It is one of the enduring debates in psychology, stemming all the way back to our philosophical origins: What is the relationship between our biology, or nature, and that of the environment, or nurture, in shaping human behavior? In early philosophical times, this “nature versus nurture” debate was presented as an either/or phenomenon—scholars generally advocated for one side as being more influential on human behavior and outcomes than the other.
Today, however, our ability to more closely study the human body and brain in particular reveals a far messier truth: human behavior is shaped by both nature and nurture. In fact, the two are so inextricably linked that it only makes sense to separate the concepts of biology and environment for conceptual purposes. In other words, nature and nurture intersect and are virtually impossible to neatly separate, with regard to the way they impact human behavior.
Rather than asking the question of........