The Processes by Which Genes and Environment Operate...

The Processes by Which Genes and Environment Operate Together to Influence Development Psychologists have argued for centuries over which has played the larger role in child development, heredity or environment. The British philosopher John Locke (1632 –1704) proposed one of the first theories in the seventeenth century. Locke believed that a child was born with an empty mind, tabula rasa (meaning â€Å"blank slate†) and that everything the child learns comes from experience, nothing is established beforehand. Years later, Charles Darwin (1809 –82) brought forth his theory of†¦show more content†¦Development includes division as well as growth and the characteristic of gradual changes from an initial constant state to a later highly diverse state. The epigenetic approach, which has been influenced largely by evolutionary theo ry centres on linking non-obvious environmental experience in influencing development rather than in born programming. Within the epigenetic view, development cannot be simply determined by genes or by the environment, but both genes (nature) and environment (nurture) play a role in the development of the individual’s mental capacity. The nature side of the debate argues that a person maintains their mental ability only based on what they are born with genetically. This would mean that the environment in which this person is bought up in plays no role in determining their mental aptitude. There are some substantial reasons for humans to be persuaded that genetics play a large part in a person’s intelligence. It is obvious that genes provide humans with their own physical equipment, which is quintessence, their very â€Å"being†. Genes and chromosomes are passed down from generation to generations. Without heredity, we would have nothing to hand down biologically to our descendants, and this clearly is not the case. 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