Nurture in Behavior Development

Behavior is defined as the way one acts or conducts oneself especially towards others. To put it
simply it is how we carry ourselves. So how does Nurture play a part in behavior?

Well, psychologists have determined that all behaviors are acquired through condition. This is called the
“Behavioral Perspective” or “Behaviorism” for short. So, our interactions and responses to the
environment shape our actions. Now these psychologists or behaviorists believe that any person can be
trained to perform any task within the limits of their physical capability regardless of genetic
background, personality traits and internal thoughts. One behaviorist, John B. Watson, the father of
behaviorism can be quoted "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world
to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of
specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors."

Again, we can shape behaviors through conditioning but how is conditioning done? Well there are two
major types of conditioning, these being CLASSICAL CONDITIONING and OPERANT CONDITIONING.

Classical conditioning is when you pair a neutral stimulus with a naturally occurring stimulus. Eventually,
the neutral stimulus comes to evoke the same response as the naturally occurring stimulus, even
without the naturally occurring stimulus presenting itself. An example to make it easier to understand is
an experiment conducted by Watson. Watson presented a boy with a picture of a white rat and other
images. When the image of the white rat is flashed Watson would make a loud and scary noise. Soon the
boy was conditioned to be scared when he sees the image of the white rat. However, it was also
observed that he reacted to other white things the same.

The second type of conditioning is Operant conditioning. This is an association made between a
behavior and a consequence for that behavior. When a desirable result follows an action, the behavior
becomes more likely to occur again in the future. Responses followed by undesirable outcomes, on the
other hand, become less likely to happen again in the future.

From this point of view, we can see that psychological characteristics and behavioral differences that
emerge through infancy and childhood are the results of learning. It is how you are brought up
(nurture) that governs the psychologically significant aspects of child development.

END

Sources:

https://www.verywellmind.com/behavioral-psychology-4157183

https://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html