NATURE OR NURTURE? ~—S — —_ One of an ongoing debates in developmental psychology is that of nature versus nurture. The basic tenet of this debate & centered on whether the child is bom with capactties and abilties that develop naturally aver time regardiess of up-bringing, or whether the chid needs social interaction and society in order to shape them. In the twenty-first century, most psychologists have decided that neither nature nor nurture on ts own ig Ikely to be fully accountable for the physical, emotional and cognitive development of he child. Although some theorists may cing more tightly to one side or the other of the nature versus nurture debate, most will concede that it is likely that there is an interaction between the two that can be identified as a point on a continuum, Example: Learning to walk requires a certain amount of physical development, but the propensity to walk present at birth combined wih parental encouragement to walk is more significant in encouraging a child to walk than parental encouragement alone. Thus at the point of learning to walk, the influence of the natural sklls a child is born with anddevelops is more influential than the simple nurturing ofthe parents. “The nature versus nurture debate is an academic one that has litle application in reaL-life settings. How can we truly distinguish our very own nature f it is defined by genetics, by our social environment, our upbringing and our responsivenessto events happening around us? ~ SA =) “IDENTITY VS SELF* THE QUALITIES, BELIEFS, ~ ETC... THAT MAKE A PARTICULAR PERSON OR GROUP DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS ' 1 + THE DISTINGUISHING ide ntit CHARACTEROR y PERSONALITY OF AN - INDIVIDUAL ~ SA i) “+ THE PERSON THAT SOMEONE NORMALLY OR TRULY IS + THE ENTIRE PERSON OF AN INDIVIDUAL—S — _/_ The'terms ‘self’ and ‘identity’ have been loosely interchanged in various literature Many people believe that there is a very thin conceptual and functional distinction. / between the 2 concepts and thus perceive them as synonymous. The demarcation that separates the 2 fall on the social representation of the term (Le., known to others, or only known to oneself) Identity distinguishes or compares one from another while the self refers to the total characteristics or qualities of a person both known and unknown to others (but known to oneself). A comprehensive definition that underscores the distinctions and overlap between self and identity was given by Oyserman, Elmore Identities are the traits and characteristics, social relations, rofes, and social group memberships that define who one is. Identities can be focused on the past — what used to be tue of one, the present - what is true of one now, or the future — the person one expects or wishes fo become, the person one feels obligated to try to become, or the person one fears one may become, together, identities make up one's self-concept _/ variously described as what comes to mind when one thinks of oneself. 7 =i yj