I was chatting about this with Mr. Bee, and we both think that nature is very difficult to overcome, but it can be done with an exceeding amount of nurture. For instance tons of studies have been done on twins separated at birth, and they're often found to be leading virtually identical lives, having never even known about each other. That's a testament to the power of nature.
Which force do you think is more powerful in shaping who we are -- nature or nurture?
cantaloupe / 6791 posts
When I was in college (for elementary ed) I took a lot of classes that dealt with nature vs nurture. It was really interesting! From my experience, nurture is extremely powerful. The way kids are raised has an enormous effect on how they act in school and eventually, what they grow up to be like. Yes, both nature and nurture can be overcome, but I personally think nurture is more powerful.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
I used to always think nurture was more powerful. And I still think that it CAN be very powerful, but I agree with Bee that sometimes nature is too hard to over come.
We have a family that we are friends with that has two sons. Both were adopted at birth. They were raised in a loving home with the exact same parents who are smart, and caring, and supporting. They went to the same schools and had the same opportunities. One of the sons is now a successful lawyer. The other has been in and out of rehab, has stolen from the parents, lied to them constantly, and can never seem to get his life on a good track. So to me that shows that nurture can only do so much.
kiwi / 575 posts
I think that nurture is very powerful. I'm adopted and so didn't grown up in my "natural" environment! If I had grown up where I was born, not only would my life be different but I too would be a VERY different woman.
olive / 63 posts
I think the scientific studies -- which study adopted children, and identical twins -- show that, as long as you provide a stable and loving home, a child's future success and happiness is 90% nurture.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Both are powerful, but I lean more towards nurture.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
@MamaMoose: But the same thing can happen with biological siblings. I know of one brother who is a sucessful family oriented electrician and his brother is dying of AIDS contracted from intravenous drug use.
I still think nurture is more powerful, but I fully acknoledge that nature does play a role. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the "powerfulness" of one over the other differs with the individual as well.
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
@Grace: I would say this is still supportive of nature over nurture. If nurture was the deciding factor then children raised in the same household should have similar outcomes (unless for some reason the parents treated them very differently). Biological siblings certainly have MORE of a natural connection than adopted siblings but they still don't have the same exact genetic make up.
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
@MamaMoose: OR, are they both arguments for nurture because no matter how hard you try, you don't treat all your kids exactly the same and therefore you can have very different siblings grow up in the same house?
honeydew / 7968 posts
i'm with @artbee - probably 50/50. i think both can equally affect a person. one more than the other, depending on who the person is and what their circumstances were.
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