a

1125 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Genetic influences on personality

The Individual Differences Approach to Personality: Personality is a term that has largely been considered an unproblematic concept and primarily refers to the varying kinds of characteristics of individuals. Despite this assumption, psychologists have constantly used the word in different ways. The varying views in the use of this concept or term are fueled by the fact that psychology usually makes generalizations regarding individuals. Generally, personality seeks to examine the many differences and similarities between individuals. Formal evaluation and study of personality have mainly focused on patterns of similarities versus patterns of differences among individuals. When evaluating patterns of differences, the concept of abnormality has emerged and attracted huge concerns among psychologists. Since the issue is controversial, there are concerns whether individual differences in personality can be effectively explained with reference to genes. Individual Differences Approach to Personality Theory: As previously mentioned, personality is a concept that primarily focuses on examining the patterns of similarities and patterns of differences among individuals. The view of personality examines individuals comprehensively to look for common dimensions of personal traits in order to make generalizations and comparisons. There are two major approaches used in making these overview and comparisons regarding individual differences i.e. nomothetic and idiographic approaches. The nomothetic approach is part of a wider tradition of measurement of individual differences. Since nomothetic is a term that means legitimate, the approach of examining individual differences develops theories that are applicable universally to every... ... middle of paper ... ...active, meaningful environments (Thomas, n.d., p.326). Therefore, individual differences in personality cannot be adequately explained with reference to genes because of the influence of environmental factors on individual diversity. In conclusion, personality is a term that refers to the many patterns of similarities and patterns of differences among individuals. There are various ways with psychologists have examined individual differences in personality including the use of genetics. Through this method, psychologists have mainly examined biological underpinnings that contribute to individual differences in personality. While these measures provide some insights regarding personality, individual differences in personality cannot be adequately explained with reference to genes because of the weaknesses of these theories and the effect of environmental factors.

Show More
Related

  • a

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suzanna Berne’s article “Where Nothing Says Everything” discusses the sequence of events that Berne encounters as she attempts to pay her respects to the 9/11 tragedy. From the elements within her writing, Berne demonstrates the significant meaning of the World Trade Center’s absence. It is from her personal experience and play on words that she is able to accurately express her thesis. Within her piece, Suzanna Berne comes to the conclusion that the impact of 9/11 on the American people forces them to unite in order to overcome the loss of the World Trade Center along with the people who went down with it.

    Read More

  • A

    1749 Words  | 4 Pages

    Celtic Gaul and Capetian/Valois France were similar in many different ways. Both, for the most part, occupied a large part of modern-day France. Both Gaul and the Capetians/Valois were very involved with foreign relations and were actively involved in invasions: both as invaders and invades. In this research paper, the political, social, economic and religious aspects of life in Celtic Gaul and Capetian/Valois France will be examined. In addition, notable leaders in each system will be examined, including many of the kings of the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Valois. The first half of this paper will cover the life and times of Celtic Gaul, which will include topics such as the Druids, civitates, the Romans and the religious aspects of the period. The second half of this paper will include the lineage and dynasties of the Capetian and Valois dynasties, as well as topics such as feudalism, the economics of the ruling classes, Catholicism, the Pope, and the church as a whole.

    Read More

  • Neo Freudian Personality Paper

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe our personalities make up who we are and how others perceive us at times. Personalities are our own unique qualities, that we possess as individuals. In writing this short paper, I have found that psychologists use assessments to define an individual’s personality to determine their qualities and what makes them different from other individuals. Through the Big Five Personality test, I found it difficult to define and understand an individual personality

    Read More

  • Biological Factors Can Predict Personality

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Types Of Personality

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personality is a “dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations (Americcan Psychological Association, 2014).” Psychologists have been trying to understand the complexity of personality and how it affects us for many years. One portion of this understanding is gaging what traits are associated with what personality types. In other words, defining the many types of personalities there are. The human mind is not so easily generalized but many psychologist agree to set broad categories on personality. This is evident in the types of personality tests commonly taken. Two of these tests are the Big Five and the MBTI, both of which I took.

    Read More

  • Personality Traits In The Police Officer

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personality traits are the habitual patterns of behavior, though and emotion that are different and always exclusive to a specific individual, in very rare occasion do we find two people share similar traits even when they are a brother and sister or twin siblings. However there are those traits that are common among people at in such instances the differences between one personality and the other is the degree to which the trait affects them like in the case of aggression and even concentration. Trait in a person has been realized to be the major source of behavioral influence, as such chaotic behaviors could be caused by the trait of aggression on the other hand ability to have a better understanding could be influenced by the trait of patience

    Read More

  • Understanding and Assessing Personality Development

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personality is an individual’s characteristic style of behaving thinking and feeling. Personality is something we develop naturally as we travel through life we try to understand the process of personality development and they have pondered questions of description like how do the people differ why do people differ and the bigger question of measurement is how can personality be assessed for biologists attempted to classify all plants and animals personalities by labeling and describing different personalities psychologist focus on specific individual. Differences characteristics such as honesty, anxiousness, or moodiness.

    Read More

  • Nature vs. Nurture: Does Our Genes Effect Our Personalities?

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personality can be defined in many ways, depending on the realm it is being analyzed in, and in the context of the situation, often with conflicting theories. According to the New York Academy of Sciences, psychology defines personality as essentially one’s general profile, which can be best be defined as being dynamic, organized, and constant; it is a unique set of psychological character traits that refer to his or her unique nature; a pattern of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments, and behaviors consistently exhibited over time that strongly influences one’s expectations, self-perceptions, values, and attitudes. Although personality traits come in many forms, there is a general consensus that most variation in human behavior can be categorized by a few core dimensions. According to Emery and Rimoin’s Principles and Practice of Medical Gene...

    Read More

  • Personality Vs Personality

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    As individuals we all have something within us that sets us apart, and makes us unique, our personality. Maybe you’ve come across someone who isn’t the easiest to get along with, and someone utters, “Don’t take it personally; they were born with a bad personality.” While some believe personality is entirely dependent upon your parents, your friends, and merely the way you were born, people neglect the science behind the traits of personality. Personality is defined as an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. It is through personality that we are able to explore our innermost being and determine why we act and react to things the way we do, and what makes us make the decisions we choose.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Behavioral Genetics

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to Behavioral genetics, it is one of the two important areas of biopsychological research (Pinel, 2014). Behavioral heredity is applicable with observing of the varieties show in diverse people, and it tries to assess the near impacts of heredity and surroundings in deciding the same. Indeed, the most personality speculations (like Twins and Adoption based studies) accept that such refinements are represented by a hereditary variable; however behavioral geneticists suggest that distinctive divergences are controlled by a cluster of complex components not by direct heritability gauges.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Movie Split

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Personality is a branch of scientific discipline that studies temperament and its variation among people. It is a dynamic and a set of characteristics possessed by their atmosphere, cognitions, emotions, motivations and behaviours in various things. Personality conjointly refers to the pattern of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments and behaviour consistently exhibited over time that powerfully influences one’s exceptions, self-perceptions, values and attitudes. It also predicts human reactions to different folks, problems and stress.

    Read More

  • Reflection Essay On Personality

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our personalities are what distinguish us from each other beyond our appearance; without them, we would all behave and react in the same way. Personality is the reason we are outgoing or introverted, persistent or blaze, and anxious or calm. We each have different levels of these competing characteristics that make us unique. But why are personalities so varied? Personality is determined by an array of factors from genetic and biological to the personal experiences and decisions we have faced from the day we are born. The complexity of our personalities cannot be simply explained, and for this reason there exists many different theories of how it’s developed and personality is still deeply under study. I went into this subject with an open-mind

    Read More

  • Biological Approach To Personality

    2791 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Self Reflection and Personality Traits

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • a

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    For more than 60000 years, Aboriginal people have been lived with in the land called “Australia” with out invasion from outside world. However, from 1788 when European first came and settled on the land of Aboriginal as their new habitation which change the Aboriginal people life in many ways. The purpose of this report is to research and discuss about changing of Aboriginal people life after the arrival of the first fleet of European in 1788. This report will discuss the changing of the Aboriginal life from 1788 to 1901, which includes dispossession and protectionism. It will also highlight the struggle for right and freedom of Aboriginal people from 1901 to the present including Assimilation, Integration and Self-determination. In addition, it will identify role and achievement of Chatty Freeman and who influence Aboriginal’s culture to the forefront of society.

    Read More

More about a

Open Document