Nature & Nurture -- the great debate.

In recent times, it has been decided that nature and nurture act together in one’s development.  I believe this statement to be true, not only from what has been discussed in classroom settings, but also from what I have experienced in my daily life.

A prime example of the interaction of nature & nurture is the use of our senses.  It is obvious that our biological framework creates the networks within our brain and body that allow us to use these senses in our everyday life; however, it is the social world we are raised in that establishes meaning within these senses.  In other words, “we do not react automatically to physical sensation but define & interpret them” (Waskul & Vannini, 42).

Society’s influence on the use of our senses is demonstrated in the commercial for Febreze.  In the commercial (video below) people are blindfolded and led into a room that is visually very uncleanly; however, it has been sprayed with Febreze, and thus smells clean.  

Those in the commercial associate this clean smell with things society has told us are hygienic and fresh: a beach, fresh linen, etc…  This event can be described as somatic escalation, or “conditions in which the denotation and connotation of an odor are blurred into one immediate ‘common-sense perception’” (Waskul & Vannini, 47).  That is to say, that we perceive our reaction to sensations as “natural;” however, they are actually created by society and the rules of society. We are told that it is proper to maintain a level of hygiene, and that anything that is unhygienic is “negative” and “dirty,” and thus, smells unpleasant.   Therefore, once the blindfold is removed, they are shocked to see that the room is actually covered in dirt.  If these participants had seen the room before smelling it, they would have most likely associated it with dirty and negative smelling things, because they were taught to by society.  Their shocked reactions prove that the reality and rules society has created for them has been challenged; a clean smell was applied to a dirty environment, instead of the typical clean environment. 

This idea of our senses being shaped by nature and nurture can be applied to our everyday life, not just in the media.  Although it is abnormal to do, if one thinks about why they picture “sweet” smells when seeing a strawberry, or “unappealing” smells when seeing rancid food, it will become apparent that it is because we were raised to do so.  We were born with the ability to use our senses; however we were not born with the innate ability to interpret them in a specific manner, this interpretation has been taught to us as we develop.