Nature versus nurture

Nature versus nurture is the debate over how inherited biological factors and environmental influences shape human traits and behavior. Contemporary research often studies how these influences interact rather than treating them as alternatives.

Gene–environment interaction: A change in an environmental factor’s effect on a trait depending on a person’s genotype, or vice versa. Shows why the same experience can affect people differently depending on inherited variation.
Genotype: The genetic constitution of an organism, often described at one or more loci. It identifies inherited variation that may contribute to differences in a trait.
Twin study: A research design comparing similarities among twins to investigate genetic and environmental influences. Comparisons of identical and fraternal twins help estimate sources of trait variation.
Tabula rasa: The philosophical idea that the mind begins without innate ideas or content. Its strong emphasis on experience represents one pole of the historical debate.
Gene–environment correlation: The association between genetic differences and the environments people experience. Inherited traits can shape which environments people encounter, blurring the debate’s categories.
Phenotype: An organism’s observable or measurable characteristics, produced through development. It is the outcome whose biological and environmental sources the debate concerns.
Adoption study: A study comparing adopted individuals with biological and adoptive relatives to examine familial influences. It helps distinguish resemblance associated with biological relatedness from shared rearing.
Genetic determinism: The view that genes rigidly determine traits or behavior, leaving little role for other influences. It is an oversimplified genetic pole, not a conclusion supported by heritability estimates.
Epigenetics: The study of changes in gene activity that do not alter the DNA sequence. Environmental exposures can influence gene regulation without changing inherited DNA.
Genome: The complete set of genetic material in an organism or cell. It provides the broader biological substrate underlying inherited influences.

Linked from 30 pages