• Question: why are some people merderous?

    Asked by eziornic to Helen on 11 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      Wow, that’s actually one of the biggest and oldest issues in psychology: the “nature or nurture” debate. Basically this debate is about whether what we become (a murderer, a brilliant chess player) is caused by our genetics (nature) or is shaped by our environment, family, upbringing, education etc (nurture).

      The majority of scientists agree that it is likely to actually be a combination of both, with some things made more likely by our genes (e.g., you might have a family history of high blood pressure) but how we are brought up and live our life can determine whether that becomes a problem (so if you eat healthily and exercise, you can prevent high blood pressure).

      As a sport psychologist this is a very interesting debate: are great athletes born or made?

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