What is a good psychology paper topic in the nature/nurture area?
twinny2323 asked:
I am taking a class called Theory of Motivation and am particularly interested in the nature/nurture concept. Nature/nurture itself is far too broad. I need something within that that I can write 8 pgs on. Please not too biology oriented. Thanks.
July 29th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I suggest the topic of the art of breastfeeding.
There is simply nothing more natural, and nothing
more nurturing, than for a mother to breastfeed
her infant.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Identical twins separated at birth and living with different families.
Or even brothers/sisters living in different families from a very young age.
Or an indiginous child being raised in a ‘white’ family.
Does that help?
August 1st, 2008 at 10:36 am
Well, then I will be of no use to you, as I think of psychology as being a rouge sub-discipline of biology. Seriously; the study of all life is biology. You can not so blithely dichotomize your subject and remain academically valid. Check out behavioral genetics, that is within psychology and holds some rigor.
August 1st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
nature of touch, humans babies that are not fondled early on vs. ones that are not physically handled. The development of autism is also viable
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 am
What about identical twins separated at birth? You could research which traits they shared (which would indicate nature) and which they didn’t share (which would indicate differences in how they were raised).
Just an idea. I’m not very good with this subject ^_^
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I’m a graduate psych student in college, and my field of emphasis is Criminology, so I might be a bit biased here (lol) but I think that criminal beahovior would be a great topic for you. It’s been a hotbed of debate for years: are vilent criminals victims of abusive childhoods? Afterall, 80% of people in prisons came from broken homes. And nearly all the serial killers had at least one physically abusive parent. OR–is there a “criminal gene?” Becaue, some violent offenders were brought up in wealth and privelage and were plain rotten, and disturbed kids from infancy. The “Bad Seed” theory. Anyway, I think it is a fascinating topic; there is plenty of argument available to you supporting either view, and there isn’t too much biology involved. (Although you WILL read about the “XYY chromosome theory that supports the nature view.)
August 5th, 2008 at 6:11 am
I teach a Social Psych class to undergraduates, and they often seem to enjoy the whole nature/nurture debate as it relates to aggression. Are people aggressive or violent because of an underactive prefrontal cortex? Because of testosterone? Social learning (modeling and rewards)? Because it gets them what they want (instrumental aggression)? Or all of the above?
Good luck with your paper.
August 6th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I suggest the topic of Pit Bull Terriers. There is a huge debate right now about wether the dogs are born killers (which i don’t believe) or wether they are made that way by bad owners ( this I agree with). I would be a very interesting study.