Two Parts Nature, One Part Nurture
Our family is bursting with babies. Our granddaughter gave birth to Emma Madison last night. Our niece is due in June and a second niece is due in September. As you can imagine, the talk has been whether they will have a boy or a girl. Will their eyes be blue or brown and their hair blond or brown? Will they be predisposed to genetic diseases? Will they have a sweet temper? Will they be intellectually bright?
I’m told that behavior and personality are influenced by two parts nature and one part nurture. Nature gives us heritable genes that are not changeable. The color of a baby’s eyes, hair, and certain diseases are all a function of the genes they inherit from their parents. Preconditions such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease and alcoholism are genetically coded. These genes are inherited prior to birth. Whether or not these conditions develop, depends upon lifestyle choices, stress or maturity.
Personality traits are “wired in” before we are born. Personality traits are referred to as the Big Five: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These traits are neither good nor bad and are flexible over the life-span.
Nurture refers to influences after conception. It has to do with attachment styles in infancy and are influenced by our primary social connections. For example, when an infant forms an attachment it is responding to the love and attention it has received. Language comes from imitating the speech of others and cognitive development comes depends on the degree of stimulation in their environment.
Most would agree that the question is not “whether child development depends on nature or nurture.” The question is”how much” nature and nurture effects child development. We can tell a lot about a child before they are born based upon genes and the “hard wiring” of traits. But a baby is still a mystery. They will still have free will, and their families can still influence who they become. Love, and culture and faith are influencing factors in child development.