"We are the products of our environment.” It is a common notion throughout the world that personality is affected by one’s surroundings. However, these ever-changing external circumstances do not determine every unique tendency or expression of an individual. Our traits can also be determined from before we step out into the world.
Hence the debate of “Nature vs. Nurture” is born. Is a person’s disposition decided before they are born or through a series of unique life events? Are different coping mechanisms and social abilities derived from parenting methods or genes? The answer is not as cleancut as one may think. Personality is not based on either one or the other, but a combination.
The basics on temperament
Temperaments are the stable foundations of our personality and behavior, typically remaining constant throughout our life. These traits can be similar to other family members due to shared genetic characteristics.
Research on the subject of genetic temperaments have been conducted since 1949. After years of such studies, personality psychologists agree that there are five main traits that cover the basic dimensions of the human psyche. Depending on a person’s relatability to each trait, they can tell where they fall on the spectrum and how it affects their personality.
Big 5 personality traits (OCEAN)
Openness:
Openness is the trait that emphasizes imagination and insight to abstract ideas and experiences. People who demonstrate a high scale of openness are curious about the world and learning.
Conversely, those who are low on the scale may display more close-minded and traditional ideals.
Conscientiousness:
This trait is defined by impulse control and goal oriented behavior. Those who are strong in conscientiousness plan ahead and are wary of deadlines. They are detail oriented and thoughtful of the things and people around them.
Someone weaker in conscientiousness may be disorganized and spontaneous. Characterized by procrastination, they might miss deadlines and fail to complete necessary assignments or clean up after themselves.
Extraversion:
Many people are aware of the distinction between extraversion and introversion. Extreme extraversion is described as high amounts of excitability, sociability, and emotional expressiveness around other people. Extraverts gain energy in social environments and are assertive with their thoughts and feelings.
In extreme introversion, people are more reserved and awkward when interacting with other people. Introverts feel more comfortable in solitude and dislike attention.
Agreeableness:
Those with prominent agreeableness exhibit trust easily and harbor altruistism. They exude kindness and affection to other people and are more cooperative.
Those who are low in agreeableness are shown to be more competitive and manipulative. Their personality may reflect more selfish and callous ideals than those more agreeable.
Neuroticism:
This trait is characterized by emotional instability, meaning emotions tend to fluctuate dramatically. Those with this trait exhibit distinct bursts of sadness and moodiness, anxiety, and irritability.
People lower on the spectrum are more emotionally resilient and demonstrate stability. They are comparatively very relaxed and do not display as much stress.
Depending on where one falls on these spectrums can determine secondary personality traits that stem from the 5 basic attributes, as well as whether they are positive or negative aspects of their personality.
How much of our personality is environmental vs inherited?
These basic temperaments are rooted in genetics and branch off into complex emotions through environmental exposure. It is estimated that a wide range of 20% to 60% of a person’s temperament throughout their lifetime is determined by genes. Children may exhibit similar temperaments to their parents or siblings because of these shared genes within a family.
Furthermore, environmental factors influence genetic activity and cause certain behavioral traits to be activated. Instead of specific traits directing certain attributes such as constant sadness or laziness, many common gene variations combine to code for (and thus express) different individual characteristics of the broad temperament.
For example, if an individual is observed to be higher on the scale for agreeableness as a baby and is exposed to a gentle environment, they may develop similar traits that stem from agreeableness such as polite mannerisms. These distinct traits are developed through genetic variations as the brain develops which is why personalities stabilize during our mid to late 20s (when the brain finishes development).
Another example of environments influencing the activation of certain behavioral traits is the affect of a home environment. A child who grows up in a loving environment may be more prone to having a gentle nature because a set of genes that invokes those characteristics is turned on. However in a child subject to a hostile and adverse environment is more likely to turn on genes that increase the risk of a tense and impulsive nature. Thus the debate between Nature vs. Nurture does not have a definitive answer as both genes and environmental factors play a large part in the development of a person’s personality.
Evidence exhibited in family studies
Most studies on the inheritance of behavioral and temperamental traits focus on the study of family members and the similarities between their tendencies
Scientists specifically focus on twins that are monozygotic (share 100% of their genes) and dizygotic twins (share about 50% of their genes). In other words, the same temperaments are conveyed in monozygotic twins as children and 50% of those temperamental genes are in dizygotic twins. Another focus of research is the resemblance between siblings that have different parents and biological siblings that were raised in the same household.
When considering environmental factors on behavior, researchers distinguish between shared environments and nonshared environments.
Shared environment: environmental factors shared by relatives that cause them to behave similarly.
Nonshared environment: unique environments experienced by an individual that cause relatives to be different from one another.
Different traits are derived from different environments, which is why families members are never exactly alike. Scientists use monozygous twins to ascertain the difference between these environments, as they share the same temperament genes. Family members that exist in a shared environment more than a non shared environment tend to be more similar and vise versa.
From these studies, it is evident that genes are the starting point of a person’s mind but do not define it. Genetic and environmental traits are dependent on each other, similar to x and y on a graph with x being temperament genes and y being variations based on changing environments. In other words, basic and predisposed genetic traits set up the potential for complex traits that develop as a result of one’s environment.
The debate between “nature” and “nurture” is one that can never reach a peaceful conclusion as it was never a debate to begin with. We are a combination of “nature” and “nurture” that intertwine and complement each other to form the fragile yet beautifully complex system of human behavior.