Heredity and Environment: Comprehesive Study
Explore the intricate relationship between heredity and environment, examining how genetic inheritance and external factors influence human development, behavior, and traits across generations.
Heredity and Environment
Heredity: Heredity means children acquire both physical and other characteristics from their parents. These genetic traits that are transmitted from parents to offspring are hair colour, eye colour, height, skin colour, body type, etc. A cow gives birth to a calf, and a human being gives birth to a human being- in heredity this is called a narrow concept. Like parents, like children's concept is a broader term.
''Heredity may be defined as what one gets from his ancestral stock through his parents''- Petersons.
Heredity covers all the factors that were present in the individual when he began life not at birth but at the time of conception about nine months before birth- Woodworth.
Environment: It is the surroundings of an individual where numerous factors involved in his life since its beginning. It is derived from the French word ‘Environia’ meaning ‘to surround’.
'The environment is everything that affects the individual except the Anastasi.
The environment covers all the outside factors that acted on the individual since he began life- Woodworth and Marquis.
The environment can be of the following types:
(1) Natural Environment
(2)Social or Cultural Environment
(3) Intellectual or Mental Environment
(4) Emotional Environment
Heredity and Environment: Heredity and environment are often considered distinct influences on an individual's development, but in reality, they are intricately connected in complex and sometimes confusing ways. They continuously interact with each other. In everyday conversations, we might refer to heredity as the traits, abilities, and potential a baby is born with, while the environment is often seen as the external factors—such as home, family, neighborhood, school, and the wider world—that shape a person after birth.
However, heredity is determined not at birth, but from the moment an egg is fertilized and becomes a zygote. It's easy to overlook that this zygote, which develops into an embryo, fetus, and then a baby, exists within an environment for nine months before birth. In the early 20th century, social philosophers, psychologists, and biologists intensely debated this interaction, framing it as the “nature versus nurture” issue or the “heredity versus environment” debate. Both heredity and environment influence an individual throughout life, contributing to the differences between one person and another by constantly interacting with each other.
Laws of Heredity: There are some laws of heredity propounded by Mandal. These laws are as under:
1) Like Begets Like: This law states that as the parents so are the children, like intelligent parents have intelligent children and vice versa. But we cannot generalize this Law. Sometimes beautiful parents have ugly children.
2) Law of Variation: Sometimes children are not similar to their parents. There are many diversities. The reason is the difference in the combination of the genes of the parents. Man's genes decide their traits.
3) Law of Regression: Sorenson explained the meaning of the word Regression "sharp-minded parents may have less sharp-minded children. This is called regression."
Importance of Heredity
1. As a result of heredity, a person has different features, which become obvious with the process of development. Based on these differences, a teacher can apply the method of teaching.
(2) It tells about the inborn abilities of a child Which helps a teacher while making a teaching plan.
(3) It provides basic instincts.
(4) It tells about the difference in the learning process.
(5) It makes sexual differences between a boy and a girl.
(6) It creates physical differences.
Importance of Environment
(1) It guides in the development process of a child.
(2) A teacher can understand the environment and then create such an environment that makes expression possible.
(3) A teacher can create a cultural environment so that students follow the ideals.
(4) A teacher can create an environment according to the interests, instincts, and capabilities of the students.
(5) A student spends his maximum time in family, neighborhood, and playground. A teacher can give attention to the environment and can guide the students.
(6) Students, emotions also affect the environment of the school. After controlling the environment controlled emotions can be created among the students. Thus Heredity and Environment have great importance in educating a child. A teacher should have knowledge about both of them.
Role of Teacher:
Teachers can create a conducive environment in the school so that students can learn efficiently. There should be a library, co-curricular activities, and direction in studies, laboratories, playgrounds, classrooms, etc. their knowledge can be attained in a conducive social environment. Thus parents and teachers should help in this direction.
Modem education is child-centred. Thus children need educational, professional, and individual guidance. Thus knowledge about heredity and the environment is very necessary.
To understand the individual differences in psychological children, knowledge about heredity and environment is very essential.
In the class room teacher too can guide students about growth and development, but he can do so only when he has knowledge about heredity and environment.
Effects of Environment: It affects the development of a child in various aspects. These are as follows-
I. Physical Dissimilarities: The effect of the environment can make physical dissimilarities.
II. Effect of Superiority of Races: Because of the environment some races are superior to others.
III. Effect on Personality: Personality development totally depends on the environment rather than heredity.0 0 0.
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