Psychology 101 - Nature Vs Nuture

Nature vs. Nurture

Sasha Hicks

Liberty University

Psychology 101

9 May 2012

Instructor: Lydia Tchividjian

NATURE VS. NURTURE

There is an ongoing debate of how a person’s personality is designed; whether they are born with certain traits or they are molded into the person they are. With an issue this complex, it is difficult to fall completely on one side of the fence. The human mind is a complex network of electrical impulses and information that can’t be summed up in such a finite way.

Historical Evidence

The concept of personality wasn’t truly ever considered, scientifically speaking, until the late 1800’s. It was the work of Sigmund Freud that brought the idea of personality structure to the forefront. Freud theorized that:

personality-including its emotions and strivings-arises from a conflict between impulse and our internalized social controls over these urges…it is the result of our efforts to resolve this basic conflict-to express these impulses in ways that bring satisfaction without also bringing guilt or punishment.(Myers, pg. 555)

He illustrated this concept through the depiction of three separate segments of the mind. First, the Id, which is the psyches basic primal functions: aggression, reproduction, and survival. Second, the Ego, which acts as the conscious awareness, ideas, memories, and rationale. The Ego mitigates the impulses from the Id into reasonable actions. Last, the Superego, which is best described as your conscience or moral voice. The Superego works with the Ego to set boundaries for behavior and actions.

Freud believed that a person’s personality was developed in the first few years of life through the nurturing of the infant as it developed. He postulated that children went through five psychosexual stages that led to their identification. The stages comprised of Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, and Genital. (Myers, 556). Depending on which stage of development a child was in, if they were presented with a trauma or unresolved issue in that stage, it would manifest as an associated disorder later in life. This is classic nurture mentality and in direct conflict with biblical text on how personality is formed.

Characteristics of Personality Formation

God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”(NLT). This leads to a more nature approach of personality formation. This is the first major characteristic of