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Assess The Influence Of Nature And Nurture On Early Human Development

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Assess The Influence Of Nature And Nurture On Early Human Development
In the past centuries, there has been an issued over whether heredity or environment plays a greater role in determining or shaping the human development. Nature is the abilities that are present at birth, as well as any abilities determined by genes, including which we develop as we get older. On the other hand, nurture is the processes caused by environment. Everything is learned through our interactions with our environment and as a result of our experiences. Some people believe that the nature affects our human development, while others believe that it is nurture that affects us, and some believe that both of these influence our behavior. However, it seems that nurture is more strongly influences early human development which caused by environment and experience. This essay will discuss the effects of nature and nurture and provide some evidences of why nurture has a stronger influence on human development. …show more content…
The genetic structure of fertilized ovum determines our sex, the colour of our skin, eyes, hair, and general body size (Atkinson, Atkinson, Smith, Bem, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1999). The motor behavior or the movement of the infants is based on the age of the children. For example, infants are able to roll over, sitting without support, standing while holding on to furniture, crawling, and walking when they reach a certain age. However, a British philosopher John Locke argued human development is determined entirely by experience. He suggested that the mind of a newborn infant begins as a “blank slate”, which is what the infant sees, hears, tastes, and smells. In addition, some behaviorists such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner believed that newborn babies can be trained into any kind of adult, and the human development can be easily changed or influenced (John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner,

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