Is Parenting Overrated? (Encore)

What shapes us more: our DNA or the way we’re raised? The “nature” camp points to genetic research and studies of twins raised apart, arguing that traits from personality to abilities are strongly influenced by inherited biology, limiting how much parenting can shape who children become. The “nurture” camp argues upbringing, culture, and parental choices profoundly influence development and behavior. So which matters more? This ethical conundrum is at the crux of this week's debate, originally broadcast in November 2019

ARGUING YES: 

Robert Plomin, Professor of Behavioral Genetics at King’s College London 

Nancy Segal, Professor of Psychology at California State University, Fullerton and Director at the Twin Studies Center 

ARGUING NO: 

Paige Harden, Psychology Professor at the University of Texas 

Ann Pleshette Murphy, Author & Parenting Expert 

Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates 

Recent twin studies:

⁠Parenting in Childhood Predicts Personality in Early Adulthood: A Longitudinal Twin-Differences Study⁠ (APA, 2025)

⁠Genetics of monozygotic twins reveals the impact of environmental sensitivity on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes⁠ (Nature Human Behavior, 2025)

⁠Longitudinal associations between cognitive ability and socioeconomic status are partially genetic in Nature⁠ (Scientific Reports, 2026)