Influence Of Personality

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Recommended: Biological influences on personality

There has been much debate among psychologists on whether an individual’s personality remains relatively stable over their lifetime or whether their personality can change (Fraley & Roberts, 2005). Despite evidence increasing stating that most traits of personality are highly determined by genetically inherited influences (current research suggests as much as about 50%), given that the variability in an individual’s personality is mostly stable and not due to the result of environmental factors prompted some psychologists to suggest that individuals have genetically inherited traits in personality that an individual will always contain and cannot be changed (Caspi, Roberts & Shiner, 2005). The essay will review research on genetically inherited traits and environmental influences on personality to determine whether personality can be changed. This will be achieved by defining personality, genetically inherited personality traits and how personality is measured. Following this will be a discussion on twin studies to compare genetic influences to environmental influences. Finally it will consider environmental and parental influences and genetic inheritability in regards to the Five Factor Model.

Environmental influences can be divided between shared and non-shared environments (reference). Both environments and genetic inheritability can contribute to an individual’s personality traits. Although an individual’s environment plays a crucial role in an individual’s personality development, genetic inheritability factors play a greater role in the way an individual will act in an environment (Bouchard Jr, 1994). Personality is defined as an individual’s distinctive patterns of behaviours, emotions and thoughts, together with psycholog...

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...ability does which cannot be changed.

In conclusion, inherited factors can influence an individual’s personality in addition to environmental factors altering the individual’s personality. Due to the inherited factors that individual’s will always have, genetic factors set the limitation where environmental differences decide the final result. However, inherited factors have a larger proportion of effect on personality traits. Furthermore, through twin and adoption studies, the five factor model, it can be seen that inherited factors have a bigger effect on an individuals personality compared to environmental influences. This meaning, studies of inheritability and limited parental influence all point to the idea that an individual’s personality traits are more influenced by inherited genetics that cannot be changed rather than environmental and family influences.

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