is personality caused by genes

[bored_teen]

there's always that saying that "(insert personality trait) runs in our family", but are personality traits really caused by genes? i'm sure our upbringing has something to do with it, and because we are talking about the human psyche, i wouldn't think it would "run in the family".

 

should this maybe be in Psychology?

[CharonY]

Simply put, most complex traits including those often rather imprecise defined ones as "personality" are in part genetically defined (e.g. sensitivity of certain receptors to their cognate hormones) but are also shaped by the environment.

Just as a thought, maybe a person is susceptible to certain stress hormones resulting in stronger aggressive behaviour under stress. However, same person learns to avoid stress situations (or not to perceive certain events as stress, or lives in an environement with less stressors...) and thus given personality trait is not exhibited.

[bored_teen]

huh. would that apply to intelligence as well?

[Rasori]

Only the most intelligent minds can truly teach themselves based on what happens around them. Most people who come off smart can learn quickly what they are taught, but had they never been exposed to any teaching, they may well be ignorant.

 

That's what I'd say anyway.

[Paralith]

huh. would that apply to intelligence as well?

 

In a word, yes. A complex interaction between genetic and environmental influences, about which there is still very much left to learn.

[bored_teen]

so genes don't fully determine personality or intelligence, but they sets basic parameters.

[Killa Klown]

Yes they set basic parameters. For example anger and happiness are progammed into you brain at birth for survival reasons. But the way you control your anger and hate are taught by dicipline and control from a parent or guardian. A perons Personality can be created throughout a group of people or a person for many reasons. One reason could be that thats how that person was raised so they raise their son/daughter the same way they were raised, not knowing their practically programming their child, but for a good reason. The other reason is that is how that culture or society works, and by "programming" or teaching their child at a young age he can continue the culture or society by passing on what he was taught as a child on to his child. But it is impossible to have a personality simply by being born and living.

[Killa Klown]

I take that back it not "impossible" just unlikely that someone can raise themselves.

[biofreak]

A child while growing up gets a mindset towards life as his surroundings teach him.thats why people say that those who have faced childhood traumas have some or other social phobias.social phobia is a part of our personalities but it is not genetic. say one's father has a huge temper(increase in blood pressure and increased adrenaline secretion).but it is not necessary that the kid is also going to have a huge temper cause may be the kid knows how to soothe the secretion of his stress hormones(yoga helps a lot).so personality is individuality."variation" (darwin) defines that.

[goingtothedo]

so genes don't fully determine personality or intelligence, but they sets basic parameters.

 

I think the general agreement on this is that for any individual person, s/he has a top limit to their potential intelligence which is the result of genetic parameters. However, environment and upbringing determines whether and to what extent that potential is fulfilled.

 

i.e. You may be born with the potential to be an Einstein, but if you don't get the early environment to nuture that potential then you probably won't achieve it

[herpguy]

I heard somewhere (maybe a special on CNN) that 80% of personality is from genes, and 20% is from the environment.

[Glider]

No. If anything, it would be the other way around, but it's not so precisely quantifiable.

[CharonY]

99.9% of these numbers are pulled from thin air.

[positrones]

Personality and genetic maybe link together. Genetic build our body and control all of our body shaped. I came from Malaysia; in my country people believe that our body can determined our personality. Most of Asia country uses a body theory to predict personality. This theory made by our ancestor through observation. Many of these body type theories are almost true. Hormones for examples help body to developing at puberty. The excess of this hormone made people aggressively and turn brain sex. People can detect their sex hormones by compared index finger and ring finger.

 

For more detail you can log out

 

http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/030705_finger_length.shtml

 

Or you can read further information about body type and personality theory here.

 

http://www.16types.com/Request.jsp?lView=ViewArticle&Article=OID:64114&Page=OID:64116

 

Of course all of body type is comes from tiny thing in our body called genes.