Nature versus Nurture?

Question

Is our personality type determined by genetic and inborn biological factors, or is it determined by environmetal factors and the way we were raised?

Supposed you had to choose one or the other, which has the greatest influence on our personality type?

Answer 1

Humans need both. A baby born without genetics is just a lump of protein, and a baby who isn't nurtured will die from starvation. Even if the baby is given the basic food and shelter, without love, the baby will not thrive.

Twin studies show there may be a lot more to genetics than we'd like to suspect. But, people can overcome their genetics to do marvelous things!

It's like music -- that's genetically influenced, but not every one of a famous musicians' children will be musically gifted. Part of it is nurture, part of it is personal choices.

Genetics is not a destiny; nurture OTOH will not overcome certain genetic traits. I really don't think you can and/or this question -- although all sorts of people try to seperate them. They are totally interlinked, and you can't have one without the other.

Answer 2

This is a very interesting quetion to raise. In fact there have been many studies done on this and the only conducive conclusion is that we don't know for sure. Personality theory is one of the largest topics in psychology.

Freud believed that personality was mostly developed before we reach the age of six. Freud said that these early years, and the fixations we have during them, are the root of who we will grow to be. Freud hypothesized that there were three fixations before the latency period that lasts until we reach puberty, at which time we will start to be focused on sexual pleasure again. These fixations are the oral fixation, when we are preoccupied with the pleasure we get from the mouth, the anal fixation, when we are focused on pleasure through on either “holding it” or “letting it go,” and the phallic stage, when we are seeking pleasure through the genitals. It is during these stages that we will develop aspects of personality including, vanity, exhibitionism, gullibility, the tendency to exploit others, greed and many others. Freud that too much leniency or too harsh of punishment is where these traits come from.

Ultimately, though, Freud believed we are influenced by two conflicting forces, which he called the life instincts and the death instincts. The life instincts, called Eros, exude what Freud called the libido. The libido is all of our energy that focuses on our efforts to survive, through eating, sleeping, reproducing as well as our energy that is focused on seeking pleasure. energy is stored in the id. The id, which is the unconscious and largest aspect of what makes up our personality, seeks to express all of our pleasure seeking and innate urges in anyway it feels necessary. This is a completely irrationally instinct, it does not care what the circumstances are, it wants what it wants and it wants it now

Other fields of study believe that our personalities are simply made up of learned responses to stimili in nature. These processes are learned through trial and error. The conclusion that a good part of the psychological world is believing is that it is a little of both though.

Answer 3

This question is wrong-headed, as is the request that we "choose one" -- for instance, someone with a background of severe abuse will have their personality severely warped by that environment, giving environment the edge over genes, compared to those raised in healthier environments.

But the whole question is just wrong. It clearly isn't one or the other, or which is more.

That's boring. The really interesting questions are those that respect the reality of what you're asking.

What aspects of our personalities, to what degree, and in what respects are inborn.

How strongly, and in what ways does our environment play off of those inborn things?

THAT's when it gets both, more realistic and more interesting.

There are things that you wouldn't think of as being genetically determined, or being basic to our personalities, for that matter, that have a strong genetic component. But then that makes us react to our environment in certain ways, and leads those around us to respond to our reactions.

So someone with a short fuse (which has a strong biological component) raised by more even-tempered people will have been shaped by both genes and environment differently from a short-fused person raised by one or more short-fused parents.

When you try to force us to "pick one" you distort reality. The truth is MUCH more interesting. (And has the added benefit of being accurate.)

Answer 4

From a psychology point we can be born with genes that can also play a part in the process. The way we're raised, loved and cared for also plays a big role in how we view life, how we treat others and how we view ourselves. If we become anti social or not. We learn not only by what we see but how we're treated like conditioning. However, we need both in order to be "Normal" so to speak!and everyday people and we are indeed made up of both too.

Answer 5

I think its both, more so nurture when you are very young but the nature starts moving in when you gain more socials kills!

Answer 6

I think that how we act is determined by the environment we live/lived in and how we are/were raised.

Answer 7

i think its both. we might have genetic and inborn morals and instincts in us already, but it is our environment that shape how we use those morals and instincts. it cant be just one or the other.

Answer 8

we're learning about this right now

it's nurture

Answer 9

Well, it depends how you look at it really. It is all about opinion.

Answer 10

both