Teaching Nature Versus Nurture: The Development and Benefits of a Seminar Course

Nature versus nurture is a pervasive topic in psychology and underpins questions involving traits and behaviors. While core undergraduate courses present genetic and environmental concepts, the coverage is largely quick and superficial due to the overall breadth of course content. Students who enter these courses with common misconceptions (e.g., genetic determinism) likely leave with them intact. This paper details the development and benefits of a nature-nurture seminar. The seminar includes two segments: (a) nature-nurture basics and essential readings and (b) epigenetics and the developmental systems perspective. We provide a list of core topics, primary readings, and course expectations. Finally, we provide a brief analysis of the Nature-Nurture Belief Survey designed to assess nature-nurture beliefs.