Innate vs. learned behavior.

greenspun.com : LUSENET : History & Theory of Psychology : One Thread

What is the percentage of what is learned vs. what is innate in a human.

-- Nancy Love (madart@idirect.com), September 28, 2002

Answers

You'll want to check a dictionary or encyclopedia of psychology, or a history of psychology textbook, for discussions on nature vs nurture or heredity vs environment. There is no simple answer to your question.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), September 28, 2002.

Except for people who are ideologically committed to one side or the other, pretty well everyone is agreed that inheritance and environment do not divide behavior up in the additive way presumed by your question. Heredity and environment interact in complex ways to produce behavior. Each example must be dealt with in detail separately. There is no percentage that can meaningfully answer your question.

-- Christopher Green (cgreen@chass.utoronto.ca), September 28, 2002.

Hi Nancy, I always figured 5% innate to 95% learned was the correct ratio. Of course that is for an adult. You can look at it as a maturation process. When you are first born you are by definiton all innate behavior, and then you soon start to learn things. Also, for young school kids they are more alike than diffrent, and as they grow the cohort begins to individualate and each person becomes more unique through out their life span. Most adult social behavior you can assume is learned, but there must be some innate stuff rattling around. Also, you have to take in the situation, as behavior can revert to more primal stuff, see Maslow's heirarcy. But if it is a test question, for an adult, say 5% innate and 95% learned. Of course you have to be careful what you take from the internet, you do know that? Best, David

-- david clark (doclark@yorku.ca), September 29, 2002.

50/50.

-- mayor maynard cartman (4degrees@tasmail.com), October 02, 2002.

I was having a discussing with a friend of mine on this subject exactly. A conclusion we had drawn was that determination of learned vs. innate behavior was greatly dependent upon your definition of learned and innate behaviors as well as the philosophy which dictates the requirements of a learned civilization and religious aspects of a planned future. However, if you're intelligent you'll assume a minimum of 4 to 1 ratio of learned to innate behaviors is accurate.

Adieu.

-- Mr. Koumjian (futileissue@msn.com), November 06, 2002.



behavior is a innate raction to the abscence of logical behavior. when ever there is an opertunity to lose logic human nature will block out leared behavior and refer to it's natural reactions.

-- Glen Hance (ldsboy2006@aol.com), April 21, 2004.

I think everything be innate because it is as you were born with there parents looks and that may be the same as if some one was born to do something wrong so as I was saying everthing maybe innate.

-- steve martin (stephen_theman@yahoo.com), April 23, 2004.

"Innate" is a behavior that is inherited like flinching when burned by a fire, while "learned" is like Shak and basketball. He wasn't born knowing how to play.

-- Not gonna tell (www.nodandgdi@hotmail.com), May 04, 2004.

I would say about 15/85%

-- Alex r. l. (www.nodandgdi@hotmail.com), May 04, 2004.

Learned behavior is basically 98% verses instinctual behavior, or so I believe...

-- don't know me (lyoung@mi.rr.com), September 26, 2004.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ