IV. Critical Assessment
The nature-nurture debate is an intriguing one but is also one that has no clear result. The issue has been debated by the leading experts in all the various fields of study and, yet, the debate continues. The debate transcends the determination of what color eyes one has and who and what determines this issue. Matters of this sort can be resolved through a simple genetics study but it goes into issues such as why some individuals prefer playing sports over playing music or why some people prefer Coke over Pepsi. Such examples may seem overly simplistic but they demonstrate the essence of the debate. Are such preferences the result of a genetic disposition or parental influence? The simple answer is that there is no clear cut answer as to the question. Hair color, facial features, and other such physical characteristics may be tied to genetics but when the issue turns to more subtle features such as personality, intelligence, and day-to-day behavior the effect of nature and nurture becomes far less clear. Scientists once believed that the study of genes and DNA would ultimately answer the question of nature and nurture but despite years of research using the most sophisticated testing procedures available the debate continues. Today, little progress toward a definitive answer as to the relative contribution of genes and environment has been made but, nevertheless, expect the debates and research to continue. Despite the fact that little progress has been made the issue still intrigues everyone.
As the debate continues the best that anyone can do is to maintain an open mind. From what has been discovered and discussed, it is becoming increasingly more apparent that the development of each individual is a complex process that is influenced by a great number of factors and that, at least for the present, such factors defy precise measurement. For the present, at least, development must be understood on this basis.
References
Allen, G.E. (2001). Is a New Eugenics Afoot? Science, 59-61.
Collins, W.A. And Eleanore E. Maccoby, Laurence Steinberg, E. Mavis Hetherington, Marc H. Bornstein (2000). Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture. American Psychologist, 218-232.
Colt, G.H. (1998, April). Were You Born That Way? Life Magazine, pp. 40-48.
Erikson, E.H. (1968). Identity, Youth, and Crisis. New York: Norton.
Hendricks, M. (2000). Into the Hands of Babes. John Hopkins Magazine .
Keller, E.F. (2010). The Mirage of a Space between Nature and Nurture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Maccoby, E.E. (1998). The Two Sexes: Growing Up Apart, Coming Together . Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Rutter, M. (2006). Genes and behavior: nature - nuture interplay explained. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing.
Stern, M. (1989). Sex Stereotyping of Infants: A Review of Gender Labeliing Studies. Sex Roles, 501-522.
Nature vs. Nurture
Gender Identities and Gender Roles One has very little choice as to what sex one is born with, but identifying with a certain gender is a different story. Although an individual can be born with a given sex, that does not guarantee the development of a specific type of gender (Lahey, 2005). Gender identity can have both biological and social influential factors, and it is this that in the end, define
Americans judged the Chinese according to the own ideals and customs. This distorted the American view of China was that it was much like the United States in many ways (Jesperson, 1996, p. 8). When China came under communist control, Americans made the error of thinking that the Chinese were just like them in many ways. Regardless of how one feels about the westernization of China and Chinese culture, its
Body One important aspect that has to be handled while studying gender inequalities is the intermingling of the words sex and gender. The two words, sex and gender are usually intermingled in numerous formats of studies especially in many health studies. The main distinction between the realities of the two words within the social concept of gender is that sex mainly revolves around the physical and biological aspects of the individual
Gender Role Analysis How Gender is Shaped by Education How Gender is Shaped by Public Policy How Gender is Shaped in the Workplace This report discusses the role played by social institutions such as schools, workplaces and policy making institutions in the shaping of gender roles and norms in society. These institutions hold control over desired resources such as information, wealth and social progress. They control the distribution of these resources by making it
Gender Roles In the world today, the most common way in which human beings probably distinguish themselves is by their gender. All human beings, or at least the vast majority, are born as clearly male or female. Perhaps this is also why this distinction has, since ancient times, served as a factor in human relationships and indeed vast-scale human oppression and even slavery. Indeed, to this day many women suffer indignities
Gender Roles in Everybody Loves Raymond Even with the fact that society as a whole has experienced significant progress during recent years, it seems difficult for the media to stop using stereotypes when relating to particular groups. Philip Rosenthal's television sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond is a perfect example concerning gender roles and how the media tends to use them with the purpose of shaping particular characters. In spite of its humor,
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now