Scientific English
Essay
Environment Vs. Genetics/ Heredity
Student: Yasmina Murillo ID: 8-841-2426
In recent years, many research have surprising results in which psychological
characters and, to a lesser extent, cognitive skills are explained by shared heredity
rather than by the environment in which the individual develops at different stages
of his life. In the case of cognitive skills, the relationship manifests to a lesser
extent because it is not always direct or as clear as it seems. In fact, many other
factors must be present, including mainly environmental factors, for that
predisposition to manifest.
While it is true, inheritance estimates what proportion of the differences observed
between individuals can be statistically attributed to genetic differences. But
inheritance describes what happens in a specific population at a given time, not
what could happen or what should happen. There are observable differences in
individuals that may not be explained by genetic differences, but that can be
attributed to the environment. So, the existence of genetic components in complex
characters, such as psychological and cognitive does not mean that the
environment is not important. In complex characters, environmental influence is
normally as important as genetics. The genetic influence of behavior is just that, an
influence or a factor, not something pre-programmed or that will determine globally.
Since the beginning of psychology, studies have been carried out that have
contributed to determining cognitive ability in general, at least in learning and
problem-solving behaviors, establishing possible levels of influence exerted by
both the genetic component and the environment provided. In reference to the
above, studies have been carried out on other species such as in rats, one of them
