Essay Sample on Personality: Nature vs Nurture

Introduction

The personality and the general behaviour of individuals in the society follow a specific pattern of thought, feelings and motivation expressed in various circumstances. It is imperative to note that, the personality of an individual is determined by either nature or nurture, which stand for either the heredity or the immediate environment one is brought up. Both Scientific and psychological approaches tend to provide the in-depth analysis and debate on the exact role of one's genetic make-up or the settings and how they help shape the individual's personality given the influences that the two factors have on a person. Significantly the central concern of this research paper is to explore the arguments revolving around how the environment setting or nurture influences the individual's character or personality as opposed to their genetic make-up or the element of nature.

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Following in-depth research, it is indicated that the personality of individuals is greatly influenced by the environmental factors and the general societal influence. Tentatively, the behavioral attributes depicted by the individual in the society is basically as a result of the massive impact from the environment. The research findings came from a study carried out on wild birds with the results confirming that the character or personality of a person is not as a result of inherited genes from their birth parents. However, the evidence found pointing towards nurture as being responsible for the formation of the person's character (Schuett et al. 2013). The external factors located within the environment influences the development of one's personality that the genetic make-up acquired from parents.

The research was pegged on determining how personality traits are transferred from parents through to different generations. On the same account, it is worth acknowledging the absolute fact that, the findings of the study pinpointed that upbringing had a significant impact on the lives and characters of individuals as opposed to the genetic make-up of the offspring inherited from the birth parents (Schuett et al. 2013). As per the research, the experiments conducted on the birds showed that there is a possibility of transferring behaviour from the parents to the offspring in a non-genetic way that does not involve the genes given to the child from the parents.

According to the zebra finches, the research subjects studied in this experiment proved that the behaviour of an individual could be transmitted from one person to another but not necessarily genetically. Notably, a personality study was done by relocating the zebra finches in a new habitat, and the number of features that they visited was counted down. While some were shy to move around, others were bold enough to explore more significant territories in their new environment. These were the birds that portrayed a more outgoing personality. The male and female birds were then paired for breeding purposes and their eggs hatched with the chicks being evaluated on maturity.

More importantly, the eggs just before hatching were fostered by another pair of birds for breeding purposes. The size of the offspring was seen to be comparable to that of the biological parents although their personalities were not. However, a point of criticism to this study was whether it would apply to human beings just like it worked for the zebra finches. It does not negate the fact that non-genetic transmission of behaviour is instrumental in shaping personality.

The influence of nurture on a person's character is undeniable. It has more weight than the influence that comes from the natural process of birth where parents transmit their genes to their offspring. In this regard, even the intelligence of a person has been closely related to the environmental setting as well as their general way of integration with the immediate population. Based on in-depth research, it is vividly demonstrated that the environment influences play a substantial role in the transmission of intelligence, character, as well as behaviour. The article provides irrefutable evidence that an individual's intelligence is facilitated by the observation and upbringing that transpires in their immediate surroundings. The experimentation on identical twins confirms this scientific hypothesis where the environment and not genetics, is responsible for the formation of a person's character that also includes their intelligence.

The case of identical twins cultured in different environments portraying different behavioural attributes confirms the analogy that, indeed the environment influences the personality as well as the general behaviour of individuals. Besides, the research shows that twins who have been nurtured in the same environment are most likely to have a similar intelligence quotient based on influence from the environment on the biological makeup (Cherry, 2018). However, this is not the case for identical twins that have been brought up in different environments. The identical twins nurtured in separate environments have different levels of intelligence which only highlights the fact that the character, behaviour, and intelligence of an individual is primarily determined by the environment and not the genetic make-up. Going by this logic, it can be deduced that, heredity is not as strong a factor that determines the behaviour and the general personality of individuals in the society as compared to the influence from the environment.

It is imperative to note that, the presence of education in the society help transform the individual's perception thereby strengthening the personality and collective behaviour outcome. Conversely, learning is beneficial since it increases the intelligent quotient of the person altering their personality and ultimate character. However, attending school has a higher impact on the character and intelligence of the person. On the other hand, the environmental influence can be seen in the nurturing individual character at a tender age thereby providing room for analysis. Significantly, this analogy can easily be explained through the natural act of breastfeeding. Studies indicate that children who are subjected to breastfeeding in the first five months since their birth are likely to have a higher level of intelligence (Cherry, 2018).

Conclusion

In summation, the overall personality and the behavioral attributes and an individual is greatly influenced by both genetics as well as the environmental factors. Significantly, nurture has an enormous contribution in determining the development of someone's personality as opposed to nature. It is therefore clear that the general behaviour of an individual is determined by the prevailing factors in the immediate environment rather than genetical makeup. However, research on the animals like the birds shows that both physical and psychological characteristics b can be transmitted through heredity. But with regards to human beings, there are inadequate explanations to support this viewpoint. However, geneticists and psychologist has alluded to the fact that heredity and the environments play an important role in determining once personality.

References

Cherry, K. (2018). Genetic and environmental influences on intelligence. Very Well Mind.

Kramer, M.S. (2008). Breastfeeding and child cognitive development. Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 65, Issue No. 5, Pages 578-584. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.65.5.578.

W. Schuett, et al. (2013). Environmental transmission of a personality trait: Foster parent exploration behaviour predicts offspring exploration behaviour in zebra finches. Biology Letters, Vol. 9 Issue No. 4. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0120