Personality—it basically defines who we are as unique individuals in this diverse universe. Everyone is different (all thanks to our personalities), but how does this all work? How do we develop our personalities? An individual’s personality is not that simple to perceive, there are many reasons behind its development which we don’t usually acknowledge.
Many psychologists have personality theories that they believe explain personality and its development; however, the main factors influencing our personality include genes, environment, parental influences, culture, and experience. All these factors combined produce a personality that is “a unique blend of heredity and environment, biology, and culture” as stated in An Introduction to Psychology. Our personalities begin to form as early as our childhood and develop as we get older but sometimes components such as environment and experience change certain aspects of one’s personality. Everyone has their own viewpoint on how personalities are developed. For example, I believe that our personalities are a result of our experiences in environments that depend greatly on an individual’s culture.
It may seem shocking that“genetic transmission of physical and psychological characteristics” from one’s parents could result in the development of who we eventually become in the future. However, studies show that to a certain extent, “genetic instructions affect body size and shape, height, intelligence, athletic potential, personality traits, sexual orientation, and a host of other details”. We might acquire some personality characteristics from our parents but from my personal experience I feel that this is just a minor factor contributing to our “character.” My analysis on personalities and how they are formed was greatly influenced by a conversation I had with a friend who states the following, “My personality is based on what I have experienced in life so far and the “standards” I am expected to meet as an Asian Indian. I feel that my friends describe me as they would describe any other Indian; after all, we have all been brought up in families with similar ideals who place many restrictions and set high expectations. Eventually after spending my whole life trying to be the person my parents expect me to be I have merged into the image they created for me and moving away from that persona and acquiring my own identity would require an environment change which may occur too late in the future. In my situation, trying to be different is basically like committing a sin and that’s why I feel that culture as well [as] experience play the biggest factor in shaping our personalities.”
On the other hand, environment helps personalities to develop and change over time because “external conditions that affect a person” (p.96) can change any time. Over the course of our lives we go through several phases and gain experience which causes a major impact on our personalities. The basis of an individual’s personality may have formed at a young age but that doesn’t confirm it. Environment influences us because of our reaction to events taking place around us which portrays our character.
Another factor that affects our personality from an early age is parental influences which start even before we are born. The conditions under which we are kept while we are in the womb affects us after our mothers give birth to us. This factor goes hand in hand with heredity and genetic disorders, it’s a factor that neither us nor our parents have control over, unless the congenital problem is the result of exposure to teratogens- “…anything capable of causing a birth defect is called a teratogen,” which includes radiation, lead, or pesticides.” In order to prevent the negative consequences of parental influences during pregnancy, parents (especially mothers) should engage in healthy activities that avoid drugs, alcohol, and other such dangerous substances. As a result of negative parental influences, children are born with disorders or birth defects which would most likely lead to conflict with self-esteem, self-image, and other such factors that would thus impact personalities by preventing them from developing in a positive way.
Some individuals believe that “the real core of social development is found in the emotional attachments that human babies form with their caregivers”. Apparently there are different forms of attachment including securely attached, insecure-avoidant, and insecure ambivalent. A positive attachment however would result in children who portray more “resiliency, curiosity, problem-solving ability, and social competence”. The attachment that a child feels with his or her primary caregiver reflects upon the way he or she socializes, interacts, and engages in certain activities. “Creating a bond of trust and affection between the infant and at least one other person is a key event during the first year of life” (p.110) because it produces characteristics that affect our personality in the way that it is formed from childhood.
Even after taking all factors that affect our personality into consideration, I continue to feel that culture is one of the biggest. Every culture has a different method of childrearing and that method influences individuals who have been disciplined differently as a result of the expectations and ideologies of certain ethnic groups. And the characteristic we obtain through our various cultures are better explained than other factors that aren’t as significant.
Personalities can never be easily explained because “each person has a unique pattern of thinking, behaving, and expressing his or her feelings,” which is acquired through classical and operant conditioning, observational learning, reinforcement, extinction, generalization, and discrimination (basically too many factors contribute to the making of every individual for which no “theory” can be deemed as correct).
