Assignment Topic: Effects of heredity and environment on development of personality.

Answer:

Introduction:
Personality is a set of qualities or attributes that make a person (or thing) distinct from another.
According to Feildman, “Personality is the pattern of enduring characteristics that differentiates
a person – the pattern of behavior that makes each individual unique.” While Crider et. al said
“the unique patterning of behavioral and mental process that characterizes an individual and
his/her interactions with the environment.“ So, it can be said, personality is total characteristics
of a person that influence a person’s behavioral and mental process and makes him different or
identifiable from other people.

Now question arises, how a person develops personality and if heredity and environment
effects the development of personality. In fact, there are numbers of factors determine a
person’s personality. These include environment and genetics. Our personality is the product of
the interaction of these two factors; Heredity & Environment.

Effect of heredity in psychological development:

Hereditary, or the genetic transmission of characteristics from parents to offspring, determines
personality to a certain extent. Hereditary characteristics manifest at birth such as hair and eye
color, skin color and body type. Hereditary also includes aptitude or the capacity to learn a skill
or inclination for a particular body of knowledge. It establishes the limits of one’s personality
traits that can be developed. This aptitude creates the desire for a person to learn something.
For instance, the son of a sports hero like a boxer superstar is expected to inherit the genes of
his father. His capacity for growth in the boxing arena is immense because he is born with the
ability.

Behavioral geneticists, Dr. David Reiss and colleagues from George Washington University,
conducted a thorough and long-term study on the effects of genetics to a person’s personality.
The result of their study revealed that “it seems that genetic influences are largely responsible
for how “adjusted” kids are: how well they do in school, how they get along with their peers,
whether they engage in dangerous or delinquent behavior”.

Behavioral geneticists believe that the genes do not act as the exact blueprints that determine
every detail of our personality and behavior; rather, they think that heredity or these genes
reveal through a person’s actual interactions with the environment. The genetic make-up of a
person brings out particular reactions to things and people which in turn determine the
person’s personality.
To further explain this, it is important to know how DNA works. The DNA of a person is
responsible for a certain kind of nervous system such as one that is alarmed at new situations,
one that wants new sensations and one that is slow to react. In different situations, children
react according to the one that would be most suitable for their genotype or genetic
endowment. The ability to choose reactions though increases as a person grows older.

Effect of environment on personality development:

Apart from heredity, environment also effects the development of personality. Carl Rogers, a
famous psychologist, put a lot of emphasis on how childhood experiences affect one's
personality. The degree of effect of what happens to a child when he/she is at a developing
stage on his/her personality development depends on when it happens. Many psychologists
believe that there are certain critical periods in personality development, which are periods
when the child will be more sensitive to certain environmental happenings.

Most experts believe that child's experiences in the family are important for his/her personality
development. These include whether a child's basic needs are well met and how a child is
brought up, which could leave an enduring mark on the child's personality.

For example, children who are toilet trained too early or have their toilet training carried out
too strictly may become rebellious; by identifying with their same-sex parent, children can learn
appropriate behavior to their sex especially when there is a good relationship with that parent;
children are also affected by siblings.

An American anthropologist Margaret Mead has shown how a social and cultural factor has an
important influence in personality development. Members of two New Guinea tribes are of the
same racial store and live in the same area. However, one group is peaceful, friendly and
cooperative and the other is group is, on the contrary, assertive, hostile and competitive.

Conclusion:
Personality is a board concept and has many implications, but it can be definitely said that
personality does not solely come from our relationships and experiences. Personality under the
broadest definition is a set of traits, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and mental schemas an
individual possesses. Of these items, 60 to 70% of human behaviors deemed "personality" is
due to genetic predisposition while rest 30%-40% is influenced by the environment.
As seen from the above, an individual's gene and the environment are not just independent
sources of influence that add together to form an individual's personality. The genotype is in
correlation with the environment. An individual's genes also shape the environment.
Interaction and influence of heredity and environment with each other form a person's
personality.