{"id":2040,"date":"2016-10-21T14:46:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T14:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-psychology\/?post_type=chapter&p=2040"},"modified":"2024-05-17T02:20:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T02:20:26","slug":"outcome-gene-environment-interaction","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-psychology\/chapter\/outcome-gene-environment-interaction\/","title":{"raw":"Introduction to Nature and Nurture","rendered":"Introduction to Nature and Nurture"},"content":{"raw":"

What you'll learn to do: explain how nature, nurture, and epigenetics influence personality and behavior<\/h2>\r\n\"This<\/a>\r\n\r\nH<\/span>ow do we become who we are? Traditionally, people\u2019s answers have placed them in one of two camps: nature or nurture. The one says genes determine an individual while the other claims the environment is the linchpin for development. Since the 16th century, when the terms \u201cnature\u201d and \u201cnurture\u201d first came into use, many\u00a0people\u00a0have spent ample time debating which is more important, but these discussions have more often led to ideological cul-de-sacs rather than pinnacles of insight.\r\n\r\nNew research into epigenetics\u2014the science of how the environment influences genetic expression\u2014is changing the conversation. As psychologist David S. Moore explains in his newest book, The Developing Genome<\/em>, this burgeoning field reveals that what counts is not what genes you have<\/em> so much as what your genes are doing<\/em>. And what your genes are doing is influenced by the ever-changing environment they\u2019re in. Factors like stress, nutrition, and exposure to toxins all play a role in how genes are expressed\u2014essentially which genes are turned on or off. Unlike the static conception of nature or nurture, epigenetic research demonstrates how genes and environments continuously interact to produce characteristics throughout a lifetime.\r\n
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n