The nature versus nurture question refers to the interactive role that heredity (nature) and environment (nurture) play in human behavior. Although no contemporary psychologist would take either a pure nature or a pure nurture view of human behavior, the extent to which many traits are influenced by genetics and environment is still debated. The related fields of behavior genetics and evolutionary psychology help psychologists explore the influence of heredity on human behavior.

Genetics is the study of how plants, animals, and people pass on traits from one generation to the next through genes. The transmission of traits is referred to as heredity. Each gene is lined up on tiny threadlike bodies called chromosomes, which are made up predominantly of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Members of a gene pair can be either dominant or recessive genes. In polygenic inheritance, several genes interact to produce a certain trait.