Hello and welcome to my second research round for my question “where does personality come from”. In my 1st research round, I covered some of the various theories as to how personality is formed and I talked about where in the brain controls our personality. One of the main theories I discussed was the nature vs. nurture theory. Nature points more towards our genetics being responsible for our personality. Nurture suggests our environment is responsible for our personality. Over the next couple research rounds, I will be diving a little deeper into the nature vs. nurture debate. Today I will be looking at nature and asking the question: “are we born with our personality ?”
First, let’s look at some studies and proof to try and answer our question “are we born with personality”. Physical characteristics like the colour of our eyes or hair or the height we become are influenced by our parents and genetics. (1) So, if physical characteristics are influenced by our parents before birth, is the same true for personality and mental characteristics? Scientists have often studied this theory is children who have been adopted. (1, 2) The children and their biological/birth parents have more like personalities than the child and their adoptive parents/family which also supports the nature theory. (1, 2) Another study in twins focussed primarily on identical twins. Whether they were raised together or apart, their personalities were quite similar. (2)
Next let’s look deeper into how our genes actually work and how they effect our personalities.All of us are actually very alike when it comes to our DNA. Infact, members of the same species share about 99% of the same DNA. (1) So, how on earth are we so different? Members of the same species share similar behavioral characteristics. Genes are responsible for these behaviours however it’s a different case when it comes to personality. Instead of one gene responsible for personality, there are multiple genes working to create your personality. However even this act of gene cooperation cant control our entire personality. (1) Some genes will work to influence a certain personality trait while another gene could work to decrease that same gene. (1)
So there do seem to be some valid points for whether not we are born with personality. So far, we have discussed how genes effect our personalities. But there’s another factor that may contribute to personalities other than genes that still happens before we are born. Some instincts or characteristics happen while a baby is in the womb. (4) Studies have also been done to test this method of how much we learn in the womb. It’s found that from a baby’s first cry, there mother is responsible for the tone of voice they use. (3) Babies can hear their mothers voices reverberating around the womb. So when a baby cries for the first time, they cry in the accent of the mothers native language. So not only do our genes effect our characteristics and the things that make us unique, but our environment before we are even out into the world effects us.
There seems to be lots of evidence that at least some of our personality we are born with. In my next post, I will be looking into the nurture side of the argument, asking the question, how does our environment influence our personality? From siblings to family to experiences to things we watch or read. I really hope you learned something from today’s post and thank you so much for reading! 🙂 until next time!
2. https://www.verywellmind.com/are-personality-traits-caused-by-genes-or-environment-4120707
3. https://www.ted.com/talks/annie_murphy_paul_what_we_learn_before_we_re_born?language=en
4. https://www.natera.com/blog/does-personality-start-in-the-womb
Hey Cynthia!
Great round of research! I’ve always been fascinated in nature vs nurture so your post was very interesting for me! Specifically, I found the study you mentioned with the adopted children to be a creative but logical way of studying this idea.
I look forward to reading your next round about nurture. I hope you do some research about siblings as well because although they are ‘nurtured’ by the same parent(s), many times each child in a family is raised a different way, subconsciously or not.
Here are some sources that may be of use to you:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324561.php
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=nature+vs+nurture&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Good luck!
Hello again Cynthia!
Again you did a great job with research and details. I just wrote this comment and then accidentally closed the tab so I’m going to write it again. Fingers crossed I remember what I wanted to say. The thing I wanted to suggest was maybe you could research how personality can be passed on as mental illness. I know this may seem offtrack but hear me out. Ok so since some mental illnesses affect personality and are hereditary then they should fit into your topic because they are characteristics being passed on through genes. Anyway keep it going; you’re doing great.
Links that may help if you want to take my suggestion
https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-personality-mental-illness-genes-20161208-story.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/under-the-influence/201307/do-genes-influence-personality
Hi Cynthia,
Great round of research! Your post was very detailed and organized, and I think it’s great that you’ve planned to approach your topic from both sides of the “nature vs nurture” debate.Good job!
I think it should be quite interesting to read what you learn about the “nurture” side of the debate, as both aspects definitely have an influence on our personality. Again, I think it would be a good idea to look at some studies that support the arguments.
Here are some websites you might find useful:
https://opentextbc.ca/introductiontopsychology/chapter/11-3-is-personality-more-nature-or-more-nurture-behavioral-and-molecular-genetics/
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1440-1819.2000.00642.x
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130605090524.htm
Good luck!
Hey Cynthia,
I found your round of research to be very interesting and informative! Your information is very detailed and has depth. I also enjoyed how you used examples and broke each section down. Your project seems to be very well organized so far!
I also really enjoyed how you expressed the difference between nature and nurture and how the nature impacts your personality. I look forward to hearing about the nurture side. Perhaps you could share a comparison between the two. There could be both similarities and differences that both make up who we are! I’m excited to see how each topic will come together.
I look forward to reading your next post!
-Jessica O’Brien-Visbisky
Hi Cynthia! I really enjoyed reading your research. I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that people’s personalities could be affected even before they leave their mother’s womb, and finally understanding that they are was very interesting! I’m looking forward to read your next round of research!
Hi Cynthia, great round of research. I personally thought that the part about how a babies first cry is based off of the mothers voice. I am looking forward to your next research round about nurture.
Maybe you could talk more about how our personality is changed before we even are born.
Here are some sources that may help:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-favorite-child/201010/personality-begins-birth
Hi Cynthia, this was very interesting to me because I’m a believer is astrology and zodiac signs. I would love to read about how the time and place of birth could affect someone’s personality and even how ancient civilizations were aware of the zodiac signs (or at least their version of it). If you ever want to mention it, here is a great source.
https://www.medicaldaily.com/how-birth-month-influences-personality-traits-ironic-science-astrological-signs-333274
Thank you, Elisabet