Nature Vs Nurture Debate: Significance of Twin and Adoption Studies essay

Nature Vs Nurture debate has been continuous over the years. On one hand, some individuals have the belief that people’s behaviour is based upon nature, genetic formation has been passed to them by their parents. On the other hand, others believe that people’s behaviours are based on nurture as well as the environment they are raised in (Koeppen-Schomerus, Stevenson & Plomin, 2001). Therefore, the debate is significant due to the fact that it tells people the causes of their behaviour and assists them in potentially predicting the behaviour of future generations (Wright, 1997). Most importantly, scientists have applied both twin and adoption studies in order to test the two elements of nature and nurture.

Through these studies, scientists are studying the way personality traits tend to run in blood related families as well as families having adopted children. For instance, Paula Bernstein and Schein who were the twins separated in their young ages and adopted in different families. In this case, the researchers started to carry out studies in order to determine the way nurture and nature tended to influence their traits (Berrettini, 2000). Moreover, they conducted a survey for the whole 35 years without the knowledge of both twins and discovered that both of them had similar traits, despite the fact that their interests as well talents seemed different. The whole story of Paula and Elyse is perfect proving that nature and nurture influence people’s behaviours and personalities. This way, both nature and nurture help in explaining diversity in the world and the way people behave (Howe, 1998). In adoption studies, focused psychologists went deep into researching the way children’s IQ is usually related to that of their parents. It was found that biological children tend to have close IQs to that of their biological parents than those of the adopted children as compared to their parents (Van den Oord, Boomsma & Verhulst, 2000). Nevertheless, whenever the adopted child originated from impoverished surrounding and was placed in perfect and improved home that had better parents, the IQ of the adopted child increased meaning that the nurture had great influence in the child’s IQ (Hughes et.al, 2005). Therefore, the nurture Vs nature debate determines whether an individual becomes the person he or she is due to biological factors or environmental elements including parents that raise a person. The two experimenters, twin and adoption studies, have continuously impacted on the debate of nature Vs nurture (O'Connor et.al, 2000).

 

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For many decades, scientists have struggled to explain the stereotypical discussion of nature Vs nurture. They have continually used both twin and adoption studies in order to understand the environmental as well as hereditary impacts on development of behaviour in individuals (Rutter, 1999). Both twin and adoption researches have capability to explain the extent towards which anyone’s family resemblance has been caused by shared genes or the extent to which the behaviour is determined by shared environment (Howe, 1998). Due to the identical genes researched by monozygotic twins or identical twins, they have a strong appeal to the scientists. It has been discovered that there is a critical association between genetic link towards development of psychological destructions and dependencies on drugs (Wright, 1997). Such findings have an additional influence on existing studies of nature Vs nurture debate or heredity along with the environment during an individual’s development (Jang, 2005). It is vital to note that the case of brain development in humans has been influenced by genetic predispositions. However, there are several factors that tend to promote the environmental factor, hence indicating that external forces have strong impacts on lives and shapes of their behaviours. Therefore, both genetics and environment change synaptic formation of one’s brain. Through the nature Vs nurture debate, many researchers have been conducted on twins involving those that have been raised together and separately in order to formulate effective results (McGuffin, 2004).

Both studies continue to have a great influence on the debate between nature and nurture as the influences of human formation. Despite the fact that both adoption and twin studies indicate the way genes influence people’s development, people should both assume that individual’s environment has no influence at all. The environment has large roles to play in people’s development (Rutter, 1999). A good example is that of a person that has two obese parents that can be quiet slender as well as healthy. In this case, it can be explained in terms of accessibility to healthy food staff. Moreover, an individual fewer than two parents that have less than the required intelligence capacities can possess higher than the normal intelligence in case he has been raised from an educated environment (Hughes et.al, 2005). It has become clear that despite the many twin and adoption researches in the world, scientists are continuously seeking to explain the extent towards which both the environment and genetics affect human development. Whilst such studies mostly indicate that genes have a great influence on whom people are they indicate that the environment is a strong player in human development (McGuffin, 2004). It has become clear that both twin and adoption studies increase the debate of nature Vs nurture across the world.

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The issue of schizophrenia was one of the studies carried under these studies. In spite of the agreement that neither the environment nor genetics is a sole determinant of development of schizophrenia or behaviour, debate continues between nature and nurture. Schizophrenia has continually been examined in order to determine if the environment or people’s genetic play dominant roles (Berrettini, 2000). Every category of the illness has been proven to be related to nature, hence meaning that it occurs as a genetic disorder. Most importantly, every treatment rendered to this illness is usually taken through the mouth. Moreover, scientists have gone ahead to find the ways of determining the genes that can cause mental illnesses. Scientists have the belief that identifying these genes can help to develop new drugs that will help to control and sustain the disorder (Lyons et.al, 2002).