FREE ESSAY ON GROWING UP

GROWING UP

Growing Up
The nature versus nurture debate has been a classic controversy among experts for
centuries. Presently, there is no clear conclusion to the dispute; yet, there are many
hypotheses. Both sides of this controversy have been explored thoroughly among
researchers. 
The nature side of the debate argues that a person maintains his mental ability only
based on what he is born with genetically. Defending this side of the debate exclusively
would be establishing that a person's environment plays no role in determining his mental
aptitude. 
There are some reasons for an individual to be convinced that genetics play a large part
in a person's intelligence. When considering the biology of heredity, it is obvious that
genes provide humans with their own physical equipment. Genes and chromosomes are passed
on from each generation to the next. Therefore, without heredity, humans would have
nothing to hand down biologically to their descendants.
Twin studies are performed on sets of twins; these include both identical twins and
fraternal twins. They are conducted to determine the comparative influence of
heritability and environment (Morris and Maisto 82). It indicates that heredity certainly
does have a notable effect on a person. In general, twin studies support the nature side
of the debate (Morris and Maisto 82). 
Adoption studies are somewhat similar to twin studies because they are conducted for
related reasons. These studies consist of monitoring and testing children who are
adopted. For them, researchers study the IQs in children, their birth parents, and their
adoptive parents. These studies also partially support the nurture side of the debate.
Conversely, many investigations have shown that a person's environment plays a large role
in his mental aptitude. This may be the less obvious influential factor on one's life.
Though, considering the enormous result of a human's surroundings and environment on his
life, an in depth investigation should be taken examining this notion. 
The amount of nourishment an individual receives has been proven to play a very large
part in a person's mental ability. This is especially true concerning infants and young
children. The human brain critically needs nutritious food and antitoxins to function
properly, particularly in early years of development. Starving people across the globe
show why lack of nutrients in human bodies can stunt mental evolution as well as physical
growth. "What a premature infant eats in the first month of life can have lasting
intellectual impact…a new study finds" (Raloff). 
A study done in Great Britain in the late 1980s shows that nutrition plays a very large
role in a person's development. Adolescents aged twelve to thirteen were given vitamin
and mineral supplements for eight months. These subjects were then administered
intelligence tests. Test scores were recorded before the test and after the test. These
scores were also compared to other adolescents who were not given the supplements. The
scores showed that the students who had taken the supplements scored higher on the tests
after taking the supplements (Herrnstein and Murray 292). 
A person's environment also plays an important role on his development from early on.
Much research shows that people flourish from early stimulation. In an experiment done by
H.M. Skeels using orphans, he proved this conception. Skeels studied mentally retarded
orphans. Once these children were placed with families to live, were treated well, and
were encouragingly nurtured, their IQs increased remarkably (Hamer and Copeland 221). 
Adoption studies have also somewhat shown that a person's environment plays an important
role in his mental ability. For example, a study done with adoptive children raised in
the same house had very similar IQs. Granted this does not seem like considerable
evidence; however, these children were in no way related genetically. Their environment
growing up provided them with similar aptitudes for learning and for retaining
information (Kagan and Havemann 39). "Fraternal twins present an informative
contrast… because they are raised in the same environment but are not genetically
identical, they help us to see the influence of environmental factors" (Segal 69). These
factors are valuable to this argument. 
Although certain twin studies are not completely clear in their findings, one specific
study indicates that some children's environments have had significant influence on them.

Much current research examines influences on intelligence. (Researchers) examine the
extent to which children's surroundings influence their intellect. In a prior study, they
found that children adopted before age 1 into high-income families displayed particularly
large IQ gains by adolescence. The newer studies expanded on that conception (Bower
54-55). 
One study that was conducted proves that an individual's environment can have an
extraordinary affect on a person. The subject of the investigation was called the "Wild
Boy of Aveyron" (Herrnstein and Murray 410). He was discovered in France around 1799,
which was soon after the French Revolution. 
The 12- or 13-year old boy had been found running naked in the woods, mute, wild, and
evidently out of contact with humanity for most of his life…He seemed to be unable
to become fully human despite heroic efforts to restore his society after the Revolution.
From this rare case, we can draw a hopeful conclusion: If the ordinary human environment
is so essential for granting human intelligence, we should be able to create
extraordinary environments to raise it further (Herrnstein and Murray 410). 
Though exceptional, this incident shows that environment can have an extremely drastic
influence on a person. 
A study was done to determine whether children who are born first are more intelligent
than their later-born siblings. It primarily concluded that there is no relationship
between a person's intelligence and his time of birth. Mainly though, the study confirmed
that both heredity and environment are influential in a person. "Intelligence is
influenced by genetics and quality of childbearing. Parenting efforts can make all the
difference in a child's development" (Rogers 20). 
In certain cases, both heredity and environment could possibly play a roughly equal role
in humans. The mental disorder schizophrenia is one of these circumstances. Schizophrenia
has been proven to be very hereditary; furthermore, it is most common among people living
in the poor rundown areas (Kagan and Havermann 39). Hence, humans with schizophrenia may
have this brain disorder for a number of reasons related to both heredity and
environment. "...Because of our genes, we have our limitations..." (Tudge). This is also
an important fact to explore connected with human mentality. "Heredity sets limitations
and tendencies while environment takes over to encourage or discourage the development
and operation of our inborn traits" (Kagan and Havermann 40). Moreover, this debate is by
no means completely resolved (Dempsey and Zimbardo 164).
The picture of Tom Green depicts that they way children are raise does not necessarily
mean that they will grow up to be that way. I have watched "The Tom Green Show" numerous
times and his parents are nothing like him. They are a very modest and shy couple, where
as Tom is an outgoing and extremely cocky. 
Through my own personal experience I have witnessed classic cases where environment has
played a drastic role in the way people lead their lives. During my childhood days in
Pennsylvania I had a friend who was adopted and had never met his biological parents. He
grew up to be exactly like the people who raised him. He had the same personality, same
political views, and the same outlook on life. However, I don't know what his biological
parents are like this seems to serve as reliable support for the nurture side of the
argument. However, when I moved to Minnesota a couple years ago I met a girl who was
adopted and was nothing like the people who had raised her. She was on an entirely
different level than they were. They opposed each other on almost everything. Her parents
were diehard conservatives while she was extreme liberal. My mother also serves a unique
example. She is drastically different from anyone in her immediate family. Their
personalities are like night and day. 
Both heredity and environment affect one considerably. This debate, like most, is very
inconclusive and ongoing. It is up to each individual to choose where he stands in
debates like these. The mental abilities of humans are determined by an individual's
genetics. There is also substantial proof that an individual's environment affects his
mental aptitude. 
Bibliography
Bower, B. "Kids adopted late reap IQ increases." Science News 24 July 1999: 54.
Dempsey, David, and Philip G. Zimbardo. Psychology & You. United States of
American: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1978. 
Hamer, Dean, and Peter Copeland. Living With Our Genes: Why They Matter More
Than You Think. New York: Doubleday, 1998. 
Herrnstein, Richard J., and Charles Murray. The Bell Curve: 
Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. New York: The Free Press, 1994. 
Kagan, Jerome, and Earnest Havermann. Psychology: An Introduction. 4th ed. New
York: Harcourt Brace Javanovich, Inc., 1980. 
Morris, Charles G., and Albert A. Maisto. Psychology: An Introduction. 10th ed. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1999. 
Raloff, J. "Preemie Diets Linked to IQ." Science News 5 December 1998: 358. Health
Source Plus. EBSCO Publishing. CCAC North Campus Library, Pittsburgh, PA. 14 November
2000 
Rogers, Jessica. "Are First Borns Smarter?" Psychology Today Dec. 2000: 20. 
Segal, Nancy L., Ph.D. "New Twin Studies Show…" Psychology Today Oct. 1999: 54-59
and 69-70. 
Tudge, Colin. "A plaque on both their houses." New Statesman 27 September 1999. 
Wright, Karen, "Why Are You So Smart?" Discover October 1999. 24 October 2000.