Nature / Nurture

Posted: December 10th, 2013

PSY 350 Paper 1 Assignment: Nature versus Nurture
Due in class: Thursday, April 4th

Please read the following three web articles and write a paper addressing the following questions. (Please note: the articles are each several web pages long.) Your paper should be 5 – 6 pages long, double-spaced. Please use your own words to answer the questions, or, if you do quote the articles, please do so properly (using quotation marks, and listing the author and date in parentheses after the quoted statement). However, even when answering in your own words, make sure that your answers incorporate specific information from each of the articles.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/16572/the_childhood_development_nature_vs.html?cat=25

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5650620/nature_vs_nurture.html?cat=72

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/health/healthguide/esn-adhd-expert.html?pagewanted=all

1) Write a brief introduction summarizing the question of interest (the nature vs. nurture debate).

2) One’s environment (nurture) can have a huge impact on development.
a) Describe one environmental (rather than hereditary) influence on child development that is discussed in any of the articles.
b) Describe something you think is an environmental (rather than hereditary) influence on child development that is NOT discussed in any of the articles. Specifically say how you think the environmental influence impacts child development.

3) One’s genes (nature) can also have a huge impact on development.
a) Describe one hereditary (genetic) influence on child development that is discussed in any of the articles. (Do not use the example of MAO-A, 5HTT, and violent crime, since that will be the subject of the next question.)
b) Describe something you think is a hereditary influence on child development that is NOT discussed in any of the articles. Specifically say how you think the hereditary influence impacts child development.

4) MAO-A is a gene that has two alleles (forms): a short allele, and a long allele. People will either have a 5HTT gene, or not. How do these genes interact with one’s upbringing regarding their tendency toward violent behavior? What does this study tell us about the interaction of nature and nurture?

5) Do your own brief internet search to try to find two scholarly articles on the topic of which genes influence ADHD. What gene(s) have been identified as possible candidates that influence whether or not a person will have ADHD? Be sure to include the link(s) and reference citation(s) for the articles so that I can verify them.

6) Imagine that you are going to conduct a new experiment to examine the nature vs. nurture debate. In this scenario, you would have unlimited funds, unlimited access to participants, and would not be bound by current ethical guidelines. Making sure that your proposed study is sufficiently different from any of those described in the articles:
a) What would you study? Be specific.
b) How would you conduct your study?
c) What would you expect the results of your study to be?