I'm not asking if someone could have more addictive tendencies, or even things such as depression that could run in the family. I'm asking along the lines of more of a personality trait, such as coldness, a cheery outlook, a "wild child" when the adoptive parents are reserved, things like that. Is it the environment that shapes things like that, or could it be that genetics shape a personality?
2007-08-10 14:28:16 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
The general consensus seems to be that personality traits are influenced by environment. The people you keep close to and (in our age) the media you are exposed to. Especially at younger ages when your sense of judgement is still developing and you may not be able to properly discern things that may be harmful to you.
A caveat to that, though: inheritable tendencies like addiction and depression can affect your personality traits dramatically.
2007-08-10 14:38:18 · answer #1 · answered by soapofdurden 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Ooooh that is a very good question. I would say that on a genetics-based trait, I cannot work with numbers as well as some. Because my father and great-grandfather was/is so great with use of the written word and grammatical functions, that trait was definitely passed down to me. Speaking is much harder for me to do because I often mix my words up and can't remember specific terms for something I want to describe. Very frustrating for me.
Personally, I think that a good mixture of both environment and genetics shape our personalities. For instance, I may be very good with the written word because of genetics, but my father also encouraged me to read as much as possible when I was younger. He read to me all the time. Also, you could be the reserved type because maybe one of your parents was more shy growing up, or else you develop shyness because you are not very self-confident or get embarassed about things easily and would rather hold your opinions to yourself. All in all, I believe personality develops from a mixture of genetics and environment.
2007-08-10 21:54:43 · answer #2 · answered by •°o.O.nenna.O.o°• 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both environment and genetics affect personality, although the exact mechanisms of the inheritance of these traits are poorly understood.
2007-08-10 21:37:45 · answer #3 · answered by Dig a Pony 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In general, I think it is both.......
And yes to all the other stuff you mentioned... genetics can affect all aspects of a person life....
2007-08-10 21:37:58 · answer #4 · answered by ♥♥The Queen Has Spoken♥♥ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋