Personality: Nature vs Nurture: The Debate Over Development - Research Paper

Introduction

Personality is a significant part of every individual as it determines people's behaviors, moods, and how they interact with one another, as well as the decisions they make. However, there exists a long-standing debate among scientists from different branches of psychology on how human personalities develop. At one end of the spectrum are the nativists who argue that human personality development as a result of what they referred to as nature. It encompasses all of the genetic and hereditary factors that determine people's personal characteristics and behaviors, as well as physical appearances including color of the eye, skin pigmentation, and certain diseases. It is what these scientists and many other individuals think of as pre-wiring, and is often influenced by parental gene inheritance and other biological factors. On the other end of the spectrum are the environmentalists who believe that nurture has a significant influence on how human personality develops. Nurture in this case are the environmentally acquired influences that determine what people are, including their early childhood experiences, their social relationships, and their surrounding culture. Overall, it is the personality that makes people who they are, and the two concepts contribute to people's behavioral characters, personality attributes, thoughts, and psychological maturity.

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Personality Development

Rothbart (2007) describes personality development as the evolution of an individual's attitudes and behaviors in an organized manner, and in a way that makes them distinctive. Personality develops in a person right after birth and it is what distinguishes them from other people as they grow into adulthood. Essentially, individual personality development is usually determined by either environment or temperament components. Environment components in personality development are the adaptive factors drawn from an individual's environment that influence their behaviors and attitudes as they grow into adulthood (McAdams & Olson, 2010). The second component in a child's personality development is temperament, which is a set of genetically acquired traits from either the father, the mother or both, that influence their behaviors and attitude, as well as their general approach to the world (Rothbart, 2007).

Overall, personality is the key component in a person's growth and development. It has undeniable control of people's behaviors, moods, how they relate with other people in the society, the decisions they make, and paths they choose into adulthood. Studies indicate that an individual's personality does not stay the same, and may change and adapt with time. Even so, many psychologists have failed to determine whether it is the environmental factors or the innate components that cause this alteration in personality.

Nature on Personality Development

Although many modern psychologists hardly take sides when it comes to personality development, it is quite apparent that certain physical traits such as skin pigmentation and color of eyes are genetically inherited from parents. For this reason, many psychologists believe that just like physical characteristics, personality attributes and behavioral traits, as well as mental capacity, are also biologically influenced by generic inheritance (Kandler & Zapko-Willmes, 2017). Essential, based on behavioral genetics, many researchers argue that the variations in people's personalities are usually caused by the differences in system and the structure of the central nerves systems. To them, personality as we know it stems from the genes people acquired from birth and how their bodies regulate them.

Experimental research conducted by Krishnan, Lessov-Schlaggar, Krasnow, and Swan (2012) on identical twins provides great support on nature as a determinant in people's personality development. From the experiment, Krishnan et al. (2012) found that adopted children tend to resemble their biological parents more than their adoptive caretakers. Even more, Krishnan et al. (2012) found that adoptive twins portray similar behavioral characteristics such as hyperactivity and empathy, to one another irrespective of their environment. Generally, this study has evidently shown that individuals' genetic makeup developed at birth, compared to child-rearing, has a significant impact on their personality development. Consequently, the fact that genetic inheritance influences psychological traits such as personality attributes and behavioral tendencies is quite believable. As a matter of fact, studies have consistently shown that young children who are quiet and much more relaxed during childhood, usually become adults who depict the same personality traits.

Nurture on Personality Development

In terms of personality development, nurture establishes that people's psychological outcomes such as behavioral tendencies and personal attributes are the product of environmental factors. The basic assumption here is that when a person is born, his or her mind is still a blank slate and that their psychological characteristics are gradually developed as a result of time and experience (Keltikangas-Jarvinen & Jokela, 2010). Indeed, individuals' surroundings play a significant part in their personality development. For example, some people may have different biological parents but may portray similar characteristics based on the environment and how they were raised. Generally, people's personality attributes are often based on their social interests, cognitive abilities, and adaptive abilities.

Different research studies have also supported the fact that personality development is often the product of environmental and cultural interactions. For example, research conducted by Kandler (2012) on how personality is transferred between generations indicated that behavioral traits can also be passed to children non-genetically. In his study among adopted children, Kandler (2012) found that foster parents to some extent have a greater influence on the behaviors and personality attributes of the children they raise than the genetic inheritance from their biological parents. From this experiment, one could argue that behavioral differences and psychological characteristics that develop during childhood are acquired through learning.

Sigmund Freud in his studies on personality and childhood development argued that infancy has a significant impact on individuals' adult lives, and may be able to influence their personality (Edmonds, Jackson, Fayard, & Roberts, 2008). He believed that families make up children's first environment, and that parenting as a feature of nurture is fundamentally important during childhood personality development.

The Relationship Between Nature and Nurture on Personality Development

The Debate About the Relationship

For years, a debate has always existed as to how human personalities develop. It involves the extent to which certain facets of psychological characteristics are a product of either nature or environmental influences. Questions have often been asked whether people interact, act, and behave the way they do because of genetic inheritance or acquired components such as religion, culture, or interactions during childhood. However, such inquiries have always remained controversial since the arguments often lead politically motivated disputes revolving around power and justice in society. Even today, when explaining personality development, different psychologists tend to lean on one side and apply one versus the other approach.

One side of the debate is the proponents of nature as the sole determinant of human personality development. They argue that psychological traits in any individual are as a result of genes and hereditary factors, and that differences which are usually observed stems from each and every individual's distinctive genetic code (Vukasovic & Bratko, 2015). They also believe that the earlier a particular trait develops as a child grows, the more likely that it is determined by nature. To them, certain characters are inherited and that they can never be acquired solely through environmental components. Additionally, nativists believe that everyone is unique thanks to evolution that has allowed genetic traits to be passed on from one generation to another. In fact, they contend that any attributes or behaviors that emerge in adulthood but were lacking during childhood are a product of maturation since each person has a biological clock within them (Vukasovic & Bratko, 2015).

Environmentalists at the other end of the spectrum argue that individual personalities are often influenced more by environmental components than temperamental factors. Ideally, most of the opponents of nature as the sole determinate of personality traits contend that the minds of children are generally blank at birth, therefore, develop systematically as they grow based on environmental experiences and personal interactions (Sturaro, Denissen, van Aken, & Asendorpf, 2008). They believe that psychological traits including personality attributes, mental capacity, and behavioral characteristics can only be acquired through the process of learning from one's surroundings. For example, children born in families where both parents exhibit violence may end up as adults with aggressive behaviors.

Genetic Relationship

In recent years, psychologists have started to adopt the idea that all aspects of personality development are determined by both nature and nurture. However, behavioral geneticists remain adamant, arguing that even though environmental components are essential in personality development, they remain unsystematic, random, and unstable. For example, when twins are raised separately in different environments, they may interact differently, but will certainly exhibit similar personality attributes such as empathy and hyperactivity. Also, it may appear that children tend to develop interest in reading when their parents frequently read to them, but in truth, when a child is genetically predisposed to be competent at reading, he or she will definitely be interested in the same (Kandler, 2012). Overall, human beings tend to modify their surroundings to conform to their genetic disposition. Therefore, what may appear as a product of nurture are to some extent a reflection of temperamental effects.

Conclusion

Nature and nurture are significant components of human personality development as they contribute to people's behavioral characters, personality attributes, thoughts, and psychological maturity. Environment components in personality development are the adaptive factors drawn from an individual's environment that influence their behaviors and attitudes. Temperamental components, on the other hand, are a set of genetically acquired traits from either the father, the mother or both, that influence their behaviors and attitude. Personality develops in a person right after birth and it is what distinguishes them from other people as they grow into adulthood. Many psychologists argue that the variations in people's personalities are usually caused by the differences in system and the structure of the central nerves systems. Others, however, contend that people's psychological outcomes such as behavioral tendencies and personal attributes are the product of environmental factors. In the ongoing debate, questions have often been asked as to whether people interact, act, and behave the way they do because of genetic inheritance or acquired components such as religion, culture, or interactions during childhood.

References

Edmonds, G. W., Jackson, J. J., Fayard, J. V., & Roberts, B. W. (2008). Is character fate, or is there hope to change my personality yet?. Social and Personality Psychology Compass...