What is Psychological nativism?
In [[psychology]], '''nativism''' is a [[theory]] that says that most basic skills are hard-wired in the [[brain]] at birth. This theory is the opposite of the theory called the [[blank slate]], or ''tabula rasa''. Blank slate theories said that humans have almost no skills or abilities at birth: they learn these skills over the course of their life. People who believe in nativism (within certain limits) include [[Jerry Fodor]], [[Noam Chomsky]] and [[Steven Pinker]]. These [[psychology|psychologists]] believe that humans are born with a set of abilities that help them learn other skills, such as [[speech]]. Some [[mammal]]s do seem to [[heredity|inherit]] [[emotion]]al reactions. [[Monkey]]s fearing [[snake]]s is an example. Most of the [[behaviour]] of [[insect]]s, [[reptile]]s and [[bird]]s is inherited in some detail. [[Mammal]]s, however, show a greater ability for learning than other kinds of animals. [[Charles Darwin]], in ''The expression of emotions in man and animals'' (1872), showed that the way most emotions were shown was common between human [[culture]]s. He said this was inherited and had been the result of [[evolution]]. [[Behaviorism]] says that man's behaviour is affected by its results ([[operant conditioning]]). Behaviourists denied the importance of inherited behaviours, [[instinct]]s, or an inherited [[wikt:tendency|tendency]] to behave. People who believe in [[evolutionary psychology]] think this is wrong. They think human behaviour has deep roots in our evolutionary past.<ref>Wilson, Timothy D. 2002. ''Strangers to ourselves: discovering the adaptive unconscious''. Harvard University Press.</ref><ref>Pinker, Steven 2002. ''The blank slate: the modern denial of human nature''. New York, N.Y: Viking. {{ISBN|0-670-03151-8}}</ref><ref>Gladwell, Malcolm 2005. ''Blink: the power of thinking without thinking''. Little, Brown, New York. {{ISBN|0-316-17232-4}} & {{ISBN|0-316-01066-9}}</ref> == References == {{reflist}} == Related pages == *[[Evolutionary psychology]] *[[Unconscious mind#Adapti