Nature and nurture in child development
In child development, the issue of nature and nurture have been on debate for their influence of the future abilities and attributes of the developing infants. Nature is defined as the genetic characteristics that are obtained by a child which influence the development of the child. Nurture, on the other hand, is the surrounding environmental conditions that affect the event of an infant. This essay look at the importance of both in a child’s development process and which among the two concepts is more needed in the development of an infant. According to Abraham Maslow, a humanistic psychologist, human beings not only aim at surviving but also in self-actualization. The concepts of nature and nurture help in the self-actualization part.
The debate on the question, in this case, discuss whether it is our inherited genes or the environment that a child develops in that influences their development. On the issue of intelligence, the environmental factors have been attributed to the control of the element. Knowledge is the level of cognitive development of an individual. According to research if an infant family contained individuals who were good at mathematics and science, the child may as well possess these abilities. The intelligence abilities are inherited and can be passed from parents to the child. However, on the other hand, this may not happen. This is where nurture comes in. Brain and intelligence development can be cultivated by parents, teachers, and the child. Proper nutrition, an intelligence environment can also be factors that help in facilitating an intelligence child, in their development. IN this case, both nature and nurture are critical in the cognitive development of an infant.
The environmental influences usually fall into two concepts of the nurture element: the socio-cultural and biological factors. The biological controls focus on the physical body while the sociocultural shape the mind, behavior of a child. The biological influences include factors like nutrition, stress, activities, and they shape the intelligence of a child from the prenatal stage. Nutrition, for instance, affects the intelligence of a child and also that of an individual throughout life. In this case, malnutrition in the early stages of development can cause harm to the cognitive development of a child. Not having enough nutritional benefits for an infant can disrupt the neural connections and pathways that cause one to lack mental recovery. IN this case, nurture is significant in the cognitive development of a child.
The process of an infant’s development is essential for the normal and healthy development of any child. Early childhood is the period between the birth of a child and the time in which the child starts to attend preschool. The developmental period is a vital stage in any child’s growth and many factors, including nature and nurture, determine it. When we discuss development, we talk about both the physical and the cognitive and emotional as well as social growth. In a child’s development, there are five main domains of development, usually known as the SPICE: social, physical, intellectual, creative, and emotional development.
According to the theories of nurture, children learn as they develop and grow, and in the process of growing, they can create their subjective personalities and behaviors based on what they learn through their development. This proves that environmental factors play a vital role in the growth of a child and its development. The environment acts as a teacher in which a child learns as a role model. The psychologist, Albert Bandura, developed the social learning theory. Bandura believed that the behavior that we possess is determined by observing people: He called this modeling, copying from other people like our peers and parents (Frank et al., 2006). According to him, if we observe a behavior and positivity results from it, then we adapt it and accommodate it in ourselves, and thus we start behaving in that particular way. The theory doesn’t believe that behavior is inherited or that we are born with certain tendencies, but instead, we acquire behavior by learning it or observing from other people
The nativists support the nature theory. According to them, aggression in an innate behavior. It is caused by depositions of hormones, neurochemicals, and genes. Nativists believe that our responses are as a result of evolution and the difference among people is because we have different genetic codes. John Bowlby was psychoanalysis who developed the theory of attachment (Richard, 2015). Bowlby argued that the bond between a mother and a child is innate, and it cannot be learned. It automatically created between a child and the mother. Bowlby further elaborates that the attachment of a mother and child is biologically programmed into us and it only manifests itself in particular conditions. These conditions can be those of fear, when one is separated from mother or child or when is anxious. In regard to Bowlby’s theory, then a child’s behavior during development is viewed the same way by the nativists. The response, therefore, is innate and is biologically programmed in us.
The nurture theory may not have a lot to explain, unlike nature theories. However, Albert’s method of social learning tends to carry much weight in demonstrating that the behavior of an infant is a learned behavior and not innate. Children in most of the cases have adopted another child’s behavior and made it part of them. Many are the times when a child imitates another person talks, walks, or even organizes their things, and they adapt them, especially adult or how other children play and hold their toys. This is what Bandura referred to as modelling: Imitating another person’s behavior and accommodating it within oneself. Therefore, behavior in a child can be learnt from other people or through other sources like the media. Children with aggressive parents can learn aggression from them, or from a teacher who results in aggression when mad or even from other people who react to reactions aggressively and lead in a reward. For imitation of behavior to take place, an award has to result from the response. The nurture theory, therefore, clearly proves that behavior is learned.
Language is also affected by both nature and nurture. According to research, an infant can recognize the language in which they are exposed to as early as they are in their mother’s womb. For this language to be familiar with the child, it has to be spoken regularly and around the child for them to hear it and learn it. On the other hand, the language can be adopted through nurture. This involves the involvement of the child in communication and in hearing the language to facilitate their learning of the language.
Nature and nurture are integral elements as both are sources of human growth and also the causes of developmental dysfunction. One could not be wrong by concluding that the environment shapes the development of a child they are exposed to through the social, physical, emotional, and cognitive interaction with the environment. On the other hand, the inherited genes of a child also shape the development of a child. Factors f development of both nature and nurture have mainly intertwined an example of cognitive development. The physical construction is interrelated with mental development that is developed through both nature and nurture. Therefore, both nature and nurture are essential in a child’s development, and none is more important than the other.