Probabilistic Epigenesis
In the field of developmental psychology, probabilistic epigenesis is a theory first developed by the American psychologist Gilbert Gottlieb (1929-2006). It is regarded as Gottlieb's most important contribution to the field of psychology. Since research illustrates that probabilistic epigenesis is shaped by many complex factors, have Paper Masters define and delineate probabilistic epigenesis in a research paper custom written for you.
Probabilistic epigenesis holds that human behavioral development does not proceed along predetermined courses. Instead, it presents development as a rather unfixed process that occurs due to ongoing, reciprocal exchanges between a person's genetic heritage and the social environment.
Probabilistic Epigenesis and Psychology
As such, while heredity may influence one's development, the environment in turn also influences the developmental effects of one's genetic constitution. Likewise, while one's physiological makeup affects one's behaviors, one's behaviors are also affected by environmental factors that can thereby influence the course of one's development. Probabilistic epigenesis therefore rejects the old but persistent theory of preformationism, which in its most basic forms suggests that a person's makeup and behaviors are determined well before birth. Gottlieb's theory also challenges strict notions of deterministic epigenesis, which posit that there are direct one-to-one linkages between specific genes and specific human behaviors.
Freudian psychology and other psychoanalytic approaches to human development were heavily influenced by deterministic epigenesis to suggest that human development proceeds along fixed paths that are at least partially predetermined by biology. To the contrary, probabilistic epigenesis suggests that development is shaped by complex interactions between range of the following influences:
Gottlieb's theory therefore offers more potential for individual agency as a driving force in human development.