Cited by 309Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPhilosophy and History of ScienceAcademic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology

Nature, nurture, and development: from evangelism through science toward policy and practice

Rutter, Michael·2002·Child Development

Abstract

During the second half of the 20th century there was an immense increase in both empirical findings on, and conceptual understanding of, the effects of nature, nurture, and developmental processes on psychological functioning-both normal and abnormal. Unfortunately, the good science has also been accompanied by excessive polarizing claims and by unwarranted extrapolations. This article provides a summary review of the real gains in knowledge, outlines some of the misleading claims, and notes the potential for research and for science-led improvements in policies and practice. The need to bring about a better interpretation of genetic, psychosocial, and developmental research strategies and theoretical concepts is emphasized.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/1467-8624.00388

Cites

174 of 174 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The associations observed between SES and personality are interpreted as the product of bidirectional influences over time.

    “We interpret the associations observed between SES and personality as the product of bidirectional influences over time, consistent with life-course epidemiologic models of risk clustering (51) and nature-nurture interplay (52).”

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Authors
Rutter, M.
Affiliations
Institute of Psychiatry, Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre , De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF ,
Corresponding author
Rutter, Michael
Venue
Child Development
Published
2002-01-01
Volume
73
Issue
1
Pages
1-21
ISSN
  • 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-8624
OpenAlex
W2110729589
Cited by
309
References
174
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 20
FWCI
26.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Child Development (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › General Psychology › Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology
Keywords
nature versus nurture, developmental processes, genetic factors, psychosocial factors, psychological functioning, abnormal psychology
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Child, Developmental Disabilities, Child, Preschool, Forecasting, Health Policy, Humans, Infant, Personality Development, Research, Risk Factors, Social Environment, Genetic Predisposition to Disease

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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

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