Nature vs Nurture

[Annabelle]

Hello, not sure if anyone can help me, but I have just started studying this subject and I keep finding different statements, can someone tell me which psychologists supported the 'nature' side of this debate? Some books place Freud there, but to my knowledge he was more leaning towards a mix of the two, so if I need to compare two people, and I place Watson at the 'nurture' side, who would I then place at the 'nature' side; Darwin? Or someone else?
Thanks a lot!
Anne

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[PsiKo]

Hello, not sure if anyone can help me, but I have just started studying this subject and I keep finding different statements, can someone tell me which psychologists supported the 'nature' side of this debate? Some books place Freud there, but to my knowledge he was more leaning towards a mix of the two, so if I need to compare two people, and I place Watson at the 'nurture' side, who would I then place at the 'nature' side; Darwin? Or someone else?
Thanks a lot!
Anne

Think behaviorists. Start with Watson then Skinner Skinner.

 

[Annabelle]

Hi, thanks for the answer, but that's not exactly what I meant, I know Watson and Skinner, but I meant who are on the 'opposite side', on the 'nature' or 'genetic' side?

 

[PsiKo]

Hi, thanks for the answer, but that's not exactly what I meant, I know Watson and Skinner, but I meant who are on the 'opposite side', on the 'nature' or 'genetic' side?

I blew through your first post too quickly.

It's not surprising that you've come across different interpretations 🙂 of Freud's theories because he was evolving and revising them up until the very end. But for the purposes of an undergraduate (?) paper you could certainly focus on his drive theory to illustrate the nature side of the continuum.

As an alternative to Darwin -- and perhaps for the purpose of your assignment a purer exemplar of the "nature" argument -- you might consider writing about his cousin Francis Galton and his seminal work on heredity.

(A side note, while Darwin will show up in any good text on the history of psychology, it wouldn't be accurate to label him a "psychologist.")

A comparison of Galton (nature) and Watson (nurture) might be the ticket.

 

[Annabelle]

Hi, thanks a lot, so I was looking the right direction, (yes it is an undergraduate assignment) there is just so much information to be found that sometimes you don't know your right from your left! 🙁
I will read up on Galton, great tip!