Saturday, June 6, 2009
The Blank Slate, an argument for the nature side.
The blank slate is an article that supports the nature theory in the all to famous debate nature versus nurture. I found this article to be very informative and structured. It sets up for a strong lead against some of the overly dramatic headlines used to support the nurture side such as "Children enjoy sweets because their parents use them as rewards for eating vegetables." and "Teenagers get the idea to compete in looks and fashion from spelling bees and academic prizes.". Now, even to me those sound a little on the imaginative side. The article states that we should not forget about human nature and that we were not born blank slates that are fully developed through our environment. It suggests that "human nature is the source of our interests and needs". All this could hold some truth to it but I also felt that this article took away from some of the strong theories that do show support for the nurture side. It screamed nature, and implied that there is no results to come from nurture besides a bit more happiness. This can not be true. Psychologist such a B.F. Skinner and John Watson did multiple studies to support the nurture side. I believe Skinner produced pigeons that could dance, do figure eights and play tennis. Both these psychologists believed in classical conditioning. There are plenty of studies to hold water for the theory of nurture. However, most psychologists are in agreement today that it is neither one way or the other, that nature and nurture go hand in hand. The blank slate, although is a good article, seems to be bias towards nature in the nature versus nurture debate.
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While I agree with your opinion on the blank slate arcticle being biased. Further into readings the subject of "super parents" came into contex. Basing its studies on nurture, the super parent theory was when is too much nurture? We can read to our children all day, make them listen to classical music and cater to there every need in hopes we produce a smarter, better than then average child. When realistically this child may not be any smarter, or even may be less intelligent than the one raised next door by average parents who allow there children to experiment the world without constantly holding there hand. The enviroment in which a child grows up in plays a huge roll in how a child develops. Nature and nurture are meant to be evenly dispersed.
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