Nature versus nurture is a popular phrase used to describe debates over the relative degrees to which one's genetic makeup ("nature") and one's life experiences ("nurture") influence one's traits and behavior. A wide variety of characteristics have been considered in such debates, including personality, sexual orientation, gender identity, political orientation, intelligence, and propensity for violence or criminality.
Although "nurture" may have historically referred mainly to the care given to children by their parents, any environmental (not genetic) factor also would count as "nurture" in a contemporary nature versus nurture debate, including one's childhood friends, one's early experiences with television, and one's experience in the womb. Indeed, a substantial source of environmental input to human nature may arise from stochastic variations in prenatal development.
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Nature_versus_nurture
