“Parenting is the number one influence on a child’s success or failure in life.”

1. “Parenting is the number one influence on a child’s success or failure in life.” A psychological analysis of the nature vs. nurture argument. Were we born the way we are, or is it the way we were raised? By Payton Young

2. Nature Nurture People in favor of the nurture argument believe that behavior, emotions, thoughts all come from how you were treated as a child and how you were taught. • People in favor of the nature argument have an assumption that the characteristics of humans as a whole are from evolution.We have traits because our genes force us to. What is Nature vs. Nurture?

3. The most compelling research done for the nature argument is studies done on twins. Twins have the same DNA so they are perfect for studying whether your behavior is encoded in your DNA, or is taught by your parents and experiences. Nature Research

4. The research has come out with some consistent data. Most of the time, when identical twins are reared apart as babies, they end up having very similar likes, dislikes, favorite color, etc. However, these results may be skewed due to the fact that many studies leave out key information that slightly disproves the theory being proved by the study. Nature cont.

5. One very interesting argument in favor of the nurture argument is Albert Bandura’s bobo doll experiment. In the experiment, an adult would positively or negatively reinforce violence against a bobo doll.Bandura believed that aggression and other traits were adopted by children observing their environment, trying things, and receiving either positive, or negative reinforcement. Nurture Research

6. Bandurabelieved that aggression and other traits were adopted by children observing their environment, trying things, and receiving either positive, or negative reinforcement. This reinforcement theory is a key point in the nurture argument. It is the theory that children do what they see other people doing. Nurture cont.

7. The more convincing research is nurture. In Bandura’s experiment, the evidence was much more convincing and almost instantaneous in effect. The children were shown an adult beating a doll, the child copied the action, the child was given positive reinforcement, and the child knew to repeat the action. In my opinion, this settles the debate. Nurture Wins

8. In the twin studies done by various psychologists, there is some evidence for the nature argument, consisting of the similarities between identical twins, even when reared apart. However, the identical twins are still not exactly alike and in some aspects of their lives, they are completely different. Nature didn’t win

9. From my research doing this project I have concluded that nurture wins and that your environment is the main cause for things such as violence, drug abuse, etc. Cunclusion

10. http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/bandura.htm (about Bandura’s bobo doll experiment)http://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html (Helped with general info) Source