People hold different opinions on the role of learned and inborn traits for personality development. In my view, both hereditary factors and learning environment are of equal importance for human formation.
On the one hand, it is common knowledge that personal characteristics come from innate traits. This could be explained by the fact that genetic heredity has a lifelong effect on the development of the personality. For example, twin studies show that twins have the most similar genes and if they are brought up by different families, they will still develop extremely similar temperaments and even show the same likes and dislikes. Also, researches on genetics account for nature as a critical influence on a person’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. To illustrate this, adoption studies have been carried out and found the strong influence of genes on children’s development, which makes adopted children have little similarity to their siblings and greater similarity to their biological parents.
Despite the strong proof that nature is responsible for one’s behaviour, it is not to deny the function of the environment people are raised in. Firstly, patterns of behaviour copied from parents often influence the way that children grow up. For instance, in a stable family background, if parents bring up their offspring in a very strict household, children will have a tendency to be more disciplined and independent. By contrast, numerous researches have revealed that children who come from a dysfunctional family often exhibit behavioral problems at school. For this reason, parental involvement plays a vital role in shaping children’s personality during their formative years. Secondly, in educational environment, teachers make a significant contribution to children’s personality based on their life and work experiences. Not only can this provide supportive guidance for children, but also broaden their knowledge, so that they may be able to flexibly alter their personalities over time.
In conclusion, I believe that both innate biological forces and factors of the parental and educational environment have equal impacts on personality development.
People
hold
different
opinions on the role of learned and inborn traits for
personality
development
. In my view, both hereditary factors and learning
environment
are of equal importance for human formation.
On the one hand, it is common knowledge that personal characteristics
come
from innate traits. This could be
explained
by the fact that genetic heredity has a lifelong effect on the
development
of the
personality
.
For example
, twin studies
show
that twins have the most similar genes and if they
are brought
up by
different
families, they will
still
develop
extremely
similar temperaments and even
show
the same likes and dislikes.
Also
, researches on genetics account for nature as a critical influence on a person’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. To illustrate this, adoption studies have
been carried
out and found the strong influence of genes on
children’s
development
, which
makes
adopted
children
have
little
similarity to their siblings and greater similarity to their biological parents.
Despite the strong proof that nature is responsible for one’s
behaviour
, it is not to deny the function of the
environment
people
are raised
in.
Firstly
, patterns of
behaviour
copied from parents
often
influence the way that
children
grow up.
For instance
, in a stable family background, if parents bring up their offspring in a
very
strict household,
children
will have a tendency to be more disciplined and independent. By contrast, numerous researches have revealed that
children
who
come
from a dysfunctional family
often
exhibit behavioral problems at school.
For this reason
, parental involvement plays a vital role in shaping
children’s
personality
during their formative years.
Secondly
, in educational
environment
, teachers
make
a significant contribution to
children’s
personality
based on their life and work experiences. Not
only
can this provide supportive guidance for
children
,
but
also
broaden their knowledge,
so
that they may be able to
flexibly
alter their personalities over time.
In conclusion
, I believe that both innate biological forces and factors of the parental and educational
environment
have equal impacts on
personality
development
.