Nature or nuture?

Question

Are our personalities inherited or do we become who we are from our experiences, i.e. the way we are brought up and the influences we have?

Answer 1

I think mostly we become who we are through socialisation. I can't help wondering if our biology does have an effect

Answer 2

Its both. Your inherited genetic temperament acts as a filter and determines your emotional response.
We develop during early years, we are supposed to receive some experiences, teaching and support from our family; if they fail to provide 'enough' positive support it affects our behaviour later.
As adults we can make up for what we missed, but by that time our personality has developed. We see the world through the filter of our personality. Two people can go through the same experience and have a different perception of what happened and how they feel about it.

Answer 3

To a degree it is really a bit of both. We all have certain characteristics that we have inherited from our parents, grandparents, etc. like facial expressions or certain mannerisms however there is a significant part of our behaviour that is moulded by the environment in which we are raised. Remembering the classic story of a set of twin brothers who grew up in a home with their alcoholic parents who beat them regularly, one grew up and became exactly like his parents. The other? He grew up to be an eminent member of the legal community. When each one was asked why they were the adults they became they both gave a similar answer: I had no choice, how else could I have turned out with the upbringing I had?

Answer 4

A mixture of the two is my belief, a good clean and healthy environment along with a healthy diet and with plenty of
scope for physical exploration suitable to the childs age I
believe are essential, as are plenty of opportunity for learning
about the world in starting experientially then in academic ways.

For the childs emotional development I think the most
important factor is having an 'emotionally and pschologically available' mother or primary carer.

For more information there are some very good books, see below for a couple;

Answer 5

It's all about people contact. My parents made me what I am and now I build on those solid foundations. I do inherit words or traits from things or people I see often. I have recently started saying "yes" at the end of statements I make in a very Gordon Ramsay style which I have been watching recently and also now use the word "fantastic" to descibe good stuff in a very Tommy Boyd fashion who I listen to on the radio.

Answer 6

it is a little bit of both. every one is born with a personality, i mean look at infants, they all have a personality, some are very timid, some very cheerful they all have a different personality. studies done in adopted children showed that the child will at first act like their adopted parents, but in the long run, they are very similar to their biological parents. they could be surrounded by love their whole life, adopted at birth, but still grow up to be very aggressive and angry. i think this proves that part of your personality is nature. but also nurture helps to develop a personality, if a child is raised in an angry family, constantly surrounded by aggression, most likely the child will grow up to be aggressive, the same would work in a peaceful happy family. if a child is raised around certain beliefs they will most likely grow up believing those things and holding those values. many studies have been done on this topic and the results were that personalities are both a part of nature and nurture.

Answer 7

Nature and Nurture is what influence our personality. I did not grow up with my mother, however after meeting her again 11 years later, I realized how much we had in common, and a lot of the things I did she also did. I am also different than her though, because she is very shy and introverted and I am outgoing and chatty. I am very assertive and not superstitious and she is not assertive and very superstitious. I can go on but I don't want to bore, you. I think it is both.

Answer 8

I'd say both but depending on the person. My ex and his brother both grew up without their father. His brother turned out to be a medical professional just like his mother while he turned out to be an alcoholic with a mean streak. His mum once confided to me that he was just like his dad.

Answer 9

I think both---you come into the world with what your given but there's so many things that can change and influence what you know too. So, I say both.

Answer 10

u inherit some of ur parents traits but u r influenced by thm and people and things that happen around u

Answer 11

we are born with a blue print of characteristics that are inherited... the degree of expression and repression of those characteristics and which ones occurs through nuture.