Saint Leo University Nature vs Nurture Discussion What questions do you have about the ideas in the post? What can you add to their ideas, building upon th | Course Hero

Saint Leo University Nature vs Nurture Discussion What questions do you have about the ideas in the post? What can you add to their ideas, building upon the connections you have made to the material so far? Your responses to other learners are expected to be substantive, referencing the assigned readings as well as other scholarly or professional literature to support your statements. End with a positive.

1. The nature versus nurture debate has been around for many years, drawing both criticism and praise for its basis. The theory lies in the idea that nature is referring to something biological and nurture is referring to sociocultural influences. Lifespan development theories seems to take one side or the other, viewing them as competing ideologies rather than viewing them simultaneously. Various studies have indicated that these two ideas feed off of one another and make up a vital piece of human development, and as such should be viewed together. In an article by Eagly and Wood (2013) the psychology of gender and the influences of nature vs nurture are highlighted in both classic and modern research. Gender is a specific construct that has been extensively researched, yet has been evolving in the last several years. The researchers review the previous studies and interpret the criticism of the overall theory of nature vs nurture.

The idea of nature vs nurture can be controversial in the world of psychology. Newer studies and ideologies present rapidly growing information on biological causes for behaviors, while others remain skeptical. In Eagly and Wood’s (2013) article, sex differences and similarities are able to be determined through both biological and social means. These findings are based on the review of many previous studies that indicate genetic influences are dependent upon the social environment (Eagly & Wood, 2013). On the other side of the debate, researchers claim that separating out nature and nurture explanations are “impossible and unproductive” (Levitt, 2013). Social scientists have stated that the approach to behaviors, sex related or otherwise, is unhelpful and outdated (Levitt, 2013). Yet, geneticists argue that nature and nurture do in fact interact but in ways that are not fully understood at this point (Eagly &Wood, 2013; Levitt, 2013). The multidisciplinary approach to nature and nurture creates complications and contradicting evidence on whether it should be more thoughtfully considered or not.

While differing approaches to nature vs nurture may fall in the lines of viewing the concepts separately, there are many scientists who feel that both can be viewed. The difference with this approach is that these scientists feel that the concepts of nature and nurture build on one another, and that one may be more influential than the other in a given circumstance (Eagly & Wood, 2013; Levitt, 2013) With gender or sex concepts it seems that nature can shape nurture, meaning that biological traits can have an effect on how the way individuals respond to nurture (Eagly & Wood, 2013). This approach is still an appropriate means of looking at nature vs nurture as both ideas are being viewed for motive behind behavior.

Eagly and Wood’s (2013) article is relevant as it was published within the last 7 years. The information that was provided was clear and offered extensive support to the conclusions. The relevancy of the article to the field is also highly appropriate as it addresses an idea of how behaviors and development are influenced by nature and nurture.

The different theories and ideas that surround the nature vs nurture debate lead to controversy over whether it is useful and appropriate to view development from this approach. Overall there seems to be enough research that makes the debate continue. The multidisciplinary approach to the theory provides viewpoints that psychologists should consider when furthering their research.

References:

Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2013). The nature–nurture debates: 25 years of challenges in understanding the psychology of gender. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(3), 340-357.

Levitt, M. (2013). Perceptions of nature, nurture and behaviour. Life Sciences, Society and Policy, 9(1), 13.

2. Practitioner-scholar model

The very first statement by Charles McClintock is huge. “The term scholar practitioner expresses an ideal of professional excellence grounded in theory and research, informed by experiential knowledge, and motivated by personal values, political commitments, and ethical conduct.” McClintock, C. (2004). Scholar practitioner model. In A. DistefanoK. E. Rudestam & R. J. Silverman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of distributed learning (pp. 440-396). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412950596.n134. In the current society we live in with social media everyone tries to be an “expert” on many different topics and it is often very difficult to determine fact from fiction. This model outlines specific concepts that allow me as the scholar to take my hypothesis and evaluate it for validity. It forces me find the “data” to support, or debunk that hypothesis and, if followed it, doesn’t allow me to just spew my opinions without data driven results. This concept is often talked about but rarely does one have a guideline to follow to implement the concept. The four steps listed in the Capella Learning Model Quick Reference and Examples: Acquire knowledge, Process information, Evaluate new strategies and Apply and monitor, gives the learner specific steps to follow before developing you final hypothesis and before presenting to other.

Overall Vision

This is a very interesting subject. I have a pretty good idea about where I am heading in my career but it seems like throughout my history as soon as I feel like I have a clear vision something comes along and turns me in a new direction. I don’t however think this is a bad thing; in my opinion my ability to adapt to change direction is a strength. No matter how many turns I have taken in my forty three years there have been a few very constant factors, so instead of discussing a specific landing point I will discuss these factors because no matter the situation I always end up landing very close to these factors. Factor one, I am a helper. I live by the quote from Zig Ziglar “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want”. This quote means, to me, that in order to get where you want to be you have to help as many people get where they want to be. I have had many “jobs” in my life but they all have one thing in common, I was a people helper. This will always be a constant in my life. Factor two, special needs population will be a focus. Throughout my life time this population has changed names several times but what has never changed is my passion for the population. This passion started as a High School freshman and has only gotten more intense and I don’t see that fire ever going out. ABA is currently my “landing position” because in the area where I reside the need for appropriate, non-cookie cutter behavioral intervention is abundant. Behavioral intervention has been an interest for me for a number of years and unless an unforeseen force turns the plane this is where I plan to “land”.

Time Management

This topic as it applies to me is huge and has very differing opinions depending on who, in my life, you ask. Busy doesn’t begin to explain me. I hold several “full time” positions. First and most importantly I am a father/grandfather. I have 5 children ranging from 24 to 6 and 1 eighteen month old grandchild. These guys take up a lot of my time. People think that once the kids are grown they don’t need the parents as much but I have found that this is not true. The needs just change or evolve. My second full time position is as a husband. I will not expand on the reasons for this one because it is self-explanatory and I refuse to incriminate myself! My Third full time position is my employment as an IDD Care Coordinator. I currently work for a MCO and manage the Medicaid innovations waver program. I have 30+ members on my case load at any given time and each one can require full time attention at one point or another. MY final full time position is both lucrative and a passion. I am a DJ and have been “spin the turn tables” for 11 years now. I currently DJ 2 to 3 events (parties, Wedding, Trivia, Karaoke) a week which once you factor in preparation time it becomes full time. So how do I plan to add my graduate program to the mix and be successful? I simply plan to “get it done”. I have developed several methods of “get it done” that I currently use and I plan to apply them to this program. One of those methods is spread sheets/check sheets. I find that this is a very effective organizational method for me. I plan to create these for the entire program, for every quarter and every week. I list the topics that need completing and review them and my progress to achieving them every day. During these reviews I will prioritize tasks as I go focusing on size of task and due dates. My final time management tool is that I don’t sleep so many of my assignments will be completed at mid night. I know what everyone thinks about this strategy but it has worked for me in the past, I’m not sure I submitted a single assignment before eleven A.M. during my undergraduate program, so if it isn’t broken you know.

Code of Conduct

A Code of Conduct is a huge concept that seems to be less and less of a focus in society today and this is very unfortunate in my personal opinion. A Code of Conduct to me is a set of guidelines that must be followed to represent your “integrity” in any role of life. As a young man I was a pizza delivery driver, as stated I have held many positions. Part of the Code of Conduct was that you must have a neat, clean attire. Your shirt must be stain free and tucked, your pants must be pressed and clean, shoes should be black and slip free. I lived by this and I was often “joked” on by other drivers because I was “too neat” but in my opinion this showed the customer that I cared about my appearance so I cared about their pizza. A Code of Conduct is twofold also. I, as a student, employee or member of a group must uphold my end of the code but my boss, professor, teacher or whomever one answers too must enforce and insist that their followers follow the code or else the code is rendered useless.