nature and nurture(karen)

You get your black eyes from your father, and your blond hair from your mother, but where did you get your shy personality and ability for painting? Did you gain these from your parents or were they inherited by genes? This is the problem of “nature”and”nurture” that experts always argue. However, we do not yet know how much we are decided by DNA and how much developed by environment or experience, but most psychologists agree both hereditary and environmental factors play important roles in human development. [Your sentence?]

There is no doubt that many characteristic programed by our genes.The article in LIFE Magazine, “Were You Born That Way” by George Howe Colt, claimed that “ New studies show it’s mostly in your genes.” It is because of genes that we develop into a person rather than any other kinds of animals even they decide our gender, skin color and body size. The infant maybe born with disabilities if the mother or other family members has genetic diseases. If genetics did not play a part, then it would be difficult to explain that why people all look different.

There is no denying that human have our own innate skill while animals have their own instinct as well, but generally, any other experts think human nature is malleable, a child can develop into any kind of adult by the surrounding environmental factors. John Locke, a british philosopher believed that "the mind of a newborn infant is a blank slate. what gets written on this slate is what the baby experiences."[textbook p12 line10].Newborn infant learn all knowledge from their five sensory systems, taste, smell, see, hearing and feeling. They can imitate every behaviour from other children or adult and it is the^ same as animals. For example, a chimpanzee in the zoo of South Africa, he addicted to smoke like people. [South Africa smoking chimp dies, TAIPEI TIMES,

] As the result of some investigations, he learned it from tourists day by day, then he got this skill and imitated very similar with human. This also explains why children can speak their own language without any lessons. It is because of their environment of life that they learn it from parents unconsciously. If environmental factors did not play a part, then we would never know why a person has different individual’s traits and behaviors in different period.

In my opinion, people develop with both nature and nurture. If we want to be successful or get some achievement, It not only depends on our talent but we also need to work hard. Such as Mozart and Beethoven, they all were born in musical family and they all inherited to the musical genes obviously, but we generally neglect their exertion and passion of music while we only admire their talent.

In this way , I believe that a combination of natural development with birth and the experiences in life, affect one’s processes of maturation.

Reference: A Brief Survey of Operant Behavior---by B.F. Skinner [did you refer to this in the text? where are the references for the other souces you used?]

Were you born that way---LIFE MAGAZINE,George Howe Colt

Nature vs nurture--Are we really born that way--by Kimberly Powell---genealogy.about.com