Discuss the nature nurture debate in Psychology?

Nature: behaviour is heredity.

Nurture: behaviour is caused by the environment, experience and learning. 

Interactionist approach: the belief that both nature and nurture are essential to any behaviour. A key example is phenylketonuria (PKU) which is cuased by a pair of defective genes (nature) but this is only a risk if the child eats dairy products (nurture). 

Methods of investigation: twin studies and adoption studies. 

Application to approaches: 

Biological - this approach focuses on the influence of genes which can be seen on the nature side of this debate, however they do acknowledge environmental influences.

Psychoynamic -  this approach is heavily nature becuase Freud states all individuals go through the psychosexual stages of development.

Behaviourist: this approach is heavily on the nuture side as it states behaviour is directly shaped and contolled by the environment. 

Application to topics areas:

Schizophrenia - the diathesis-stress model (interaction between nature and nurture)

Gender development - genetic development eg XX and XY or environmental pressures.