“An individual's self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change. A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success in life (Dr. Brothers).” In the excerpt above, Dr. Joyce Brothers stated the concept of personality. Personality impacts and manages every aspect of a person’s life. But what causes personality within a human being? ‘Nature vs. nurture’ is a psychological term that questions whether heredity or the environment influences the human behavior and personality. Numerous people argue that their character traits are innate; while others argument that they gain their character traits by learning. Subsequently, the majority of the population has heard the term ‘personality’ and can depict a person’s personality. However, what most do not know is that personality is one of the most researched aspects of psychology today. So, what’s personality? In my own words, personality is a broad theme that describes one’s character traits and qualities that differentiate each individual from the rest of the people. I firmly believe that both genetics and the environment are involved in a person’s personality theory and development.
To begin with, personality is one of the many mysteries in this universe. Personality is an individual’s characteristic pattern of feeling, acting, and thinking. It includes two other terms: a state and a trait. A state is momentary change in one’s personality. On the other hand, a trait is a permanent feature in one’s personality. Someone’s personality may vary depending on the stimulus he/her has. The beliefs of personality, in psychoanalytic psychology, include the theories of how people develop; it determines the structure of personality, the nature of mental illness, and how to treat mental and emotional problems. Scientists consider that personality consists of conscious motives and observable behaviors, which are determined by genetic or biological mechanisms.
Moreover, what research has been done in order to prove whether personality is genetic or environmental? Family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies have been the most common research methodologies currently. Trait theorists presume that some personality variations are present at birth in a person; however, it has a lot of foregone conclusion. Plato once argued that the souls of men were made of diverse metals. He used symbolism to state that people’s personalities express and represent their inner natures. Plato therefore implicated that behaviors are innate and that they are not influenced by the environment. Psychologists interview an individual’s likes, dislikes, beliefs, goals, and values and then factor analyze their responses to prove which aspects have correlations. At the end, both genetics and the environment will always have a correspondence to influence the personality of a human being.
Finally, the field of psychology has concluded that personality is equally caused for the motives of genetics and the environment. Genes affect proteins and proteins function by affecting the brain, causing the effects on behavior. The environmental influences are as strong and as comparable to the genetic influences. Nevertheless, the studies of environmental effects prove that there are individual differences in response. This implicates that each individual reacts in their own mode depending on the past experiences they’ve had. Each person has its own system to convalescence from the detrimental effects of psychosocial adversity. Personality involves polygenic characteristics; meaning that a person’s behavior is influenced by multiple genes and situations.
In conclusion, personality is a characteristic pattern of thinking, acting, and feeling that is maneuvered by both biological and environmental factors. Personality encapsulates a person’s responses to their circumstances and their inner souls. As Dr. Joyce stated, personality is the foundation of the existence of a human being. It alters a person’s life for the reasons of nature and environment. Nature influences personality as much as nurture does. Every person has genes that affect their personal thinking, which subsequently affect their actions and emotional status in a certain environment.
Works Cited
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/an_individual-s_self concept_is_the_core_of_his/147493.html
http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2236/Genetics-Environment-HOW-DO-GENES-INFLUENCE-BEHAVIORAND-ATTITUDES.html
http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/intro.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/experiments-in-philosophy/200804/whats-innate-and-whats-not-and-should-we-care
http://socyberty.com/psychology/where-does-personality-come-from/
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/persintro.html
http://philipschaefer.com/2008/05/19/does-personality-come-from-nature-or-nurture/
http://web.mst.edu/~pfyc212b/personal.htm
Images
http://blog.oup.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/nettle_personality.jpg
http://nowsourcing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/left-brain-right-brain.jpg
i really liked your blog because it had every piece of information i would need if i had to do a reaserch paper. The most interesting thing was the proteins and how your brain reacts to them.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas were really organized and structured. Yoy were descriptive and detailed in your explanations. You used a lot of deep examples, like the one of Plato. With your report I learned that personality does not only come from the genes but also from the environment.
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