FREE ESSAY ON NATURE VS. NURTURE

NATURE VS. NURTURE

IT IS A CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT ON NATURE OR NURTURE HAS A MORE PROFOUND AFFECT ON A HUMAN
BEING. NATURE IS WHAT A PERSON IS TAUGHT THROUGH FAMILY AND SOCIETY. NURTURE IS THE
GENETIC MAKE UP OF A PERSON. MANY THINGS AFFECT HOW A PERSON BEHAVES. THE WAY A PERSON
BEHAVES SHOWS THE TYPE OF PERSONALITY A PERSON HAS. LEARNING IS A HUGE PART OF HOW A
PERSON BEHAVES. YOU LEARN CERTAIN THING FROM THE ENVIRONMENT YOU ARE RAISED IN. BOTH
NATURE AND NURTURE ARE IMPORTANT, AND THEY BOTH CAN DETERMINE A PERSON'S PERSONALITY. ONE
IS NO IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER.
FIRST, A PERSON'S BEHAVIOR WILL OR WILL NOT DETERMINE A PERSON'S PERSONALITY. BEHAVIOR IS
THE WAY HUMAN BEINGS AND OTHER ORGANISMS ACT (WORLD BOOK 1998). MANY PEOPLE USE THE WORD
BEHAVIOR TO MEAN CONDUCT (WORLD BOOK 1998). THIS IS HOW A PERSON'S ACTIONS FIT SOCIETY'S
IDEA OF RIGHT AND WRONG (WORLD BOOK 1998). THIS CAN PLAY A BIG ROLE IN FORMING SOMEONE'S
PERSONALITY.
MOST HUMAN BEHAVIOR RESULTS FROM MANY DIFFERENT THINGS. ALTHOUGH BEHAVIOR HAS MANY
CAUSES, SCIENTIST LOOK TO ISOLATE SINGLE CAUSES (WORLD BOOK 1994). THIS MAKES THE
SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF BEHAVIOR VERY HARD. MOST RESEARCHERS IN PSYCHOLOGY USE CONTROLLED
EXPERIMENTS IN WHICH THEY CAN EXAMINE THE EFFECT OF ONE FACTOR AT A TIME ON A PARTICULAR
TYPE OF BEHAVIOR (WORLD BOOK 1994).
SECONDLY, LEARNING IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH BEHAVIOR CHANGES AS A RESULT OF EXPERIENCE OR
PRACTICE (WORLD BOOK 1998). A PERSON LEARNS A LOT OF BEHAVIOR THROUGH NEW SURROUNDINGS
THAT GIVE EXAMPLES OF NEW BEHAVIOR. LEARNING TAKES PLACE OFTEN BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS
BEING GIVEN NEW PROBLEMS TO SOLVE, OR ARE BEING SHOWN NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS (WORLD
BOOK 1998). THIS IS ANOTHER WAY PERSONALITIES ARE FORMED. 
NEXT, PEOPLE CAN BE INFLUENCED BY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND OTHER OUTSIDE INFLUENCES. THIS
COULD BE IN A NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE WAY. YOUR FAMILY COULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO WELL IN
SCHOOL AND MAKE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF. THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU WILL DO IT. IT ALL DEPENDS
ON THE PERSON. YOUR FRIENDS CAN PRESSURE YOU TO DO SOMETHING, BUT IT'S YOUR CHOICE
WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT. IT'S ALL ABOUT MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS.
LASTLY, BOTH NATURE AND NURTURE CAN DETERMINE HUMAN BEHAVIOR, AND IT COULD NOT. A PERSON
CAN GROW UP IN AN EXCELLENT FAMILY WITH GOOD MORALS, CAN BECOME A SERIAL KILLER. ON THE
OTHER HAND, A PERSON CAN GROW UP IN A FAMILY OF DRUGS AND NO MORALS AND BECOME A
SUCCESSFUL LAWYER OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE. NATURE AND NURTURE DON'T ALWAYS HAVE AN
EFFECT ON HUMAN BEINGS. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT COULD WORK ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, OR BOTH
WAYS. 
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nature: Comptons Encyclopedia 
(http://comptonsv3.web.aol.com) (2000)
Nature: Hutchinson Encyclopedia
(http://ukab.web.aol.com) (2000)
Nurture: Encarta Online Concise 
(http://www.encarta.msn.com) (2000)