nature and nurture

nature and nurture

The development of human beings, both physical and psychological, is attributed to several factors.  The main ones are the genetic makeup and the environment through which an individual grows right from the womb. However, there are some differences in personalities among individuals and, therefore, the need to establish the contributing factor, whether genetic or environmental. For better studies, identical twins are used in the study as they are believed to have the same or closely related genetic makeup. (Tammen et al. 2013) They are, therefore, put under different environments to determine the strength of the influence of environmental and genetic factors. The following are some of the examples of twin studies carried out on various samples and, at different times, to track the significance of genetic and environmental factors. In the reviews below, nature and nurture are distinct terms. Nurture refers to the ecological conditions in which an individual grows, while quality refers to the genetic makeup of individuals. Quality depends entirely on the parents, and there is so little or nothing that can be cone to change it. On the other hand, nurture depends on the circumstances that the individual goes through during upbringing, which can easily be altered in favor of an individual.

A study by Jane E Brody

The sample in this study was a pair of identical twins (her sons). After delivering her two twins through a caesarian delivery, she and her husband started to observe differences in the behaviors of the twins. Twin A had was more alert compared to twin B. although the parents had made efforts to treat the twin in an equal manner, the differences prevailed. (Srivastava, S., & Bhatnagar, P. 2017).  As they grew, another difference was notices in that B would rehearse almost everything, starting with walking, crawling, cycling, etc., while on the other hand, A just watched the mastered skills and then copied. He would not attempt anything unless he saw it being practiced by someone else, especially his identical brother.

This is an illustration of the effects of both genetics and the environment. The same parents reared the twins, and therefore the conditions which they were put through are seen to be identical and unlike the case where twins are separated.  Some would argue that the differences in their personality and behaviors were genetic only. This is, however, not the case. The environment has played a significant role in that; twin A faced a rough and challenging environment during birth as he was pushed through rigid pelvic walls, putting him through stress. Twin B gon the other hand was saved from this stress as he did not go through significant birth stress. Therefore the environment and experiences that a person has, right from the womb, have a substantial impact on his/her personality throughout his life. Prenatal and postnatal experiences and environments require considerable attention.

The Three identical strangers’ documentary

It is a documentary that puts into light the effect of differently raised individuals. The sample, in this case, is a set of triplets, born of the same mother and raised to 6 months, then adopted into different families, with different backgrounds, especially the economic capabilities. (Sun, Z 2010) One was put into a wealthy family, the second one was put into a moderate, average income family, and then the last one was put into a poor, humble background family.

The environments in these families are different, and therefore, the differences seen in these individuals after a significant period can be attributed to background and life experiences. On the other hand, the similarities observed in them after this long time separation can, without a doubt, be attributed solely to their shared genetic makeup.

For the study to be useful, the separation was undisclosed study, and therefore, among the twins, no one knew about the existence of the other brothers. Within the documentary, the twins come to discover the presence of their brothers at the age of 19 years and, therefore, together sought the reasons for their separation (Sun, Z 2010). A common characteristic and evidence of a genetic link are that they all struggled with mental problems.  However, it can be seen that the level of psychological disturbances was not the same among individuals. The varying degrees can be attributed to environmental conditions and the experience that they went through in their different adopted homes—the nature of the parents that bought them up, either loving and nurturing or strict and authoritarian.

The Minnesota twin family study

In this study, the sample was comprised of both twins and their parents.  The twins are both 11years old and 17 years old. The aim of the study to identify the etiology of substance abuse and its resulting problems. The factors of consideration, in this case, included the participant’s DNA and their potential, e.g., personality, cognitive ability, environmental risks, etc. in the study, over 1500 twin families were involved, together with 350 adoptive and biological sibling families.

The reason why there were younger and older twins in the study is that age was a critical factor in the determination of traits of an individual. Therefore the 17 years twins are seen to have entered the period that is likely to be involved in drug abuse, as opposed to those at the age of 11. (Spanos, 2010) Therefore, the examination of different factors that may lead to drug abuse, whether environmental or genetic. For instance, in the 11 years old pair of twins, the genetic make may be similar and but different environments and ultimately the same character in terms of preference of drug use. However, with the advancement in age, there may be observed a difference in attitudes, attributed to environments through which these twins have gone through.

Characters measured in individuals such as cognitive ability, personality, DNA, and environmental risk vary among individuals, even in twins, both fraternal and identical ones. However, the variation does not have a singular explanation (Spanos, 2010). In fraternal twins, all these factors may have a genetic cause as opposed to identical twins where the genetic makeup is thought to be either equal or having just a small, maybe insignificant difference. Therefore cognitive abilities and personality differences in identical twins are a product of environmental factors and the life experiences through which these individuals have gone through.

It, therefore, follows that differences evident in terms of substance abuse and problems associated with it in identical twins can be related to environmental conditions. In contrast, those variations in the cases of fraternal twins, it has two ways of analysis as either genetic or environmental factors.

The Swedish twin study

It was a research that was based on a web survey, with its participants from the Swedish twin registry. It was conducted on a sample of around 4000 pairs of twins to find the influence of genetic and environmental factors on sexual orientations of individuals, both males and females. The two genders are not equally affected by these factors. For instance, it is essential to ask yourself the reason as to why some people may turn out to be gays while others are not, even though they are brought up in the same environment and that they are born twins, more specifically identical ones (Långström, N.,2010).  For instance, in the case of fraternal twins, who are brought up I a similar environment and by the same parents, one of them may turn out to be gay. At the same time, the other doesn’t; this result can be traced to differences in their genes. Still, if the twins are identical with similar personalities and cognitive abilities, then in case of such an occurrence, the difference could be linked to their differences in their upbringing and the environment that they have been through together with impacts from their experiences.

The study came up with the conclusion that environmental factors have a more substantial influence on humans as compared to genetic considerations. For instance, in this case, where gays are the main idea of reflection, individuals with similar genetic makeup may choose differently, one becoming a gay and the other one selecting the alternative of leading a healthy lifestyle. Since their genes are identical, then the study argues that the difference only lies in the fact that they have been through different environments starting from the womb. (Långström, N., 2010) The gay twin could have faced challenging situations and conditions during his birth, while the other may have had a smooth delivery, probably through caesarian delivery. Those who suffer birth complications or strain may have a unique conceptualization of issues in society, including becoming social anomalies.

Although this study has some shortcomings, which are just the usual shortcoming associated with other studies such as the selection of samples among others, it made some very critical contributions, one of which is that identified the effects of genetics and environment on women and men.  It outlines that genetics explain 34%-39% of differences between two male twins. On the other hand, in women, genetics accounts for 18%-19% of variations.  Therefore it is evident that the environment has a more considerable significance than genetics.

Identical twins are also considered more concordant to the same sex as compared to fraternal twins. If this happens, it’s both genetic and environmental things, but the environment has a more significant effect, as twins tend to grow together and, therefore, the tendency of attraction to the brother who is of the same sex.

Nature and nature are factors that can be controlled in some situations for the perfect and desired outcome in children. The use of twins is for control and illustrates how different individuals in society are shaped though experience and genetics. (Tammen et al. 2013) Almost half the characteristics of an individual are genetically determined, while the environment determines the other half. It is, therefore, possible to attain high scores on individuals by merely changing the context in which these individuals live.

For instance, after realizing that authoritarian parents are a significant setback to their children either biological or adopted, then it becomes essential to change into a caring and nurturing parent to avoid issues of mental shortcomings. Jane E Brody says that with genetic potential and only one caring and nurturing parent, the probability of developing into a great personality with a high cognitive level id high as compared to having a genetic potential but having an authoritarian parent.

In personal IQ development, 75% of the variations in individuals are caused by genetic factors, while environmental conditions cause the remaining 25%.  This calls for an understanding that there must exist a combination of genetic and ecological factors. Taking, for instance, it is genetic that an individual has a perfect pitch voice, but for it to work in the individual’s favor, there has to exist a musical training. Therefore the training is the environmental contribution to the individual’s talent. It is not possible to estimate the level of participation of genetic and ecological factors precisely, but a guess is made, depending on perceptions.

Differences in susceptibility to mental illnesses are also attributed to genetic and environmental factors (Tammen et al. 2013). In genetics, some complications may develop in situations where egg division may not go on as anticipated, thus resulting in difficulties in one’s health. Environmental factors include stress, trauma, exercise, etc. they are referred to as epigenetic factors. It is important to note that twins’ separation and upbringing in different environments by different parents, either biological or adopted, cause them several negativities and thus calls for a typical childhood, in similar situations, and by the same parents, adopted or biological.

These researches have made a significant impact on modern studies and therefore made way for future studies in the field. For instance, scientists are seeking ways to deliberately alter gene expression in an attempt to find preventive treatments for complications such as diabetes. It also has a contribution to lessening the chances of mental health. In the case of three strangers, one of the triplets committed suicide due to the issue he faced in his nurturing.

References

Långström, N., Rahman, Q., Carlström, E., & Lichtenstein, P. (2010). Genetic and environmental effects on same-sex sexual behavior: A population study of twins in Sweden. Archives of sexual behavior, 39(1), 75-80.

Spanos, A., Klump, K. L., Burt, S. A., McGue, M., & Iacono, W. G. (2010). A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and parent-child conflict: A monozygotic twin differences design. Journal of abnormal psychology, 119(2), 293.

Srivastava, S., & Bhatnagar, P. (2017). Role of nature and nurture on intelligence quotient of orphan and non-orphan children. International Journal in Management & Social Science, 5(6), 33-41.

Sun, Z., Paulino, A. A., Feng, J., Chai, Z., Tan, T., & Jain, A. K. (2010, April). A study of multibiometric traits of identical twins. In Biometric technology for human identification Vii (Vol. 7667, p. 76670T). International Society for Optics and Photonics.

Tammen, S. A., Friso, S., & Choi, S. W. (2013). Epigenetics: the link between nature and nurture. Molecular aspects of medicine, 34(4), 753-764.