Nature vs. Nurture
Christina Phillips
Briarcliffe College
Abstract
This paper discusses the nervous system and how the central nervous system and peripheral nervous systems work together to coordinate the body’s activities. It goes on to explain how the endocrine system influences behavior, how heredity impacts individual behavior, and how one’s environment and the social influences around them influence behavior.
Keywords: RFID, radio frequency identification chips, retail
Nature vs. Nurture is a hot debate within psychology where x= behavior is genetic (inherited) or y= acquired (learned)
The nervous system consists of both the Central nervous system and Peripheral nervous system and affects various part of the body by carrying messages to and from the brain and spinal cord. The Central nervous system contains the brain and spinal cord and the Peripheral nervous system contains the nerves from the brain and spinal cord leading to various parts of the body. (The CNS and PNS)
The CNS and the PNS work hand in hand to coordinate the body’s activities. The book compares the central nervous system to the CPU of a computer and the Peripheral nervous system as the devices that send information to the CPU. This put it into perspective for me and enabled me to gather an understanding of the process. An example of how this process works is when someone touches something hot, the sensory sends information to the brain through the spinal cord. Then the brain processes the information and sends it to the muscle and/or organ where we would withdraw the hand. (Rathus, 2014, 2012) The Endocrine system is “the body's system of ductless glands that secrete hormones and release them directly into the bloodstream.” (Rathus, 2014, 2012, p. 45) Since hormones are part of the endocrine system, it can affect one’s behavior. An example of how hormones (endocrine system) affect one’s behavior is estrogen. Many women suffer from mood swings during menopause. Heredity is where certain gene traits are carried on to their children and so on. There are certain diseases that are inherited such as schizophrenia, which cause behavioral problems. Schizophrenia causes an altered sense of reality. Some behaviors associated with this disease are hallucinations and delusions. Many times those diagnosed with schizophrenia will be perceived as odd and/or abnormal due to their behavior. (Genetics and Behavior,
