Background
• While psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the
late 1800s, its earliest history can be traced back to the time of the
early Greeks.
• During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes
introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and
body were two entities that interact to form the human experience.
• According to John Locke, at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa
a blank slate on which experience ‘writes’ knowledge and
understanding as the individual matures.
, Nature Nurture
• The nature view holds that • The nurture view holds that
human beings enter the world knowledge is acquired throug
with an inborn store of experiences and interactions w
knowledge and understanding of the world.
reality. • Nurture refers to all the
• Nature refers to all of the genes environmental variables that
and hereditary factors that impact who we are, including
influence who we are—from our our early childhood experienc
physical appearance to our how we were raised, our socia
personality characteristics. relationships, and our
surrounding culture.
• While psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the
late 1800s, its earliest history can be traced back to the time of the
early Greeks.
• During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes
introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and
body were two entities that interact to form the human experience.
• According to John Locke, at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa
a blank slate on which experience ‘writes’ knowledge and
understanding as the individual matures.
, Nature Nurture
• The nature view holds that • The nurture view holds that
human beings enter the world knowledge is acquired throug
with an inborn store of experiences and interactions w
knowledge and understanding of the world.
reality. • Nurture refers to all the
• Nature refers to all of the genes environmental variables that
and hereditary factors that impact who we are, including
influence who we are—from our our early childhood experienc
physical appearance to our how we were raised, our socia
personality characteristics. relationships, and our
surrounding culture.
