Term Paper on "Intelligence Nature vs. Nurture"

Term Paper 7 pages (1791 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Nature vs. Nurture: Intelligence

While it is clear that many biological traits, such as eye color, height, skin color and bone structure, are inherited from one's parents, it is not so clear whether genes predetermine talents and intelligence (Powell, 2003). For this reason, it is unclear exactly what role nature and nurture play in intelligence. This paper aims to show that human intelligence is a factor of environmental influences rather than genetics.

Many scientists believe that people behave as they do according to genetic predispositions or "animal instincts (Powell, 2003)." This is known as the "nature" theory of human behavior. Other scientists believe that people behave in certain ways because they have learned to do so. This is known as the "nurture" theory of human behavior.

Increasing understanding of the human genome suggests that both sides are partly right. Nature provides human beings with inborn abilities and traits; nurture takes these genetic tendencies and develops them as we learn and mature. However, despite these common beliefs, scientists still argue over how much of who we are is shaped by genes and how much by the environment.

The Nature Theory

Up until the middle of the 20th century intelligence had been largely accepted as a trait that was biologically predetermined (Sticht, 1997). The "amount" of intelligence an individual had was believed to be present at birth and to remain the same despite personal experience or education.

Another perspective, however, which argued that intelligence is due to experience and one's environment, was proposed in the 17th century (Sticht, 1997). These opposing points-of-view comprise a classic argument about intelligence that is known as the "nature vs. nurture" debate. Is intelligence a biologically (nature) determined, innate potential or is intelligence an environmentally (nurture) determined, acquired potential?

In the early twentieth century, the dominant point-of-view was that intelligence determined a person's potential for learning and success (Sticht, 1997). Since intelligence, and ultimately potential, was inherited, low intelligence was seen as something that simply could not be helped.

However, by the early 1950s, opinions regarding intelligence had shifted from the "nature" side to the "nurture" side of the argument (Sticht, 1997). Many scientists argued that intelligence was not genetically determined, but, rather, was due to the nature of individual experience. It was argued that intelligence was impressionable in early childhood, but that it reached about eighty percent of its adult level by age five or so.

The developmental theory proposed by Jean Piaget is key to this debate (Sticht, 1997). Piaget's theory is significant in two major ways. According to: "First, it bridges both the "nature" and "nurture" sides of the intelligence debate and argues that biologically given intellectual structures unfold, much as embryological structures unfold, when thrust into a nurturing environment. Second, he proposes four mechanisms of cognitive development (maturation, experience, social transmission, and equilibration) through which the environment interacts with internal structures of the individual."

While Piaget's theory provides a base that allows a greater understanding of the structure and progression of cognition, his theory fails to address the role of knowledge in developing intellectual ability (Sticht, 1997). Piaget's theory forecasts the same sequence of intellectual development as the person matures and experiences the world regardless of the specific nature of the knowledge domains experienced. In addition, it predicts that if a person reaches a certain level of intellectual development, he or she is at that level in all domains of knowledge. This prediction has been disproven over time.

It is widely accepted that specific genes embedded in human cells determine physical traits, including eye color and hair color (Powell, 2003). However, the Nature Theory suggests that more abstract traits, including intelligence, personality, aggression, and sexual orientation, are also embedded in a person's DNA.

1998 article in LIFE Magazine, "Were You Born That Way" by George Howe Colt, suggested that "new studies show it's mostly in your genes (Powell, 2003)." If genetics did not play a part, then fraternal twins, reared under the same conditions, would be alike, regardless of differences in their genes. However, while studies show they do more closely resemble each other than do non-twin brothers and sisters, they also show these same striking similarities when reared apart.

The Nurture Theory

Environmental differences in how children are raised also play a significant role on intelligence. Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein wrote the Bell Curve, in which they argued that genetics explain most of the differences in people's intelligence -- which opened the door for renewed claims that minorities are inferior by nature, simply because, as a whole, they demonstrate lower levels of intelligence (Pittman, 2003).

However, Eric Turkheimer, a University of Virginia psychologist, recently published a study that proved this theory wrong (Pittman, 2003). Using IQ scores as the proxy for nature and socioeconomic status as the proxy for nurture, Turkheimer and his colleagues examined the influence of genes on intelligence among very poor, mostly minority children.

According to Pittman (2003): "Using a large national database, he identified more than 620 pairs of twins who were born in the 1960s and given IQ tests at age 7. By looking at the differences between identical and fraternal twins, he concluded that the importance of environmental influences on IQ is four times stronger in poor families than in affluent families. Conversely, the heritability of IQ is seven times stronger in wealthy families than in poor ones."

Basically, in an environment of educational and social abundance, the extra efforts wealthy families make to improve on the genes passed on to their children have little impact (Pittman, 2003). However, in environments plagued by poverty, there is quite a lot that parents, program providers and policy makers can do to ensure that children reach their potential. When it comes to socioeconomic class, it appears that nature is more important on the high end and nurture matters more on the low. In this light, the Turkheimer study focuses on the importance of family capacity on intelligence.

While not completely rejecting the idea that genetic tendencies may exist, supporters of the nurture theory believe they do not really matter - that our behavioral aspects originate mainly from the environmental factors of growing up (Powell, 2003). Studies on infant and child temperament provide the most crucial evidence for nurture theories.

American psychologist John Watson, who is best known for his controversial experiments with a young orphan named Albert, showed that phobias could be explained by classical conditioning (Powell, 2003). A strong proponent of environmental learning, he said: "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...regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors."

If environment did not play a part in determining a person's traits and behaviors, then identical twins should, theoretically, be exactly the same in all respects, even if reared separately (Powell, 2003). However, numerous studies show that they are never exactly alike, even though they are remarkably similar in most respects.

Numerous genomic tools have revealed the complex workings of the human cell, including interactions between genes and proteins in the cellular environment (Moore, 2001). However, the message that environmental factors inside cells are important in affecting traits has not gained as much media attention. According to Moore, the media coverage of studies linking individual genes to everything from homosexuality to obesity has convinced many people that we are no more than the sum of our genes.

In the Dependent Gene: The Fallacy of "Nature vs. Nurture," Moore (2001)emphasizes the environmental aspect of the nature-nurture debate. "The viewpoint offered in this book," he writes, "frees both individuals and society from the chains of genetic determinism...no longer will people have to bear the thought that their destiny and the destiny of their children is preordained in their genetic endowment and forever beyond their dominion."

In a nutshell, Moore argues that genes (nature) depend on the environment (nurture) to express themselves, and that even traits assumed to be genetic are influenced by environmental factors. "All traits -- from 'biological' traits like hair color and height to complex 'psychological' traits like intelligence -- are caused by dependent interactions of genes and environments," argues Moore (2001).

Conclusion

Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the role of nature and nurture in intelligence, and what has been resolved is that intelligence is somewhat hereditary, but that environment can play a role to enrich it (Mehrota, 2004). However, it is difficult to determine which plays a greater role.

Parents today tend to be more involved in their children's lives as a result of the pressure on children to perform at a younger and younger age (Mehrota, 2004). Dr. Sushma Mehrotra, psychologist, believes that if parents provide the right kind of stimulation even an average child can excel. On the other hand, if there is a lack of stimulation, even the brightest child will never reach its full potential.

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