The Interaction of Nature and Nurture and their Influence as Mechanisms of Change in Human Development
Keywords:
human development, attitude, genetic, personality, nurture, nature, EnvironmentAbstract
There has been a vigorous debate in recent time, about heredity versus environment and how they coalesce to create personalities, behaviours, and psychopathology that appeared unique to each person and influenced their developmental process. This study uses different methodological approaches to lifespan development to measure and analyze the interplay of genes and environments on human behaviour and underline how the interaction contributes to behavioural changes and continuity. The study focuses on the interaction between heritable and ecological factors in the path of behavioural growth and patently recognize etiological mechanism that supports the assumption that a particular hereditary or environmental condition ultimately lead to behavioural features and changes during development. The study used the accessible materials on lifespan development to understand the continuous source of person uniqueness in personality development. Finally, citing evidence from various multidisciplinary studies, the article concludes that shared environment significantly influences human behaviour but decline with age and that the strong interaction between the two factors formed the basis of who we are and how we behave.
References
Agurs-Collins T. and Bouchard C. (2008). Gene-nutrition and gene– physical activity
interactions in the etiology of obesity. Introduction: Obesity (Silver Spring)
(Suppl 3):S2–S4
Allison, C. M. and Hyde, J. S. (2013). Early menarche: Confluence of biological and contextual
Factors. Sex Roles, 68, 55–64.
Andreasen C. H. and Andersen G. (2009). Gene–environment interactions and obesity
further aspects of genomewide association studies. Nutrition, 25:998–1003
Andreasen C.H, Stender-Petersen K.L, Mogensen M.S, Torekov S.S, Wegner L, Andersen
G, et al (2008). Low physical activity accentuates the effect of the FTO rs9939609
polymorphism on body fat accumulation. Diabetes, 57, 95–101
Banaschweski T., Becker K., Scherag S., Franke B. and Coghill D. (2009). Molecular
genetics in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders: An overview. EuropeanChild
Adolesc Psychiatry.
Becker K., El-Faddagh M., Schmidt M. H., Esser G. and Laucht M. (2008). Interaction of
dopamine transporter genotype with prenatal smoke exposure on ADHD
symptoms. J Pediatr, 152, 263–269
Berrettini, W. H. (2000). Are schizophrenic and biological disorders related? A review of
Family and molecular studies. Biological Psychiatry, 48, 531-538.
Bjorklund, D. and Pelligrini, A. (2002). The origins of human nature. Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association.
Bouchard C. (2008). Gene–environment interactions in the etiology of obesity: Defining
the Fundamentals. Obesity (Silver Spring) 16(Suppl 3): S5–S10
Brant A. M, Haberstick B.C, Corley R.P, Wadsworth S.J, DeFries J. C. and Hewitt J.K.
(2009). The developmental etiology of high IQ. Behavioural Genetic, 39, 393-405,
Bray M. S. (2008). Implications of gene–behaviour interactions: prevention and intervention
for Obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring) 16(Suppl 3): S72–S78
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of human development: Experiments by nature
and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. and Ceci, S. J. (1994). Nature-nurture reconceptualized in developmental
perspective: A bioecological model. Psychol Rev, 101(4), 568-586.
Brookes K. J., Mill J., Guindalini C., Curran S., Xu X., Knight J. et al (2006). A common
haplotype of the dopamine transporter gene associated with attention-deficit/
hyperactivity disorder and interacting with maternal use of alcohol during
pregnancy. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 63, 74–81
Butcher, L. M., Me burn, E., Liu, L. et al (2004). Genotyping pooled DNA on micro arrays:
a systematic genome screen of thousands of SNPs in large samples to detect
QTLs for complex traits. Behavior Genetics, 34, 549-555
Cadoret, R. J. (1986). Adoption studies: historical and methodological critique. Psychiatr.
Dev. 1, 45–64
Chiappe, D. and MacDonald, K. (2005). The evolution of domain-general mechanisms in
intelligence and learning. Journal of General Psychology, 132 (1), 5–40.
Coghill, D. and Banaschewski, T. (2009). The genetics of attention deficit/ hyperactivity
disorder. Expert Rev Neurother, 9, 1547– 1565
Corder, E. H., A. M. Saunders,W. J. Strittmatter, D. E. Schmechel, P. C. Gaskell, G.W.
Small, A. D. et al (1993). Gene dose of apolipo protein E type 4 allele and the risk
of Alzheimer’s disease in late onset families. Science 261:921-23.
Daniels, D. and Plomin, R. (1985). Origins of individual differences in infant shyness.
Developmental Psychology, 21, 118-121.
Davis, Allison, John Dollard and American Youth Commission (1946). Children of Bondage:
The Personality Development of Negro Youth in the Urban South. Washington,
D.C.: American Council on Education.
Deary I. J., Corley J., Gow A. J., Harris S. E., Houlihan L. M., Marioni R. E., et al (2009).
Age-associated cognitive decline. British Medical Bulletin, 92, 135-152,
De Fruyt, F., Bartels, M., Van Leeuwen, K. G., De Clercq, B., Decuyper, M. and Mervielde,
I. (2006). Five types of personality continuity in childhood and adolescence.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 538–552.
Edmonds C. J, Isaacs E. B., Visscher P. M., Rogers M., Lanigan, J., Singhal A., et al (2008).
Inspection time and cognitive abilities in twins aged 7 to 17years: development,
heritability and genetic covariance. Intelligence, 36: 210-225,
Ellis, B. J. (2004). Timing of pubertal maturation in girls: An integrated life history approach.
Psychological Bulletin, 130, 920–958.
El-Faddagh M., Laucht M., Maras A., Vohringer L. and Schmidt M. H. (2004). Association
of DopamineD4 receptor (DRD4) gene with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) in a high-risk community sample: a longitudinal study from birth to 11
years of Age. J Neural Transm, 111:883–889
Faraone S. V., Perlis R.H., Doyle A.E., Smoller J.W., Goralnick J.J., Holmgren M.A. and
Sklar P. (2005). Molecular genetics of attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder.
Biol Psychiatry, 57:1313– 1323
Fisher, S. E. (2006), Tangled webs: Tracing the connections between genes and cognition.
Cognition, 101, 270–297
Fuller, J. L. and W. R. Thompson (1960). Behaviour genetics. New York: Wiley.
Galton, F. (1865). Heredity talent and character. Macmillan’s Magazine, 12:157-66, 318-27.
Gershon E.S., DeLisi L.E., Hamovit J., Nurnberger J. I. Jr, Maxwell M. E., Schreiber J. et
al (1988). A controlled family study of chronic psychoses. Arch Gen Psychiatry,
:328 –336.
Gillespie, N. A., Evans, D. E., Wright, M. M. and Martin, N. G. (2004). Genetic simplex
modelling of Eysenck’s dimensions of personality in a sample of young Australian
twins. Twin Research, 7, 637–648.
Haldane, J. B. S. (1938). Heredity and politics. New York: Norton.
Harris, J. R. (1998). The nurture assumption: Why children mm out the way they do. New
York: Free Press.
Hopwood, C. J., Donnellan, M. B., Krueger, R. F., McGue, M., Iacono, W. G., Blonigen, D.
M. and Burt, S. A. (2011). Genetic and environmental influences on personality
trait stability and growth during the transition to adulthood: A three-wave
longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 545–556.
Hughes C., Happé F., Taylor A., Jaffee S. R., Caspi A. and Moffitt T. E. (2005). Origins of
individual differences in theory of mind: From nature to nurture. Child
Development, 76, 356-370.
Jacobs H. J, Williams A. G, Cahill H. and Nathans J. (2007). Emergence of Novel Colour
Vision in Mice Engineered to Express a Human Cone Photopigment. Science, 315,
-1725
James, J., Ellis, B. J., Schlomer, G. L. and Garber, J. (2012). Sex specific pathways to early
puberty, sexual debut, and sexual risk taking: Tests of an integrated evolutionary–
developmental model. Developmental Psychology, 48, 687– 702.
Jang, K. L. (2005). The behavioural genetics of psychopathology: A clinical guide.
Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Johnson, W. (2010). Understanding the genetics of intelligence: Can height help? Can corn
oil? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 177–182.
Johnson, A. M., Vernon, P. A. & Feiler, A. R. (2008). Behavioural genetic studies of
personality: An introduction and review of the results of 50+ years of research.
In G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of
personality theory and assessment: personality theories and models (Vol. 1, pp.
–173). London, England: Sage.
Johnson D. S., Mortazavi A., Myers R.M. and Wold B. (2007). Genome-Wide Mapping of in
Vivo Protein-DNA Interactions. Science, 316: 1497-1502
Johnson, W., McGue, M. and Krueger, R. F. (2005). Personality stability in late adulthood:
A behavioural genetic analysis. Journal of Personality, 73, 523–551.
Kandler C., Bleidorn W., Riemann R., Angleitner A. and Spinath F. M. (2012). Life events
as environmental states and genetic traits and the role of personality: A longitudinal
twin study. Behavior Genetics, 42, 57–72.
Kandler C., Bleidorn W., Riemann R., Spinath F. M., Thiel W. & Angleitner A. (2010).
Sources of cumulative continuity in personality: A longitudinal multiple-rater twin
study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 995–1008.
Kendler K.S., McGuire M., Gruenberg A.M., O’Hare A., Spellman M. and Walsh D. (1993).
The Roscommon family study. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 50:527–540.
Kahn R.S., Khoury J., Nichols W.C. and Lanphear B.P. (2003). Role of dopamine transporter
genotype and maternal prenatal smoking in childhood hyperactive-impulsive,
inattentive, and oppositional behaviours. J Pediatr 143:104–110
Langley K., Turic D., Rice F., Holmans P., van den Bree M.B., Craddock N., et al (2008).
Testing for gene x environment interaction effects in attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder and associated antisocial behaviour. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr
Genet, 147B:49–53
Laucht M., Skowronek M.H., Becker K., Schmidt M.H., Esser G., Schulze T.G. and
Rietschel M. (2007). Interacting effects of the dopamine transporter gene and
psychosocial adversity on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms
among 15- year-olds from a high-risk community sample. Arch Gen Psychiatry,
:585–590
Laurin D., Masaki K. H. Foley D. J. White L. R. and Launer L. J. (2004). Midlife dietary
intake of antioxidants and risk of late-life incident dementia: The Honolulu-Asia
Aging Study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 159:959-67.
Lerner, R. (2002). Concepts and theories of human development. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Lickliter, R. and Honeycutt, H. (2003). Developmental dynamics: Toward a biologically
plausible evolutionary psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 819–835.
Loehlin, J. C. and Martin, N. G. (2001). Age changes in personality traits and their
heritabilities during the adult years: Evidence from Australian Twin Registry
samples. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 1147–1160.
Loehlin J. C, Horn J. M and Willerman L. (1997): Heredity, environment and IQ in the
Texas adoption study. See Sternberg & Grigorenko 1997, pp. 105–25
Loehlin, J. C., Willerman, L. and Horn, J. M. (1988). Human behaviour genetics. Annual
Review of Psychology, 39, 101-134.
Loevinger, J. (1943). On the proportional contributions of differences in nature and in
nurturing to differences in intelligence. Psychol. Bull. 40, 725-756.
Loos R.J., & Bouchard C. (2008). FTO: the first gene contributing to common forms of
human Obesity. Obes Rev 9:246–250
Maes H.H., Silberg J.L., Neale M.C. and Eaves L.J. (2007). Genetic and cultural transmission
of antisocial behaviour: an extended twin parent model. Twin Research Human
Genetics, 10: 36-150,
Maier W., Lichtermann D., Minges J., Hallmayer J., Heun R. & Benkert O. (1993).
Continuity and discontinuity of affective disorders and schizophrenia. Results of
a controlled family study. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 50, 871– 883.
McCartney, K., Harris, M. J. and Bernieri, F. (1990). Growing up and growing apart: A
developmental meta-analysis of twin studies. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 226–237.
Merriman, C. (1924). The intellectual resemblance of twins. Psychological Monographs,
:1-58.
Miles D.R. and Carey G. (1997). Genetic and environmental architecture of human
aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72: 207–217
Milner, A. (1951). A study of the relationships between reading readiness in grade one
school children and patterns of parent-child interaction. Child Development, 22,
-112.
Mukamal, K. J., Kuller L. H., Fitzpatrick A. L. , Longstreth Jr. W. T., Mittleman M. A.
and Siscovick D. S. (2003). Prospective study of alcohol consumption and risk of
dementia in older adults. JAMA 289:1405-13.
Olson J. M., Vernon P. A., Harris J. A., and Jang K. L. (2001). The heritability of attitudes:
A study of twins. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 845-860.
Pedersen, N. L. and Reynolds, C. A. (1998). Stability and change in adult personality:
Genetic and environmental component. European Journal of Personality, 12, 365–386.
Pedersen, N. L. (1993). Genetic and environmental continuity and change in personality.
In T. J. Bouchard Jr. & P. Propping (Eds.), Twins as a tool of behavioural genetics
(pp. 147– 162). New York, NY: Wiley.
Plomin R. and Daniels D. (1987). Why are children in the same family so different from one
another? Behaviour Brain Sci. 10:1–60
Plomin R, DeFries J. C. and McClearn G.E. (1990b). Behavioural Genetics: A Primer.
New York: Freeman. 455 pp. 2nd ed.
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., McClearn, G. E. and Rutter, M. (1997). Behavioural genetics
(3rd. ed). New York: Freeman.
Plomin, R., Defries, J. C., McClearn, G. E. and McGufin, P. (2001). Behavioral genetics
(4th ed.). New York: Worth
Plomin, R., K. Asbury and J. Dunn( 2001). Why are children in the same family so different?
Nonshared environment a decade later. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 46:225-
Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., Craig, I. W. and McGuffin, P. (2003). Behavioural genetics. In
R. Plomin, J. C. DeFries, I. W. Craig, and P. McGuffin (eds.), Behavioral genetics
in the post genomic era. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association,
(pp. 3–15).
Podewils L. J., Guallar E., Kuller L. H., Fried L. P., Lopez O. L. , Carlson M. and Lyketsos
C. G. (2005). Physical activity, APOE genotype, and dementia risk: Findings from
The Cardiovascular Health Cognition Study. American Journal of Epidemiology,
:639-51.
Popova N. K. (2008). From gene to aggressive behaviour: the role of brain serotonin.
Neuroscience and Behaviour Physiology, 38: 471- 475
Psychogiou L., Daley D.M., Thompson M.J. & Sonuga-Barke E.J. (2008). Do maternal
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms exacerbate or ameliorate the
negative effect of child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms on
parenting? Dev Psychopathol 20:121–137
Rampersaud E., Mitchell B.D., Pollin T.I., Fu M., Shen H., O’Connell J.R., et al (2008).
Physical activity and the Association of common FTO gene variants with body
mass index and obesity. Arch Intern Med 168:1791–1797
Read S., Vogler G. P., Pedersen N. L. and Johansson B. (2006). Stability and change in
genetic and environmental components of personality in old age. Personality
and Individual Differences, 40, 1637–1647
Rhee S. H & Waldman I. D. (2002). Genetic and environmental influences on antisocial
behaviour: a meta-analysis of twin and adoption studies. Psychology Bulletin
: 490–529
Roberts, B. W. and Wood, D. (2006). Personality development in the context of the NeoSocioanalytic Model of personality. In D. Mroczek& T. Little (Eds.), Handbook
of personality development (pp. 11–39). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Roberts, B. W., Wood, D. and Caspi, A. (2008). The development of personality traits in
adulthood. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin (Eds.), Handbook of
personality: Theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 375–398). New York, NY: Guilford.
Roth, W. E. and Finley, G. E. (1998). Adoption and antisocial personality: Environmental
factors associated with antisocial outcomes. Child and Adolescent Social Work
Journal, 15, 133-150.
Scarr S. and Weinberg R. A. (1978). The influence of family background on intellectual
attainment. Am. Soc. Rev. 43:674–92
Schwesinger, G. C. (1933). Heredity and environment. New York: Macmillan.
Sonuga-Barke E.J. and Rubia K. (2008). Inattentive/overactive children with histories of
profound institutional deprivation compared with standard ADHD cases: A brief
report. Child Care Health Dev 34:596–602
Spengler, M., Gottschling, J. and Spinath, F. M. (2012). Personality in childhood: A
longitudinal behaviour genetic approach. Personality and Individual Differences,
, 411–416.
Spinath B., Spinath F.M., Harlaar N. and Plomin R. (2006). Predicting school achievement
from cognitive ability, self perceived ability, and intrinsic value. Intelligence, 34:
–374,
Stevens S.E., Kumsta R., Kreppner J.M., Brookes K.J., Rutter M. and Sonuga-Barke E.J.
(2009). Dopamine transporter gene polymorphism moderates the effects of severe
deprivation on ADHD symptoms: developmental continuities in gene–
environment interplay. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 150B:753–761
Teasdale T. W. and Owen D. R. (1984 ). Heritability and familial environment in intelligence
and educational level—a sibling study. Nature, 309:620–22
Thapar A., Langley K., Asherson P. and Gill M. (2007). Gene–environment interplay in
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and the importance of a developmental
perspective. Br J Psychiatry 190:1–3
Thapar A., Langley K., Fowler T., Rice F., Turic D., Whittinger N., et al (2005). Catechol Omethyltransferase gene variant and birth Weight predict early-onset antisocial
behaviour in children with attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Arch Gen
Psychiatry 62: 1275–1278
Theis, S. V. S. (1924). How foster children turn out (Vols. Publication No.165). New York:
State Charities Aid Association.
Turkheimer, E. and Waldron, M. (2000). Nonshared environment: A theoretical,
methodological, and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin,126, 78–108.
Unger, R. K. (1979). Toward a redefinition of sex and gender. American Psychologist, 34,
– 1094.
Van den Oord, E. J. C. G., Boomsma, D. I. and Verhulst, F. C. (2000). A study of genetic and
environmental effects on the co-occurrence of problem behaviours in three-yearold twins. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 360-372.
Viken, R. J., Rose, R. J., Kaprio, J. and Koskenvuo, M. (1994). A developmental genetic
analysis of adult personality: Extraversion and neuroticism from 18 to 59 years of
age. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 722–730.
Walker, S. O. and Plomin, R. (2005). The nature-nurture question: Teachers’ perceptions
of how genes and the environment influence educationally relevant behaviour.
Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational
Psychology, 25:5, 509-516.
Watson, J. B. (1930). Behaviourism. New York: Norton.
Whiting, J. W. M. and Child, I. L. (1953). Child Training and Personality. Yale University
Press, New Haven, CT.
Whiting, J. W. M., et al. (1954). Field guide for a study of socialization in five societies.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University (mimeo.).
Williams, J. R. and Scott, R. B. (1953). Growth and development of Negro infants IV.
Motor development and its relationship to child rearing practices in two groups
of Negro infants. Child Development, 24, 103-121.
Woodworth, R. S. (1941). Heredity and environment: A critical survey of recently published
material on twins and foster children. Social Science Research Council Bulletin,
No. 47.
