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Psychology vocabulary · Developmental Psychology

Nature versus nurture

Meaning in psychology, with examples

phraseCommon term

In psychology, nature versus nurture means: The long-running debate about how much human traits and behaviour are shaped by genes and biology (nature) and how much by experience and environment (nurture).

In Turkish: kalıtım-çevre tartışması, doğa mı yetiştirme mi

How it is used

Common in introductory textbooks, lectures and essays. Modern researchers stress that nature and nurture interact, for example through gene-environment interaction and epigenetics, so the question is rarely 'either/or'.

Example sentences

  1. Twin studies are one way researchers try to untangle nature versus nurture.

  2. Most psychologists now see nature versus nurture as a false choice, since the two always interact.

Common collocations

  • the nature versus nurture debate
  • nature and nurture interact
  • gene-environment interaction
  • temperamentA child's inborn, biologically based style of reacting to the world, such as activity level, mood and how easily they adapt, which forms a basis for later personality.
  • personalityThe fairly stable pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving that makes a person different from others and consistent across situations and over time.
  • attachmentThe deep emotional bond between a child and a caregiver, and the pattern of relating to others that grows from it and can continue into adulthood.
  • developmental milestoneA skill that most children reach within a typical age range, such as smiling, sitting, walking or saying first words, used to track development.

More terms: Developmental Psychology

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