Week Five

           

Nature vs. Nurture debate is strong and everlasting between biologists and sociologists. “Nature” argues that the person we will someday become depends on our genetics. For example, a child born from an alcoholic mother and psychopathic father will turn out to be a criminal no matter what environment you put it in. The nurture side of the debate argues that genetics have no say in how we turn out as people. How we are raised, the tactics used, the amount of social interaction and love given when we are children, the environment we are brought up in has

everything to do with how we turn out one day and what good we do our world. John B. Watson was a behaviorist, meaning he believed that behavioral patterns are not instinctive but learned. The effects of social isolation are brutal, for example the story of Isabelle, she was denied any contact with other people, nobody talked to her and nobody loved her. As a result, Isabelle could not be rehabilitated, she was forever an outsider with about 5 words to her knowledge. Sociologists such as Freud, Piaget, Kohlberg and Erikson dictated what we know about the nurture argument today. They included topics from the levels we accomplish cognitively as we age such as sensorimotor, preoperational, and formal operational, and the development of our moral compass. The agents of socialization also play a huge role in the development of a child, responsible nurturing needs to be provided while growth. The proper love and amount of touch is important to allow the child to trust our world and feel comforted in their environment.