Nature Versus Nurture Debate Essay

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The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest and most controversial issues in Psychology. The nature versus nurture debate revolves around the contributions of genetic factors and environmental factors to human development. The primary method of attempting to determine which of these effects human development the most has been cross-cultural studies. Cross-cultural studies are studies conducted across more than one culture, based on the assumption that the differences between cultures genetically are less that the differences within a culture. Through cross-cultural studies, Psychologists are able to determine whether nature or nurture has the paramount effect upon the three major segregations of human development, Cognitive, …show more content…
From studying a large group of 51 children who gradually progressed through a number of stages of physical development, he developed a scale of motor development. Adapting this study, Geker conducted a cross-cultural study between Uganda and America in the development of motor skills of infants. It was found that the Ugandan infants had greater development in their motor skills, reaching the motor skill milestones on average, faster than the American infants. Dependent on the cultural context in which an individual lives, their motor skill development can be aided greatly or hindered. Through cross-cultural studies in this case, it is apparent that the way in which a child is reared and other various environmental factors can greatly effect advancement/development in motor skills.

Moral development refers to the changes in reasoning about moral issues such as the value of human life/property, honesty and social rules. Although morality has no definitive definition, nor does it have set specific limitations, moral development in this case can be defined as the advancements in cognitive skills regarding morality and judgment. Snapey and associates tested the six stages of moral development proposed by Kohlberg (1980s) on a large group of Israeli teenagers over 2-9 years. These stages of development were based on children’s responses to a series of moral dilemmas. When compared to the scores of other teenagers from the United States and Turkey, the Israeli teenagers