2016 Postmortem

The controversy over what determines who we are, whether it is Nature (heredity, our biological make up) or Nurture (our environment) is taking a new shape. Through the past decades, psychologists have developed different theories to explain the characteristics of human-beings. Usually, these theories were one directional in the nature / nurture question. Today, a new approach to deal with this question is emerging. This new approach finds a middle ground between nature and nurture. The conclusion that nature and nurture are complementary and work hand and hand to shape a behavior is not a compromise. It is a result of numerous studies. Studies on heredity and environment plus their affects on determining one s development and behavior. In fact, the more we understand about development and behavior, the more obvious it becomes that nature and nurture are similar influences rather than determinants. Ultimately, What is it that makes us who we are?

Our genes made us. We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their throwaway survival machines. This is what Richard Dawkins states in his book, The Selfish Gene. Dawkins argues that we are merely a product of our genes and our main purpose in life is to serve the genes, become distribution agents and ensure their continuance. Before we consider Dawkins statement, the term nature must be defined.

Nature represents what we are born with and cannot control. Our biological make up is determined by the genes we receive from our parents, residing in the 23 pairs of chromosomes, 23 from each parent. A gene is a segment of DNA that provide a blueprint to pass on genetics or hereditary information (Microsoft). These genes not only affect our outlook, but also play a significant role in determining our behavior and our characteristics.

Through new genetic studies, clinical observation, and research on identical twins and adopted children, we are becoming increasingly aware that many of the human characteristics previously taken for granted as products of childhood rearing and environment are rooted in the genetic matrix (Neubrauer 38). Studies of identical twins, whom were separated at birth, have provided researchers with a lot of clues about the role of heredity factors in every day life behavior. Twins (monozygotes) are of extraordinary importance when studying heredity because they share identical copies of genes. An interesting study on twin brothers who were separated at birth and raised in different countries by respective adoptive parents showed that they both kept their lives neat, neat to the point of pathology. Their clothes were preened, appointments met precisely on time. When asked about the reason they felt to be so clean, the first one replied, My mother, when I was growing up, she always kept the house perfectly ordered. She insisted on every little thing returned to its proper place,... I learned from her. What else could I do? When his twin brother was asked the same question he answered The reason is quite simple. I m reacting to my mother, who was an absolute slob (Neubrauer 21). In this example, we see a natural preference based on heredity. Both twins blamed their mothers for their behaviors, while none of the mothers required such neatness.

Take for instance schizophrenia, a disease characterized by hallucinations, delusions, flat or inappropriate emotional expression, paranoia and suspiciousness. New findings point out to its relatedness to genetics. Genetic markers for schizophrenia are founded on chromosomes 22, 19, 15, 13, 9, 8 and 5 ( Shore 1). These examples reveal the genetic role in our development. Genetic analysis of behaviour is complex because behaviour reflects both genetic and environmental influences (Rydelius 1). Even though scientists have only identified 16,000 out of the total 100,000 genes, many psychological diseases are on the verge of being unraveled.
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