What qualities does

your ideal partner

have?
{ Close your eyes, imagine them and then write
down a description of them.

Not everyone is inclined towards a relationship or

romantic or sexual interest. In this case, consider
what you offer in a relationship.
The Nature-Nurture Debates
“Jim twins”
• Jim Springer and Jim Lewis
• Identical twin brothers separated 37
days after birth and raised by different
adoptive families
• Reunited at age 39
• For scientists the question was once they
were reunited, how were they alike after
growing up in different environments?
What similarities do you
think the Jims have? What
do they share?
 https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=qw3S35wGgT8
 “Jim twins” and their eerie similarities
– Married women named Linda, divorced, then
married women named Betty
– Oldest sons named James Allan and James
Alan
– Liked math, but hated spelling in school
– Worked as deputy sheriffs, pumping gas, and
McDonald’s
– Enjoyed stock-car racing and woodworking
– Mannerisms, tastes, habits, etc.
Wait, there’s more!
 owned dogs called
“troy”
 drove same model

and color Chevy

 chewed fingernails

 vacationed at same

spot each year

 Got headaches at

same time each day

Nature and Nurture
{ The longest debate in the history of psychology
First three minutes give a
good overview
Evolutionary Psychology

 A subfield that uses the principles of

evolution to understand human social
behavior

 Adaptations are not only physical, but

behavioral as well
Evolution: Principles of Natural
Selection

 Within a species, no two are alike.

 Individuals differ in their suitability to their

environment.
 Those better suited are more likely to

_____________________________

 Reproduction perpetuates the genes of

______________________________
  Behaviour is strongly influenced by
inherited factors

 All human beings act to enhance

their inclusive fitness – to increase
the frequency and distribution of
their genes in future generations

Evolutionary Psychology
  The human brain consists of neural
circuits that have developed to solve
problems that our ancestors faced during
our evolutionary history

 Our minds are adaptations

 Adaptations evolve to meet challenges in

the environment

Evolutionary Psychology
  Reproduction is a key avenue of research and
explanation as evolutionary psychology seeks to
identify factors that maximized reproductive
success

 Women feel attracted to healthy men but are

especially attracted to wealthy men who can take
care of their offspring

 Men are attracted to young fertile women because

they have a biological impulse to mate widely

Major tenets
 Sexuality and the
Evolutionary Psychologist

 Casual sex is more

accepted by men.
 When average men and

women randomly ask

strangers for sex
tonight, 75% of men
agreed, almost no
women agreed.

WHY?
Sperm is Cheap

Eggs are not

 Sexuality and the
Evolutionary Psychologist

 Casual sex is more

accepted by men.
 When average men and

women randomly ask

strangers for sex
tonight, 75% of men
agreed, almost no
women agreed.

Alternative Reasons?
 Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice
Can you conceive of
alternative explanations?
 Evolution: Adaptive behavior
in humans and non-humans

 Aggression: effective aggressors gain and

maintain access to food, water, and desirable
mates
 These “aggressive” behaviors increase the

likelihood of survival and reproduction

 Evolution

Cars kill many more people than spiders. So why are phobias
of spiders much more common than phobias of cars?
Evolution of phobia
 X

Evolution of phobia
Evolution of phobia
Evolution of phobia
 X

Evolution of phobia
 X

Evolution of phobia
Evolution of phobia
X

X X X
 You cannot properly experiment and those in this field begin
with the effect and work backwards to come up with an
explanation

 Evolutionary psychology does not take current socio-cultural

factors into account when constructing explanations nor
does it emphasize the fact that much of who we are is not
hard-wired

 Over emphasizes sex differences and downplays contrary

evidence

Criticisms of Evolutionary
Psychology
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbRCFuet0Nk

Let’s watch one of the

founders of the field…
Now that we have seen
David Buss, to what
extent do the tenets and/or
criticisms ring true?
 The Nature-Nurture Debates
 Extreme biological position
 Personality traits, physical characteristics, etc. are all
programmed or “hard-wired”

• Extreme environmental position

– All traits and characteristics are shaped by life
experience

So how do we study this???

Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
 Twin and Adoption Studies
Identical Versus Fraternal Twins
Monozygotic Dizygotic
Nature and Nurture
Genetic influences
• Based on the Minnesota personality
studies:
– When raised together, monozygotic
twins are more similar than dizygotic
twins.
– MZ Twins raised apart are almost as
similar to each other as those living in
the same home.
 .

Where does this leave

you?
 The Nature-Nurture Debates
 Other studies of twins and adoptees show:

 Genetic factors account for some differences in

intelligence, verbal and spatial abilities,
criminality, vocational interests, and
aggressiveness.
 There is a genetic component to psychological
disorders, such as alcoholism, depression, and
schizophrenia.
 And, there is evidence for a genetic link to
people’s attitudes toward issues and activities.
 The Nature-Nurture Debates

 This study involved

672 twins who rated
their attitudes on
various issues and
activities.
 The results show

some influence of
genetic factors.
The Nature-Nurture Debates

 Genetic differences typically account for

less than 50 percent of the variation in
personality.

 Environmental factors account for the rest

of the variation.
The Nature-Nurture Debates

 A study of 5,542 three-

year-olds found that
 Children with older brothers had
higher masculinity scores
 Children with older sisters had higher
femininity scores

 These results would seem

to support the nurture
hypothesis.
The Nature-Nurture Debates
The Interplay of Nature and Nurture

 Genetic and environmental influences are not

independent.
 Identical twins receive more similar treatment from their
parents compared to fraternal twins.

 People’s genetic makeup influences how they are

treated by others, the environments in which they
live, and the way they perceive and recall the details
of that environment.
 Your time to work on your debates.
 Two options:
 Regular debate within your group
Or
 Investigate both positions, present both sides and then
provide your own analysis

Debates reborn!
Gender: A Great Divide?
Gender differences have been found in
the following biological areas:

 Age when puberty is reached, height,

weight, fat content, and amount each
sweats

 Also, women are expected to live longer

than men are…(but the gap varies)
 Gender: A Great Divide?
How Are Men and Women Different?

sexuality
 In the area of _________________, men and
women report different attitudes and behaviors,
with men, in general, expressing more interest in
sex.
Physical aggression
 In the area of _____________________, men
generally are more physically aggressive
compared to women.
Cognitive Abilities males tend
 In the area of _____________________,
to do better on tests of math and spatial abilities
and females typically score higher on tests of
verbal skills.
Gender: A Great
Divide?
Why Do These Differences Between
Men and Women Exist?

{• Evolutionary (Biological) Perspectives

•These perspectives focus on the different levels of sex
hormones, estrogen and testosterone, which have their
greatest impacts during prenatal development and
puberty.
 Gender: A Great Divide?
Why Do These Differences Between
Men and Women Exist?
 Environmental Perspectives
 Males and females have different life experiences
because of how others treat them, that is, how they
are socialized.
 Gender Roles

 Sex-typed behaviors promoted by social learning.

 Gender Schemas
 Beliefs about men and women that influence the way
people perceive themselves and others.
 Gender: A Great Divide?
Why Do These Differences Between
Men and Women Exist?
A Biosocial Theory

 Sex differences develop from an interaction

between nature (biology) and nurture
(environment).
 For example, although biological predispositions

lead to a division of labor, today culture has a

strong effect on the work roles of men and women.
The Nature and Nurture
Of...Sexual Orientation
 Origins of Homosexuality
 Both biological and environmental theories are offered to
explain the origins of sexual orientation.
 Twin studies support the theory that sexual orientation

has biological roots.

 A survey of gay men and their twins and adopted brothers found
that 52 percent of the identical twins were gay, while only 22
percent of fraternal twins and 11 percent of adoptive brothers
were gay.
 The Nature and Nurture Of...
Sexual Orientation
Daryl Bem’s Developmental Theory
 Bem’s developmental theory of
homosexuality states that genes
determine childhood behaviors
that later affect adolescents’
attraction to either the same sex
or the other sex.
 Other theorists view sexual

orientation as developing from

both nature and nurture.
Gender and Sexuality crashed