Nature, Nurture, or Survival
Tonight I watched a couple of interesting shows on children. The first was a show on feral children. Yes, I said that correctly. We all know the story of Tarzan. Well, these are children who were not given human contact as they were growing. One child was kicked out of her house by her drunk parents because she was not a boy. She lived in the kennels with the family dogs who "breast fed" her or would bring whatever scraps given to them to her. This child became more like a dog...barking and getting around on all fours. She was discovered when she was 8 years old. She has since learned how to talk in simple sentences.
It begs the question: Is this nature, nurture, or survival? The definition of a human is a person that can feel empathy and use language (according to the show on TLC). If left alone, would we by nature become what we are with? Or is it out of survival? What would we become if solitary from day one?
Harry Harlow, a psychologist, studied rhesus monkeys who were taken away from their mothers when they were just 6-12 hours old. He used wire "mothers" and "mothers" made with a soft cloth. The monkeys preferred the soft clothed "mother". It was his view that love began with the bond between mother and child. The studies with the monkeys revealed that those reared by their live mothers and young peers were more easily socialized and had learned to play. Those "raised" by the cloth mothers were slower to learn but eventually caught up. Baby monkeys with mothers but no playmates were found to become aggressive and fearful. And, babies without playmates and without live mothers became socially incompetent. His studies definitely shed light onto the nature and nurture debate.
The show was fascinating for someone studying psychology. Then I watched Dateline and the children caught up in a militant army in Uganda (I believe). One child interviewed was forced to kill his own mother in order to survive. Forced to kill in order to survive? It is really sad that children are tossed out or taken advantage of. What happened to the innocence of childhood? What happened to riding your bike on your own street for fun?
I have no answers.
It begs the question: Is this nature, nurture, or survival? The definition of a human is a person that can feel empathy and use language (according to the show on TLC). If left alone, would we by nature become what we are with? Or is it out of survival? What would we become if solitary from day one?
Harry Harlow, a psychologist, studied rhesus monkeys who were taken away from their mothers when they were just 6-12 hours old. He used wire "mothers" and "mothers" made with a soft cloth. The monkeys preferred the soft clothed "mother". It was his view that love began with the bond between mother and child. The studies with the monkeys revealed that those reared by their live mothers and young peers were more easily socialized and had learned to play. Those "raised" by the cloth mothers were slower to learn but eventually caught up. Baby monkeys with mothers but no playmates were found to become aggressive and fearful. And, babies without playmates and without live mothers became socially incompetent. His studies definitely shed light onto the nature and nurture debate.
The show was fascinating for someone studying psychology. Then I watched Dateline and the children caught up in a militant army in Uganda (I believe). One child interviewed was forced to kill his own mother in order to survive. Forced to kill in order to survive? It is really sad that children are tossed out or taken advantage of. What happened to the innocence of childhood? What happened to riding your bike on your own street for fun?
I have no answers.
posted by Sarah | 7:15 PM
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