The Debate Between Nature Vs Nurture - 1697 Words

What determines who you are or what you will become? The debate between nature versus nurture is trying to figure this out. According to â€Å"Essentials of Psychology†, Jeffrey S. Nevid (2012) Nature versus nurture is the debate about how genetics and nature determine our behavior. In other words, have your attitude, behavior and health problems developed because of how you were raised or who you came from. It is a debate that has stumped psychologists for centuries. The study of twins, both identical and fraternal, have made it easier for psychologists to figure out this debate. So what is the answer to this age old debate; Nature or Nurture? Scientists have come to a conclusion that it is not so much Nature or Nurture, but Nature and†¦show more content†¦Although twin studies seem to be very good idea, they do have some major limitations. One limitation is that most identical twins are treated more alike than fraternal twins. They are forced to dress alike and do the same things at such a young age that the reason their condolence rates are so alike may be due to their environment. (Nevid, 2012) Another issue is that the study of twins tends to support the nature side. (â€Å"What we learn from twins: The mirror of your soul.† 1998) Twin studies began in the late 19th century when Francis Galton, Charles Darwin’s cousin, came up with a study called Eugenics. Eugenics is the study of twins genetics and behaviors. Galton came to the realization that twins who look alike came from the same egg and twins who look different came from different eggs. After figuring this out he started to examine twins to study the influence of genes. (â€Å"What we learn from twins: The mirror of your soul.† 1998) Starting around the beginning of the 20th century people became fascinated with eugenics. People got the idea of using eugenics to come up with a new breed of humans. The Fabian’s wanted a better working class. While Josef Mengele wanted a better human race for Hitler. Mengele became obsessed with twins. At one of the concentration camps he would run up to the new groups of prisoners as they were coming in and collect all the twins. The