The nature vs. nurture debate in psychology concerns the relative importance of an individual’s innate qualities (nature) versus personal experiences (nurture) in determining or causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.

Nature–nurture is a dichotomous way of thinking about the origins of human (and animal) behavior and development, where “nature” refers to native, inborn, causal factors that function independently of, or prior to, the experiences (“nurture”) of the organism.

The expression “nature vs. nurture” describes the question of how much a person's characteristics are formed by either “nature” or “nurture.” “Nature” means innate biological factors (namely...

Nature and nurture describe two different thoughts on how your personality and behaviors develop. Nature suggests biological components, mainly genes, influence how you develop, while nurture...

The once ubiquitous debates about nature vs. nurture have become much less common. Instead, it has become apparent that both our genetic nature and our environments affect our behavior.