Human character and behaviour are not only shaped by the genes that encompass the individual’s genotype. Human character comprising mainly of personality, sexuality, morality and intelligence are the products of genetic determinism as well as external environmental factors. “Single genes can have surprisingly strong influences on particular aspects of behaviour.” (Frank., 2009)
Genes build the phenotype of humans as well as the underlying genotype. Competition between cultural genes leads to varied success of genetic determinism. It can therefore be said that learnt traits such as those espoused within a specific culture, can produce what may seem to be the genetic genotype of an individual. Genes are not always advantageous in the phenotype as they often act as constraints in the behaviour of an individual, thus genes do not unconditionally determine ones behaviour. (Elijah Wolfson, 2013) This is specifically seen in the IQ of an individual. IQ is believed to be 50 percent heritable. 50 percent of the individual differences expressed through intelligence between different people may therefore be attributable to genetic differences. (Wolfson, 2013)
Personality, sexuality and morality specifically are a combination of both nature and nurture. While sexual orientation can be attributed to genes, other factors play a greater role. The level of hormones a baby is exposed to in the womb is influential on gender determinism. The genetic code is not an exact blueprint and therefore, gender is predetermined. (TWCenter, 2012) We are sexual beings, although one is not born a homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Sexual expression can alter over time, towards different people, through different experiences. (Anon., 2006) Facets of morali...
... middle of paper ...
...ailable at: http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/07/21/genetic-influence-on-behavior/7237.html
[Accessed 23 February 2014].
Gil, E., 2010. Quora. [Online]
Available at: http://www.quora.com/Are-personality-traits-genetic
[Accessed 23 February 2014].
Google, 2014. Google Definitions. [Online]
Available at: https://www.google.co.za/search?q=phenotype+define&rlz=1C1CHYD_enZA573ZA573&oq=phenotype+define&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.3762j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
[Accessed 24 February 2014].
TWCenter, 2012. TWCenter. [Online]
Available at: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?441653-Is-Gender-Genetically-pre-determined-Or-is-it-socially-constructed
[Accessed 23 February 2014].
Wolfson, E., 2013. Motherboard. [Online]
Available at: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/intelligence-and-genetics-do-some-people-inherit-an-edge
[Accessed 23 February 2014].
...s may never agree on a conclusive degree to which both nature and nurture play roles in human development, but over the years, more improved studies have shown that both are crucial aspects. With all the knowledge we are gaining from these studies, it would be quite limiting to believe that a criminal and his actions are the sole result of heredity. Even in people who do not commit crimes, genes themselves are affected by the prenatal environment. Undoubtedly, the fetus experiences changes in environment, forcing possible changes in heredity and reactionary response. We are likely to never find the answer to how much or how little either, nature or nurture, impacts our lives, but at least we can agree that they both do, in fact, have major roles. Our development is not the culmination of heredity alone, but of a tangled web of experiences and genetics entwined.
Today, realising that genes and environment cooperate and interact synergistically, traditional dichotomy of nature vs. nurture is commonly seen as a false dichotomy. Especially operant conditioning, i.e. the learning of the consequences of one's own behavior can lead to positive feedback loops between genetic predispositions and behavioral consequences that render the question as to cause and effect nonsensical. Positive feedback has the inherent tendency to exponentially amplify any initial small differences. For example, an at birth negligible difference between two brothers in a gene affecting IQ to a small percentage, may lead to one discovering a book the will spark his interest in reading, while the other never gets to see that book. One becomes an avid reader who loves intellectual challenges while the other never finds a real interest in books, but hangs out with his friends more often. Eventually, the reading brother may end up with highly different IQ scores in standardized tests, simply because the book loving brother has had more opportunities to train his brain. Had both brother received identical environmental input, their IQ scores would hardly differ.
The debate of nature vs. nurture continues today in the world of psychology. The effects of an individual’s genetics and the effects of their environment on their personality and actions is an age old debate that is still inconclusive. However, it is evident that both sides of the argument carry some form of the truth. It can be contended that the major characteristics of an individual are formed by their environment, more specifically, their past experiences. An individual’s past moulds and shapes their identity, if they do not make an effort to move on from it.
A layman would define personality as an individual’s characteristics in terms of how they think and behave. Many theorists, however, interprets personality differently resulting in various personality theories. Personality is determined by traits which are behaviours displayed by a person in most given situations. How a person reacts to common circumstances may also be used to foresee future behaviours. Traits are then categorized into types that allow easier comparisons to be made between each individual’s attributes. The focus of this paper would be on the biological aspects of personality whereby traits are thought to be inheritable through genetics and associated with the central nervous system. Behavioural genetics are research that makes use of results from studies done on family, twins and adoptions. The findings of how both genes and environment influences personality from the studies will be discussed. Some researchers found possible issues with the representativeness of such studies. The outline of Eysenck’s biological model of personality and arousal, Gray’s BAS/BIS theory and Cloninger’s biological model of personality will further explain the biological effect on personality.
A complex and relatively new field of study, behavioral genetics is particularly interesting because is sheds light on the inner workings of a favorite subject: ourselves. Human behavioral genetics is broadly defined as the examination and characterization of genes as a basis for human behavior. The link between genetics and behavior was first recognized by Sir Francis Galton, a 19th century scientist and cousin of the very famous Charles Darwin, who studied the heritability of mental abilities of close relatives and family members (Stigler, 2010). Since then, genetics has been linked to many more behavioral phenotypes from eating and mating activities to substance abuse, social attitudes, violence and mental abilities. Geneticists are able to study this by analyzing parallels in physical and behavioral characteristics of families and populations (Rothstein, 2005). However, as with many other new scientific fields, the study of behavioral genetics and its implications has been the subject of increasing scrutiny and co...
As a mother, I am shocked and dismayed by the general acceptance of the myth of genetic determinism. One's environment, including people one interacts with, has an undeniable influence on how one develops. Nonetheless, many scientists disregard the impact of environment on one's intelligence. I do not deny that one's biology is a crucial part of one's identity. Inheritance of physical traits is obvious. Children often look "just like" their father or mother, or another relative. One's genes determine eye and hair color, height and body build. I believe, however, that what makes us human is not something that can be found in...
What controls a human's sexual orientation? The long-standing debate of nature versus nurture can be extended to explaining human sexual orientation. Is it biological or environmental? The biological explanation has been gaining popularity amongst the scientific community although it is only based on speculations. It is argued that sexual orientation is linked to factors that occur during sexual differentiation. The prenatal exposure to androgens and their affect on the development of the human brain play a pivotal role in sexual orientation (2). Heredity is also part of the debate. Does biology merely provide the slate of neural circuitry upon which sexual orientation is inscribed? Do biological factors directly wire the brain so that it will support a particular orientation? Or do biological factors influence sexual orientation only indirectly?
Benis A.M. Toward Self & Sanity: On the Genetic Origins of the Human Character. Psychological Dimensions Publishers, New York, 1985
Intelligence is a function of how well the brain works, and it's well established that our brains are designed by genes so it's not entirely surprising that some deem this as proof that our genes play a part in deciding a person’s intelligence. However, this is not a widely accepted fact and many scholars would argue intelligence is indeed not fixed by ones genes but instead manipulated by other factors.
From the moment people born, there are certain basic functions that will be with them throughout their lives. The abilities to eat, breathe, sleep, or to have the capacity to learn are a natural occurrence for most people. There are, however, traits that are specific to each individual. They are traits that set them apart from everyone else. The traits such as eye color, ones dominate hand, or susceptibility to a specific disease are a few traits that aren’t easily changed. However, there are some that are controversially questioned as to whether or not one is born with the trait or if it is a learned behavior. One of the biggest of these controversies is the question of whether sexual orientation is a choice or something that is beyond the individual’s influence. Although the evidence is commonly disregarded because of personal beliefs or opinions, sexual orientation is not a choice.
... have come to the conclusion that genetics is very important for the development of personality but even they have to determine how these genes are investigated for the purpose of determining a particular personality. “What scientists have found is that there does not appear to be a single gene for a particular trait, but that genes show their effects by working together in complex combinations. For example, there is no single gene for dancing or music. Whether a child will be musically inclined will be determined by the way that child's genes interact with one another. Some parents would like to believe that by creating an environment rich in music while the child is young will develop the child's talent towards music. However, despite assumptions like this, there is no evidence that shows long term effects of growing up in a particular environment” (Pinker, 2003).
A complex and relatively new field of study, behavioral genetics is particularly interesting because is sheds light on the inner workings of a favorite subject: ourselves. Human behavioral genetics is broadly defined as the examination and characterization of genes as a basis for human behavior. The link between genetics and behavior was first recognized by Sir Francis Galton, a 19th century scientist and cousin of the very famous Charles Darwin, who studied the heritability of mental abilities of close relatives and family members (Stigler, 2010). Since then, genetics has been linked to many more behavioral phenotypes from eating and mating activities to substance abuse, social attitudes, violence and mental abilities. Geneticists are able to study this by analyzing parallels in physical and behavioral characteristics of families and populations (Rothstein, 2005). However, as with many other new scientific fields, the study of behavioral genetics and its implications has been the subject of increasing scrutiny and controversy. While there are no conclusive findings as of yet, applications for this genetic information are likely to appear in areas such as education, employment, insurance, and criminal justice. With the findings of this genetic research having the ability to influence such expansive and important fields in our society, many people are concerned with the ethical, legal and social implications behavioral genetics raises. Who will be allowed access to such information, and for what purpose? There is a delicate line between what information could be vastly useful in our society, versus information that could be used in discriminatory and harmful fashion...
The Biological approach to personality places emphasis on the genetic influences related to the development of an individual’s personality. Some may believe that children and their parents can have very similar personalities, for example a young boy having his father’s anger (Stelmack, 1990). Though this approach has often been questioned by psychologists, it is not disregarded all together. Some believe that genetics do have a role in an individual’s personality development; however environments, as well as personal experiences all work in forming personality.
Height, hair color, eye color and sex are just a few examples of ways our DNA has shaped us. But could it be possible that our DNA also effects the way we behave in society. It is possible that genetics effect us is more ways that we may have imagined. Dr. Peter B. Neubaur believes that shyness, eating disorders, obsessive behavior and psychological illness can all be traced back to our genetics. Sexual orientation is also believed to be derived from genes in our body which determine what sexual preference we prefer. Violence and other types of crimes can be linked back throughout a person’s lineage to witness that other family members have been committed similar crimes without ever meeting one and other.
Personality is the expression of a person’s traits according to ones feelings, mentality and behavior. It involves understanding individuals’ traits such as withdrawal and willpower and how various parts of an individual link together to form personality. Personality expresses itself from within an individual and is comparatively regular throughout in an individual’s life. Different people have different personalities dependent on factors such as environment and genetic composition. Our personality is dependent on the success or failure of our development in the eight stages of life. This is proposed by Erik Erikson. Success in the development stages lead to virtues while the failure leads to malignancies.