In this essay I will discuss my perspective on the Nature vs. Nurture debate in terms of the developmental process of socialization. I will also talk about social development in relation to the philosophical viewpoint that I align with most. The purpose of this reflection is to combine my philosophical viewpoint of child development with my understanding from the course this semester while including examples from the textbook and course material.
In regard to the subject of social development, my personal perspective is that the process of socialization is due to a mixture of both nature and nurture. Within the topic of socialization, there are three major subtopics: acquiring a sense of self, peer interactions, and theory of mind. Evidence for the side of nature shows that acquiring a sense of self seems to be innate and can be seen in children as early as newborns. A study performed by Dondi, Simon, and Caltran in 1999 corroborates this claim by showing how newborns become distressed when they hear a recording of another baby’s crying, but do not become distressed when they hear a recording of their own crying. (Crowley 178) The movements that a child naturally makes as they grow also help children to attain their sense of self through developing their own sense of personal agency, where they begin to understand the concept that they can produce an effect on the environment around them. After infancy when children begin to augment and refine their sense of self, self-recognition starts to tilt more toward nurture when children’s sense of self becomes more dependent upon environmental factors, such as their daily interaction with others and specific and generalized language patterns. For example, as children are taught to use a broader vocabulary and become aware of differences between themselves and others as they engage in activities with peers, they begin to characterize themselves by using specific characteristics and then gradually begin to portray higher-order generalizations, such as differences in their ability to perform a tasks and their peer’s ability to perform that same task.
Peer interaction leans more toward the direction of nurture. Since children’s relationships with peers are more horizontal, interaction with other children provides an arena to explore and practice basic social skills and navigate cooperation, competition, and positive relationship building with their peers. Research performed by Rubin and Coplan in 1992 study noted that infant interaction gradually becomes more fluid and “shows a clear intent to communicate.” (Crowley 180) For instance, children begin peer interaction in infancy by vocalizing at another baby and then when the other baby reacts with laughter, the cycle starts over. Another example is how when children are between two and four years old, they develop increased language capabilities which enable them to become more peer-oriented. At this age children begin to show more complex kinds of social interaction through play. Parten separated these kinds of social play into categories: “parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play.” (Crowley 180) In parallel play, children play next to each other, but not with each other. Associative play entails play in which basic interactions occur, like sharing toys and commenting on what the other child is doing. Cooperative play occurs when there is a high level of peer interaction though joint activities. Peer status is another topic that children face that emerges from peer interaction. Whether a child is liked or disliked by other children can have a lasting impact on that child. In the case of rejected children, a child’s peer status may impair their ability to interact with others socially. This provides support for peer interaction being a matter of nurture. For example, rejected children will either show heightened levels of aggression, impulsivity, and poor ability to regulate emotion or they will portray a more socially anxious, withdrawn, and submissive demeanor. (Crowley 181)
Theory of Mind develops through a mixture of nature and nurture. The textbook states that “many researchers agree that the ability to understand other people’s mental states is an innate ability” and that this ability is made possible by a “theory of mind mechanism.” (Crowley 187) Evidence for the nature viewpoint for the development of theory of mind stems from autistic children, in which children with the autism disorder have specific problems with forming theory of mind. However, the text also notes that a 2005 study on the theory of mind ability by Hughes, Jaffee, Happe, Taylor, Caspi, and Moffitt revealed that though genetic factors do have a role in theory of mind development, environmental factors have to largest role. (Crowley 188) Interactions that promote the development of theory of mind occur in infancy. For example, by nine to fourteen months infants will show visible evidence of “gaze monitoring,” in which the infant will turn in the same general direction as an adult is looking in and then the infant will switch between looking at the adult and looking at the object or event that the adult is looking at to ensure that both the adult and themselves are looking in the right direction. (Crowley 188) By this process of joint attention the child gains awareness and insight of what might be going on in the minds of other people. The practice of joint attention helps the child to understand what the other person is perceiving. Joint attention can also introduce the child to the different states of mind of other people, such as people’s knowledge, wants, or needs.
When it comes to the topic of socialization, I tend to agree more with the biological and behavioral philosophies. Social development is a mixture of biological processes and learned behavior that causes observable social behaviors to occur. As children develop increased physical and linguistic skills through both biological means and learned ability, it allows them to be able to explore these outlets socially via social interaction. Peer interaction starts in infancy even before a child can speak, through the exchanging of noises between the child and another child. For example, a baby makes a sound at another infant and that other infant reacts to it by laughing and the process repeats itself. Because of the vertical relationship between adults and children, children are taught how to make certain sounds through listening to adults speak and through adults engaging and interacting with children by playing with them. Through this relationship children are also taught how to develop an understanding of other people’s mental states. However, biology also plays a role in this because of the innate “theory of mind mechanism” that enables the child to learn and develop this understanding of other people’s thoughts and feelings be interacting with others in their surroundings.