HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT

1. Human development is affected by several factors. Different studies were conducted to understand the factors influencing human development and two factors were found to play a major role. They are heredity and environment. 
2. Heredity explains our growth pattern and determines how we grow older. We are similar to our parents, not only in terms of physical characters, but also in what we do. 
3. In the same way, environment also influences our learning, behaviour and personality. The similarities that we have with our parents depend upon the genetic makeup transmitted from the parents to the child. 
4. Heredity may influence many traits such as the colour of the eyes, height and susceptibility to specific diseases. Similarly, development is also influenced by the environment. Environment, here, refers to the surrounding context, interaction with people, socio-cultural context, political and historical context of the person’s life and many other dimensions. The school has significant role to play in a child’s learning and development. Content, pedagogy, school environment, teachers and peer group contribute to the school environment of a child. The debate of the importance of role of heredity versus that of environment is very prominent. Though studies have proved that we all are part and parcel of a combination of both, it sometimes becomes difficult to say which influences more, heredity or environment. 
5. Heredity is a science where we study the role and importance of heredity in different aspects of development. The study of genes, how they are transmitted from one generation to another and how they influence a person, is the subject matter of human genetics. Conception occurs when a man’s sperm cell contacts an ovum. At the time of conception, the 23 chromosomes of sperms combine with the 23 chromosomes of ovum. Genes that are present in these chromosomes carry hereditary traits. Here, it is also important to know that mutation is a process when genetic structures are changed. 
6. Environment refers to everything except heredity, which stimulates and influences a person. It includes the person’s family life, social life, economic life, peer group, education and so on. 
7. Studies have proved that the role of heredity and environment in development is significant. This debate is also known as nature versus nurture, where nature stands for heredity and nurture stands for environment. Nature and nurture have their own role in child development. Two children in the same family getting the same treatment will still have different rates of development. Not only this, their intelligence levels will also be different from one another. This shows that heredity has a great influence. But, on the other hand, when twins are nurtured in different environments, they are seen to develop differently. Thus, environment also plays a significant role in child development. 

The above discussion explains that development happens because of the interaction of environment and heredity where both have a significant role to play. While certain things are determined by heredity, others are developed by the environment.