PSY 223 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Tabula Rasa, Eugenics, Puritans
Document Summary
Nativism idea that intelligence and other characteristics are innate or inborn, not acquired/learned. Preformation: man or woman who eventually emerged was present at time of conception. Puritans believed that children were by nature evil and vulnerable to temptation. Rousseau"s innocent babies: children are innocent at birth and develop according o nature"s path. Genetic determinism & eugenics: human qualities are genetically determined and cannot be changed by nurture or education. Parent"s job is to protect the child from harmful interference. Eugenics: controlled breeding to encourage childbearing among people with characteristics considered desirable and discourage. Nothing about development was predetermined; everything comes from environment and experience. Heritability: extent to which a phenotypic trait is genetically determined. Make clear that for all human characteristics both nature and nurture. 3 main counts: genetic and environmental influences often work hand in hand. 2: heritability estimates do not consider malleability. Idea that genes have the same impact in all environments is questionable.
