything were environment, responsibility would be meaningless.
Man stands between the two and takes responsibility for himself. He can understand why he is like this, and then decide how he should become. This is the real power of consciousness in man.
Training and Correction: Possible at Every Age
A big misconception is that personality is formed only in childhood and does not change later. The reality is that personality is formed and changes throughout life. The only difference is that change is easier in childhood and more difficult with age, but never impossible.
Education, self-study, positive association and conscious decisions can improve a person's upbringing at every age. This is why there are correctional institutions, educational systems and training centers in the world.
Benefits of Understanding Nature and Nurture
When a person understands why he is the way he is, he develops tolerance for others. He does not judge people quickly, but tries to understand their background.
This understanding leads to softness, tolerance and improvement in society. This knowledge forms the basis of education, psychology and social development.
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