Post by Young In: Nature and Nurture

Are some people just born better than others or did they just have better resources? The debate on nature versus nurture is an ongoing debate, and it seems like most of the current theories come up with the conclusion that both are important. I agree with them, but I give nurture more weight than nature.

In class and from text book, I learned that parenting has a deep history, and there are tons of theories about children’s growth and development. An interesting study by Marian Bakermans-Kranenburg, Mrinus van IJzendoorn, and their colleagues illustrate the complex interaction of genes, the environment, and parenting. According to the study, insensitive parenting and increases in preschoolers’ aggressiveness and noncompliant behaviors have a positive relationship only if children had a certain gene. And surprisingly, the study showed significant decrease in externalizing behavior when intervention program was used on these children with the particular gene, and the decrease were the largest for children whose mothers had the greatest increases in sensitive parenting.

“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.” – John B. Watson

This famous quote from Watson is somewhat to the extreme, discounting any effect from the nature side, and although I do not disagree with him, I think gene certainly has a mixed role in how the environment and parenting influences a child’s development.

Now, take a look at this picture.

Is the tall guy born to be taller than the short guy? The tall guy might have had taller parents, which means he has genes that made him taller. On the other hand, the short guy might have had parents with similar heights to the tall guy, but might have not receive necessary nutrients as a youth and ended up with his current height. It’s hard to know about these things by just looking at this picture, but what I am trying to say here is nature, as in better gene, is somewhat important, but nurture, as in environment, is more important, because it is more influential. It would be hard for a relatively short couple to have a very tall child, but their child has a big chance to grow taller than the couple, if the child receives right amount of nutrition.

So, even with superior gene, if the nurture side, like environment, parenting, education, nutrition, etc, is not provided, it would be hard for an individual to be successful. For example, great athletes like Yuna Kim or Jisung Park, they might have had genes more adapted to their sports than normal people, but what made them special is the amount of practice they did. I heard a lot of success stories of athletes like these two, where athletes practice more than others, but I never heard a story where an athlete is pure genius and didn’t have to practice much.

Bruce Lee said “I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10000 times.” Bruce Lee, one of the great minds of the world clearly understood the importance of practice. And often times, behind famous people are great parents who patiently teach their children to be successful and help them practice. Parenting is that important, that it can make a normal person into someone extraordinary. Who in the world as a parent wouldn’t want their child to be unsuccessful? And if you want your child to be successful, it depends on you. The way you act is what your child is going to learn and do.

References:

Nature versus nurture. In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 3, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture#Nature_and_Nurture

Brooks, Jane. (2011) Seeking guidance. The Process of Parenting, McGrawHill, 8^th edition: pp. 33-43.