Oh What a Tangled Web....
What about people who formed insecure attachments...or people who did not receive optimal parenting when they were young? Are these folks doomed to the miseries associated with insecure attachments? Well…no. Although there can be lasting effects, there are other environmental factors that can influence development. And of course, nature and nurture interact. Remember, we are a product of both our genes and influential environmental factors. Let's consider this nature/nurture interaction further.
People's nature can affect their nurture...that is, genetic factors can influence the environmental factors people choose for themselves. For example, some people are predisposed to tanning while others sunburn more easily, causing some to seek sunny experiences while others avoid them. As another example, my dad loves the cold weather and hates the warm weather...why? It is probably because of the biological mechanisms that govern his temperature-regulation system. Many other people, however, dislike cold weather and enjoy vacationing in warmer weather. Let's also consider stories about twins separated at birth and reunited in adulthood. They arrive at the reunion wearing similar clothes, driving similar cars, with similar jobs, and living in similar climates. Does our biology influence our self-chosen environments? Perhaps. Let's discuss one more example. I am about 5' 5." Clearly, I am not exposed to the same environmental factors as a professional basketball player…I'm just too short. In fact, I gave up basketball early on - another clear case of how genetic factors limit the environmental and situational factors that I expose myself to.
Temperament provides another example. Temperament is a child’s inborn emotional excitability and serves as the early basis for personality. As you might expect, it is harder for parents to be appropriately responsive and sensitive to highly reactive or difficult children than more easygoing children. This is a case where nature (child's temperament) can influence nurture (parental responses, frustrations, and sensitivities) quite literally. So does parenting really matter? Well, sure, but to some extent it depends on how sensitive the child is to parental influences.
We should also point out that nurture could affect nature. That's right - environmental factors can alter biological factors. One example involves abusive or highly stressful and prolonged situations. When we are faced with stressful situations our bodies react by releasing hormones and brain chemicals to help us cope. When our body requires the extended use of such hormones and chemicals, our physiology adapts by altering the normal levels of such chemicals or by altering brain structures. In essence, environmental factors (e.g., prolonged stressful situations) alter biological factors (e.g., brain structures and chemical levels). Evolutionary theory provides us with another example of how environmental factors can influence genetic factors. Basic evolutionary theory suggests that animals' bodies change across generations as species adapt to their environment. For example, aquatic animals developed webbed feet, fins, gills, and underwater hearing and sonar systems so that they can maneuver and communicate in water. Humans have developed feet for traveling on the ground and a keen sense of hearing that works well when messages are communicated in an air environment. So, you can see that nature and nurture truly interact, and both play a role in determining who we are.
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