Are we born with our personalities, or are we shaped by the world around us?
That question sits at the center of the nature vs. nurture debate. “Nature” refers to the traits we inherit through biology and genetics. “Nurture” refers to the influence of our environment, including family, culture, education, relationships, and life experiences.
For centuries, philosophers, scientists, and psychologists have debated which force matters more. Today, the answer is less “either/or” and more “both/and.” Put simply, our personalities are shaped by the interaction between our genes and our experiences.
Let’s take a closer look at the nature vs. nurture debate and what it can teach us about personality, behavior, and human development.
Nature and nurture both influence personality. Genetics can shape traits like temperament, intelligence, and mental health risk, while environment can affect behavior, emotional development, values, and coping skills. Most psychologists today see personality as the result of both forces working together.
When people talk about heredity, they almost exclusively refer to their physical traits. They might say, “I have my mother’s eyes” or “my father’s nose,” but the characteristics we inherit from our parents are more than skin deep.
Your chromosomes, composed of segments of DNA called genes, shape many of your traits. You have 23 pairs—one chromosome per pair from each parent.
Think of genes as blueprints, carrying instructions that determine your every biological trait, including the color of your hair, eyes, and skin. Moreover, your personality, intelligence, and mental health can also be attributed, at least in part, to your genetic makeup.
English philosopher John Locke compared the mind at birth to a tabula rasa, or blank slate, upon which our experiences imbue reason and knowledge. This is “nurture,” the idea that a child’s environment determines whom they turn out to be.
A report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) affirms that informed parents are more likely to have positive interactions with their children in ways that support healthy development. By showing warmth, being responsive, and promoting other evidence-based practices, parents can improve outcomes relating to their child’s emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social skills.
Conversely, children can experience devastating, long-term changes as a result of neglect and abuse, ranging from the development of antisocial behaviors to the stunting of their growing minds.
A person’s environment is most impactful during their early years, when their brain has yet to fully develop and their experiences are shaped entirely by their home life. There’s no doubt that nature plays a critical role in deciding the trajectory of our lives. The question is, how much of our behavior is inherited?
Nature and nurture often work together in everyday life. For example:
These examples show why many psychologists no longer see nature and nurture as opposing forces. Instead, they work together to shape personality, behavior, and development.
Scientists have taken a novel approach to testing the effects of heredity on personality: studying twins. Identical twins share the same genes, whereas fraternal twins share half of their genes, like other siblings.
By contrasting the traits of identical and fraternal twins, scientists have been able to separate the influences of nature and nurture on human behavior. In a meta-analysis of the heritability of human traits, researchers looked at over 50 years of twin studies, compiling evidence from over 2,000 publications reporting on a combined 17,804 traits and 14,558,903 twins.
They found that the heritability of human traits, including temperament and personality functions, is about 50%. To put it simply, half of our unique personalities can be attributed to heredity, or nature.
Has the revelation that genetics accounts for half of our mental and physical traits—and that both sides hold equal sway over our personalities—put an end to the nature versus nurture debate? Not quite.
This debate has proven more nuanced than previously thought, particularly with the revelation that genetically driven behaviors shape our environments in the same way our environments shape us.
For example, parents responding negatively to their child’s antisocial behaviors may end up reinforcing those same behaviors. Complicating matters further are epigenetic changes that switch genes on and off. Traumatic experiences, in particular, can be passed on from one generation to the next. Complex factors like these continue to stoke the flames of this age-old debate.
More than opposing ideas, nature and nurture describe entwined influences that alter and build upon one another. While some argue that nature carries more weight because our genes, as opposed to our experiences, are set in stone, this is exactly why nurture is such an important concept.
The family, society, and culture we’re born into are random, but not all environmental factors are beyond influence, and something as simple as reading bedtime stories to a child could make a world of difference in who they grow up to be.
If you’re interested in how genetics, environment, personality, and behavior shape who we become, UT Permian Basin’s online Bachelor of Arts in Psychology can help you explore those questions in greater depth.
The program provides foundational psychology knowledge in areas such as research methods, mental disorders, and the application of psychological principles in real-world settings. Courses are fully online and asynchronous, giving you the flexibility to study on your schedule while earning the same respected degree as on-campus students.
Ready to pursue your interest in psychology? Learn more about UTPB’s online BA in psychology program.
Sources:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/in-the-nature-nurture-war-nature-wins
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/19/do-your-genes-determine-your-entire-life
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/nature-vs-nurture
https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/genetics.aspx
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubpdfs/long_term_consequences.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm
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