What is nativism?
Q: What is nativism?
A: Nativism is a theory in psychology that states that most basic skills are hard-wired in the brain at birth.
Q: What is the opposite of nativism?
A: The opposite of nativism is the theory called the blank slate, or tabula rasa, which states that humans have almost no skills or abilities at birth and must learn these over their lifetime.
Q: Who believes in nativism?
A: People who believe in nativism (within certain limits) include Jerry Fodor, Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker. These psychologists believe that humans are born with a set of abilities that help them learn other skills, such as speech.
Q: How do animals show inherited behaviours?
A: Some mammals seem to inherit emotional reactions; for example monkeys fear snakes. Most of the behaviour of insects, reptiles and birds is inherited in some detail while mammals show a greater ability for learning than other kinds of animals.
Q: What did Charles Darwin say about emotions being inherited?
A: Charles Darwin showed in his book The expression of emotions in man and animals (1872) that most emotions were shown similarly across human cultures, suggesting they were inherited due to evolution.
Q: What does behaviorism say about human behaviour?
A: Behaviorism says that man's behaviour is affected by its results (operant conditioning), denying any importance to instincts or an inherited tendency to behave.
Q: What do evolutionary psychologists think about this idea?
A: Evolutionary psychologists disagree with behaviorism's view on human behaviour and instead think it has deep roots in our evolutionary past.
