We have friends, neighbors, and family who have biological children as well as children adopted as infants. In the case of a typical blended family like this all of the children have been treated the same. Raised under the same roof, have the same folks, provided the same opportunities, etc. What have you seen in scenarios like this? Do you think their personality is formed by their upbringing or was it ingrained at birth? Said another way, do they turn out as they would have anyway or does their upbringing imprint on their personality?
Personality - is it nature or nurture?
- Thread starter Captain Pre-Capsize
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Once a psychiatrist told me that we're born with more than 60 percent of our personality, but that it was his firm belief that that figure was an underestimation. He then added that it wasn't an excuse for bad behaviour or bad choices because we're all responsible for making the best out of what we have. Life is never fair.
I believe it is both. A parent can influence their kids personality, but they can't completely change it. I have four kids and they show many of the influences my wife and I instilled in them, but they are each unique and have their own personality.
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I think folks have written volumes on this question, and on the issue of which is more important! The answer is both, of course. But that is a very simplistic answer.
Temperament. I have siblings, were wildly different, all raised in the same house, same parents, same style. Temperament. It was told to me early on in my parenting journey that you can influence many things in your children.....except temperament, which is already established. I tend to agree.
Years of research (both studying and conducting) tells me that both are important, but that in many respects what we call personality is inborn. However, like Polarbeard said, that's not an excuse - we have the ability to make the best of what we were born with. On a practical note, having five kids, I can attest that everyone of them came hardwired, but every one of them has shown the ability to make choices and use what they came with for the best. They are an inspiration!
Id say its a little bit of both. I dont know that I agree that parents treat all their kids the same though. There always seems to be a favorite and parents who dont treat their kids the same. Part of it is that people evolve as parents with different children. Often, they are super strict and obsessive with child #1 and mellow over time and more children.
It's both. For sure
I am the PERFECT person to answer this.
I'm a middle born, and I have an only child.
So my answer is: I have NO idea.
I'm a middle born, and I have an only child.
So my answer is: I have NO idea.
Personality, nature or nurture?
Yes.
Yes.
Personality is shaped by choices given/ taken in the home environment.
Temperament is inherited.
Outlook in life is the mixture of both, but mostly the home environment and encouragement (or lack thereof) gives shape to our own worthiness and how far are we willing to push and strive for.
Temperament is inherited.
Outlook in life is the mixture of both, but mostly the home environment and encouragement (or lack thereof) gives shape to our own worthiness and how far are we willing to push and strive for.
Wise werds my friend. I ain't sure you are right or wrong, but you are wise. (Because you used fairly big werds that I mostly understood and liked the sound of.)
Each person has a personality. It is ingrained in him.
I’d say that’s it’s a sliding scale that varies from person to person. The vast majority of people can be built up, accepted and brought out of their shell. Most can also be crushed and have their spirit broken. We certainly tend toward certain personality types but some have a stronger tendency than others. Some are sentive and others are resilient to varying degrees.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I personally believe there are FOUR ingredients to our personality and mindset. We all have our own unique cocktail of nature, nurture, experience, and circumstance. How much a person is sculpted by each of those, is specific to that individual, and to the intensity of the elements within those four areas. However, all four do have a bearing on who we are.
Sometimes they will be complimentary, and at others we may feel conflicted, with different elements pulling us in different directions (often perceived as head says one thing, and heart says another). The fact that we feel that conflict at all, is evidence (to me) that they all have personal significance, and it's not a simple matter of just one or the other being the dominant factor. That said, some of us may gravitate more to one than the other, depending which had the most influence on us as individuals, or has been our biggest asset in times of adversity.
Sometimes they will be complimentary, and at others we may feel conflicted, with different elements pulling us in different directions (often perceived as head says one thing, and heart says another). The fact that we feel that conflict at all, is evidence (to me) that they all have personal significance, and it's not a simple matter of just one or the other being the dominant factor. That said, some of us may gravitate more to one than the other, depending which had the most influence on us as individuals, or has been our biggest asset in times of adversity.
You win. Well figgered out my friend.
Dad paddled us, and I can say it had no effect on my outcome. He didn’t correct the bad behavior any better than my mom did with just a look and her “mom” voice. I hated disappointing her more than I hated the paddling.
My sister on the other hand was unphased by either and she didn’t turn out to be a serial criminal. She’s one of the sweetest most empathetic person that I know. My baby brother didn’t get the beatings or the looks, and he became a cop. Scary that they let him carry a gun.
I'd fall down on the nurture side of question . . . and we can also be, in a beneficial way . . . self nurturing.
Each person has a personality. It is ingrained in him.
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