Alexis Wallace
Project #2
How Movies Portray Nature vs. Nurture
The nature vs. nurture debate is a debate that’s been going on for years about whether a person’s genetic inheritance or the environment has a bigger effect on child development. Nature “refers to the inherited (genetic) characteristics and tendencies that influence development.” Excerpt from Child Development and Education, by T.M McDevitt, J.E. Ormrod, 2007 edition, p. 6-8. https://www.education.com/reference/article/nature-nurture/ . Nurture is “the environmental conditions that influence development.” Excerpt from Child Development and Education, by T.M McDevitt, J.E. Ormrod, 2007 edition, p. 6-8. https://www.education.com/reference/article/nature-nurture/ . People are coming to the conclusion that nature and nurture are equally as important and that they interact with each other. Meaning that some portion of a person’s personality could be genetic, however, after interacting with so many different people it’s possible that it could change a bit. In movies, there are plenty where nature is explained, i.e. Harry Potter and the Bad Seed. There are also movies like Spider-Man, where nurture seems to take place.
While things like eye color, hair color, weight, etc. come from genetics, where does our behavior as we grow up come from? It’s hard to believe that our behaviors and personalities are developed from only one or the other, rather than by both. Personalities could be somewhat genetic but with children interacting with so many other children at school their personality can change. Intelligence also develops by both nature and nurture. Reading a lot at a young age is known to help make kids smarter. “Children who can read well by the age of seven are more intelligent in later years, scientists have found.” Spencer, Ben. “Reading at a young age makes you smarter: Children who enjoy books early in life perform better at school during adolescence” Daily Mail, 24 Jul. 2014. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2703106/Reading-young-age-makes-smarter.html . So how are some kids, who didn’t read a lot growing up, just naturally smart? Does that come from genetics? “Investigators found that many different gene variants with small individual effects are involved in human intelligence.” Boyles, Salynn. “Study: Genes Play Big Role in Intelligence” University of Edinburgh, 9 Aug. 2011, http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20110809/genes-play-big-role-in-intelligence#1 . Ian Deary and other participants studied the DNA of 3,500 people for genetic variations. They found that 40-50% of intelligence is the result of genes. So what makes up the other 50%? Deary states in his research that the other half may be from environmental influences. It’s possible for things like exercise, love, and stress to affect a person’s biology. Epigenetics is the belief that both nature and nurture are both part of what makes us, us. It stands for “above nature and has to do with how nature and nurture interact”. Wikenius, Ellen. “Epigenetics: Nature vs Nurture.” YouTube, uploaded by Det medisinske fakultet UiO, 29 January 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50yMwEOWGU
People are starting to believe that both nature and nurture influence each other in how we are developed. “Perfect pitch is the ability to detect the pitch of a musical tone without any reference. Researchers have found that this ability tends to run in families and believe that it might be tied to a single gene. However, they've also discovered that possessing the gene alone is not enough to develop this ability. Instead, musical training during early childhood is necessary to allow this inherited ability to manifest itself.” Cherry, Kendra. What is Nature Versus Nurture. 24 Aug. 2016, https://www.verywell.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402 . Height is another example, a child may come from a tall family but if he doesn’t get proper nutrition he may never grow to be the height he’s supposed to. Life expectancy is something believed to be genetic, but if people don’t take care of themselves and eat healthy that can have a great impact on how long they live. If a person comes from a family of people who live to be 100, but he eats McDonald’s and Ramen Noodles every day he may not live to see 100.
What better way to learn about this debate than twins? NBC studies twins to find out whether nature or nurture is a bigger influence. They study identical twins that were given away at birth to two different families. The twins spent the first forty-five years of their life apart, but with the similarities they have people would think they were inseparable since birth. Whether it was a coincidence or not the identical twins were very alike, despite not having known each other for most of their lives. They both even bought the same exact shirt to wear in the video, without knowing it. However, a different family adopted two babies, from different mothers, who were born five months apart. They share interests in band, football, and public speaking; even though they aren’t biologically related. Their strengths and physical appearance are different but their interests are very similar. Genetic and environmental factors are almost equal in shaping people according to a twin study. Growing up in the same household and going to the same schools, whether being related or not, made the two adopted boys very similar. The two older twins who didn’t meet for forty-five years were also very similar in personality. This just proves that both nature and nurture affect personalities.
Nativists believe that our behavior and personalities are inherited, putting them on the nature side of the debate. People also believe that being gay is more nature because the percent of gay people is consistent in other countries throughout the world. “Being gay is now considered a genetic phenomenon rather than being influenced by the environment.” Nature vs. Nurture. 2009, http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nature_vs_Nurture . Diffen.com tested the IQ of adopted siblings, full siblings, and twins. Adopted siblings had no correlation in IQ scores, full siblings had a correlation of 0.6, and twins a correlation of 0.86. With this information it looks as though intelligence is somewhat genetic. They also believe that personality is shaped by nature rather than nurture. “Biological siblings are more similar in personality than adoptive siblings. Each observation suggests that personality is heritable to a certain extent.” Nature vs. Nurture. 2009, http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nature_vs_Nurture .
In the series Harry Potter, Harry loses his parents when he was a baby, resulting in him living with his aunt and uncle. Everyone that knew his parents loved them, they got along with everyone. His aunt and uncle didn’t get along with his parents, because they were wizards, so they are awful to Harry. They make him sleep in a tiny room under the stairs and he has to wear his cousin’s old worn down clothes. However, even after growing up with dreadful people, Harry remains true to himself. He doesn’t become like the family he had to grow up with. This shows nurture because Harry’s personality came from his parents that he lost. He wasn’t influenced by the environment he grew up in; he was loved by everyone just like his parents.
In the movie the Bad Seed, eight-year old Rhoda has two loving parents. Rhoda goes to a school picnic wearing shoes with iron plates to make them sound like tap shoes. At the picnic, one of Rhoda’s schoolmates was found dead in a lake, this classmate was one who beat Rhoda in a penmanship competition. He was found dead with bruised hands and a wound on his forehead. When Rhoda returned from the picnic, she didn’t seem the least bit saddened by her classmate’s death and Rhoda was also apparently the last to be seen with her classmate, before he drowned. Rhoda’s mother goes through Rhoda’s things and is startled when she sees the medal from the penmanship competition, which Rhoda lost. She also finds Rhoda’s tap shoes with a dent in them, making it seem like she used the shoe to hit her classmate in the head. Rhoda’s mother, Christie, finds out that she was adopted and her biological mother was a killer. She then becomes afraid that she inherited a criminal tendency from her real mother and passed it down to Rhoda. This movie is an example of nature because even though Rhoda grew up with loving parents, she developed a want to hurt people that came from her biological grandmother.
On the other side of the debate are empiricists, who believe that the environment gives people their personality. “John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate.” Cherry, Kendra. What is Nature Versus Nurture. Aug. 24 2016, https://www.verywell.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402 . Meaning that the things we develop are learned from the environment. Pbs.org believes that nurture is strongly favored in the nature vs. nurture debate. “We simply do not have enough genes for this idea of biological determinism to be right,” asserted Craig Venter. Davies, Kevin. Nature vs. Nurture Revisited. NOVA, 17 Apr. 2001, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/nature-versus-nurture-revisited.html Humans contain only 30,000 genes, so how can something that shapes who we are as a person be developed from that? Venter uses cancer as an example saying that while colon cancer is associated with a colon cancer gene, the cancer develops from bacteria. “Cancer is an environmental disease.” “Even the most diehard geneticists acknowledge that the environment plays a major role in shaping our behavior, temperament, and intelligence.” Davies, Kevin. Nature vs. Nurture Revisited. NOVA, 17 Apr. 2001, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/nature-versus-nurture-revisited.html .
In the movie Spider-Man, Peter Parker is a senior in high school who lives with his aunt and uncle. His class takes a fieldtrip to a genetics laboratory where they work on spiders and creating a new species of spiders. While at this lab, Peter gets bit by one of these spiders and the venom injected by the spider bite changes Peter. His vision becomes perfect and he can shoot webs out of his hands. Since he wasn’t born with these powers and they were a result of the spider bite, this would be an example of nurture.
As this debate goes on it looks like people are starting to realize that both nature and nurture have an equal effect on behavior and personality. While someone might begin to act a certain way, there are so many different people they’ll connect with over their lifetime that it’s almost impossible not to adapt. The friend’s children make have the biggest impact on who they become because they like to feel like they fit in. Movies incorporating nature or nurture show how big of a debate it is. It also shows how there are believers on both sides of the debate, being that there are movies about both nature and nurture. Studying twins that were separated at birth is a great way to figure out the nature vs. nurture debate. If nature is a bigger influence, the twins should grow up to be similar, whether they grew up together or not. If the nurture side is stronger, they’ll grow up fitting in with their different families and maybe where they go to school. This relates to pop culture because using the movies shows a more interesting way to learn about each side of the debate. It also shows how important it is to know which influences children more so that parents know how to raise their children.
Works cited
Boyles, Salynn. “Study: Genes Play Big Role in Intelligence” University of Edinburgh, 9 Aug. 2011, http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20110809/genes-play-big-role-in-intelligence#1
Cherry, Kendra. What is Nature Versus Nurture. Aug. 24 2016, https://www.verywell.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402
Davies, Kevin. Nature vs. Nurture Revisited. NOVA, 17 Apr. 2001, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/nature-versus-nurture-revisited.html
McLeod, S. A. Nature Nurture in Psychology. 2007, www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html
“Nature or nurture? Twin studies provide answers.” NBC News, 23 June, http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nature-or-nurture-twin-studies-provide-answers-469840451643
Excerpt from Child Development and Education, by T.M McDevitt, J.E. Ormrod, 2007 edition, p. 6-8. https://www.education.com/reference/article/nature-nurture/
Powell, Kimberly. “Nature vs Nurture – The Nurture Theory” 01 Aug. 2016, http://genealogy.about.com/cs/geneticgenealogy/a/nature_nurture_2.htm
Powledge, Tabitha M. Behavioral Epigenetics: How Nurture Shapes Nature. American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2011. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/61/8/588/336969/Behavioral-Epigenetics-How-Nurture-Shapes-Nature
Spencer, Ben. “Reading at a young age makes you smarter: Children who enjoy books early in life perform better at school during adolescence” Daily Mail, 24 Jul. 2014. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2703106/Reading-young-age-makes-smarter.html
Wikenius, Ellen. “Epigenetics: Nature vs Nurture.” YouTube, uploaded by Det medisinske fakultet UiO, 29 January 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50yMwEOWGU
Nature vs. Nurture. 2009, http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nature_vs_Nurture
Drafts 1 & 2
Short Assignment 1
Proposal
Since my major is Nursing and I want to hopefully work with kids I want to do my research project on Nature v. Nurture. I chose this topic because I am really interested in kids and what shapes us to be the person we are. Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics. Nurture refers to how the environment and relationships affect us. Nature v. Nurture is a big debate going on about how kids being raised can affect them later on. It focuses on how individual’s qualities and experiences shape the person they become. Do kids being close to their parents and growing up more protected differ from kids who learned from their environment when they’re grown up? This topic is important because if one or the other does affect kids later on in life it needs to be fixed. I plan on interviewing a professor at Florida State University who teaches life development. They should know a lot about the Nature v. Nurture debate. I believe this topic is interesting because it affects everyone and it’s a popular debate. I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly whether experiences and the environment or hereditary factors shape us more because in my opinion they both play a significant role.
Short Assignment 2
Annotated Bibliography
Nature vs. Nurture is a big debate going on about whether genes or the environment is a bigger effect on child development. The internet is where a lot of articles can be found about the debate. Some believe that the way children are raised by their parents and their genes affect the way they are, while others believe it’s the environment and the people they interact with. Nature “refers to the inherited (genetic) characteristics and tendencies that influence development.” Excerpt from Child Development and Education, by T.M McDevitt, J.E. Ormrod, 2007 edition, p. 6-8. https://www.education.com/reference/article/nature-nurture/ . Nurture is “the environmental conditions that influence development.” Excerpt from Child Development and Education, by T.M McDevitt, J.E. Ormrod, 2007 edition, p. 6-8. https://www.education.com/reference/article/nature-nurture/ . However, some people are starting to believe that both nature and nurture are important and that they interact with each other.
According to simplypsychology.org, nativists believe that the way an individual is made is based on their genetic code. On the other hand, empiricists believe that the environment shapes a person. Since things like weight, height, and life expectancy are genetic people started wondering if behavior and personality were genetic as well. “Characteristics and differences that are not observable at birth, but which emerge later in life, are regarded as the product of maturation. “ Empiricists believe that language and attachment are all developed. Since people believe that child development can be formed from either nature or nurture, they started to ask which is more important. However, neither is more important than the other and now people are interested in seeing how both nature and nurture interact with each other. This article is different from some of the others because it agrees that both nature and nurture are important. McLeod, S. A. Nature Nurture in Psychology. 2007, www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html .
Oxford academic talks about how identical twins are different, even though they have the same genetics. “Epigenetic mechanisms are molecular events that govern the way the environment regulates the genomes of organisms.” Scientists think epigenetics are the reason that identical twins develop to be different. Differences in appearance, cognition, behavior, etc. are caused by epigenetic processes. “Behavioral epigenetics refers to the study of how signals from the environment trigger molecular biological changes that modify what goes on in brain cells.” This article is different from the rest because it’s all about epigenetics, and it talks about imprinting in animals. “Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic mechanism, one of the forms of biological inheritance that operate outside the traditional Mendelian mode. Imprinting is a particularly useful model for investigating epigenetic gene regulation and is a major source of epigenetic regulation in the brain.” This article also has rats as an example of how their mothers affect them. However, they study stress and anxiousness of rats rather than showing love by licking. Powledge, Tabitha M. Behavioral Epigenetics: How Nurture Shapes Nature. American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2011.
Diffen.com also believes that nature and nurture interact with each other. However, they tested the IQ of adopted siblings, full siblings, and twins. Adopted siblings had no correlation in IQ scores while full siblings had a correlation of 0.6 and twins a correlation of 0.86. So in this case, it appears to be that nature shapes intelligence. They also believe that personality is shaped by nature rather than nurture. “Biological siblings are more similar in personality than adoptive siblings. Each observation suggests that personality is heritable to a certain extent.” The nurture part, like family life, that might have to shape personality disappears into adulthood. This articles differs from the other ones by explaining how being gay might have to do with genetics rather than the environment. It also talks about determinism and free will. Determinism is the idea that our genes make up who we are and free will is that the environment around us shapes who we are. Nature vs. Nurture. 2009 http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nature_vs_Nurture .
Verywell.com states that some people still believe that one is more important than the other. Plato and Descartes believe that certain things are genetic. “John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate.” Meaning that the things we develop are learned from the environment. People question whether things like academic success and violence is developed through genetics or interaction with the environment. This article believes that behavior is developed by parenting and learning, which is more on the nurture side. There are a few examples that are affected by both nature and nurture, like the ability to detect a music tone. The ability to detect a music pitch runs in families, however musical training needs to be done for the child to be able to detect the pitch. Height is another example, a child may come from a tall family but if he doesn’t get proper nutrition he may never grow to be the height he’s supposed to. This article is a combination of similarities and differences of all of the other articles. It states that one is more important than the other, however it has a few examples where nature and nurture can interact with each other. Cherry, Kendra. What is Nature Versus Nurture. Aug. 24 2016, https://www.verywell.com/what-is-observational-learning-2795402 .
Pbs.org believes that nurture is strongly favored in the nature vs. nurture debate. “We simply do not have enough genes for this idea of biological determinism to be right,” asserted Craig Venter. Humans contain only 30,000 genes. Venter believes that while colon cancer is associated with a colon cancer gene, the cancer develops from bacteria. “Cancer is an environmental disease.” Surprising research in Scandinavia proved that cancer is caused by environmental factors rather than by genes. In this article, it is unrealistic to believe that genes impact behavior. “Even the most diehard geneticists acknowledge that the environment plays a major role in shaping our behavior, temperament, and intelligence.” This article uses the same example as verywell.com about the music pitch. It differs from the other articles though by thinking that genetics have little to nothing to do with how we are the way we are. Davies, Kevin. Nature vs. Nurture Revisited. NOVA, 17 Apr. 2001, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/nature-versus-nurture-revisited.html .
In the video, genes are compared to an unchangeable blueprint. Epigenetics is the belief that both nature and nurture are both part of what makes us, us. It stands for “above nature and has to do with how nature and nurture interact”. Rat mothers show their love by licking. Researchers compared rat mothers, one who licked her babies a lot and another that didn’t. They found out that babies, who got licked a lot, carried that behavior to when they had kids and liked them a lot as well. The babies who didn’t get licked as much didn’t lick their kids either. The researchers then took a baby from a high-licking mother and switched it with a baby from a low-licking mother, when the babies grew up the baby who got switched to the low-licking mother became a low-licker also. With this information it looks as though genes don’t play a role in whether a rat is a low-licker or a high-licker but the researchers wanted to see if genes play a role so they studied the rat’s brains. “New-born rat babies have clusters of molecules called methyl groups attached to their genes. These methyl groups silence the gene, effectively switching it off.” The methyl groups from rats with low-licking mothers were attached while the methyl groups from rats with high-licking mothers disappeared. When the rats were switched, the care they got changed their genetics. Things like exercise, love, and stress can affect your biology. This differs from the rest of the sources by believing that factors are able to change your biology and genetics. Wikenius, Ellen. “Epigenetics: Nature vs Nurture.” YouTube, uploaded by Det medisinske fakultet UiO, 29 January 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k50yMwEOWGU .
NBC studies twins to find out whether nature or nurture is a bigger influence. They study identical twins that were given away at birth to two different families. The twins spent the first 45 years of their life apart, but with the similarities they have you would think they were inseparable since birth. Whether it was a coincidence or not the identical twins were very alike, despite not having known each other for most of their lives. They both even bought the same exact shirt to wear in the video, without knowing it. However, a different family adopted two babies, from different mothers, who were born five months apart. They share interests in band, football, and public speaking; even though they aren’t biologically related. Their strengths and physical appearance are different but their interests are very similar. Genetic and environmental factors are almost equal in shaping people according to a twin study. “Nature or nurture? Twin studies provide answers.” NBC News, 23 June, http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nature-or-nurture-twin-studies-provide-answers-469840451643 .
The internet plays a huge role in why the nature vs. nurture debate is still going on. Every article has different information which makes people question which one is right. Science also plays a role in the continuous debate because new studies prove new theories about how we are developed and how we become the way that we are. The conclusion that most of the sources are coming to is that both nature and nurture play an equally as important role in our behavior. They work together and interact to shape us into who we are.
Short Assignment 3
Interview
I decided to interview Dr. Jenna Scott. She is a life development professor on campus that majored in family and child sciences so I felt that she would know a lot about the nature and nurture debate. I did this interview through email.
“Hi Alexis,
Unfortunately, I don’t have much time to dedicate to answering these questions, as I have a great deal of work to attend to this week (exams, writing, emails, etc.). I am also not an expert in the field of nature versus nurture. There are many folks who are, so you may want to consider reaching out to someone who is actually considered an expert in this field and who is familiar with the literature/ research on this debate.
I will, however, briefly answer your questions to the best of my ability…
1. Which side of the debate are you on and why?
I am not on either side of the debate; both nature and nurture play a critical role in our development as human beings.
2. Why do you think this debate is important?
To understand how to best address/treat important issues (e.g., diseases, disorders, etc.), it important to understand the etiology. Studying both environment and genetics can help us better understand the etiology and treatment considerations.
3. Who are the hobbies you are interested in similar to?
I do not understand this question
4. Do you believe intelligence comes from genes or the environment?
Both. I think that our intelligence is both a product of biology and the genes we inherit from our parents and our interaction with our context.
5. Can you think of a characteristic of a person in which genetics don't play a role?
I cannot
6. Do you think there will be a time where we can predict things about a person just by examining their DNA?
Yes, I think the advances in technology will lead to increased understandings of how our DNA helps predict certain behaviors, disorders, diseases, etc.
7. How is it possible that there are so many different opinions about each side of the debate? Could that mean that both sides of the debate important in shaping who we are?
Yes, I think both sides of the debate are important to consider.
8. If you have watched Harry Potter, do you believe that it's an example of nature? Being that Harry grew up in a home with horrible people, however, he isn't a bad person.
I am not familiar with the Harry Potter plot line. I saw the very first Harry Potter movie sixteen years ago, and must admit that I do not remember much about the movie or how it may or may not relate to this debate.
9. Is Spider-Man nature or nurture?
I am not the best person to answer these movie-related questions, as I watch very few movies. Are you asking how the plot line relates to the nature versus nurture debate? Are you asking is spider man as a character represents more of nature or nurture?
10. In the movie the Bad Seed, a little girl, who was adopted, has a biological father that was a serial killer. She shows that she has a part of him in her and starts killing people at the age of 8. Do you believe that's something that could happen in real life?
Again, I have not watched this movie. Yes, this could happen. But… does she kill because of genetic factors related to aggression or does she kill because of environmental factors (e.g., aggressive behaviors, physical abuse) that her father exposed her to… or both?”
Reflection
My major is pre-nursing so I decided to do my project #2 on the Nature and Nurture debate. I want to be a pediatrician Nurse Practitioner, so I will be working with kids. With kids I feel like it’s important to know which characteristics come from their genes and which ones come from what they’re exposed to. Knowing this will help mothers learn how to properly raise their kids. In project #2 I initially just talked about Nature and Nurture, however, that wasn’t related to pop culture so I changed it to how Nature and Nurture is portrayed in movies. I ended up changing my project #3 topic to how is Nature vs Nurture portrayed in medical dramas which was easier to write about. I stuck to one medical drama, Greys Anatomy, and talked about the different diseases in it, both genetic and non-genetic. I wish I would’ve made that my project #2 topic so not only would the transition from project #2 to project #3 have been more smooth, but so I could have had more to talk about in project #2.