Research indicates that the characteristics we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than any experiences we may have in our life.
Which do you consider to be the major influence?
================================================================
When it comes to the personality and development of a person, it is often debated which is the key factor that contributes to them, nature or nurture. In my opinion, the characteristics we are born with are more important.
On the one hand, our dispositions and talents have strong links with the genes we inherit from our parents. That is why some people are extrovert while some are introvert, and some people are better at arts while some do better in science. Those qualities are predisposed before we are born, and it is unlikely to transform them toward the opposite ones on most people's occasions.
On the other hand, experiences also have big impact on people's character and achievement. A considerable number of examples can be found to substantiate this argument, such as a silent child who may become talkative after going to social occasions for a while, or a slow student who may ace in a class through hard work. Even children with the same nature that they appear to have may grow into different kind of adults due to their different experiences.
However, I have to point out that the function of experience is not to help to determine, but to discover who they really are. People are not often what they are supposed to be, and we should not simply owe their changes to their experiences. For instance, I think that introverts turn into extraverts just because their outgoing sides are detected, and that those with low intelligence quotient become successful just because their high emotional quotient is given enough importance, even if these findings are made through experiences. Therefore, experience is only a tool by which people can find out their true natures and reach their actual potentials.
In conclusion, nature outweighs nurture regarding the roles they play in people's personality and development, though the significance of the latter also cannot be neglected.
Which do you consider to be the major influence?
================================================================
When it comes to the personality and development of a person, it is often debated which is the key factor that contributes to them, nature or nurture. In my opinion, the characteristics we are born with are more important.
On the one hand, our dispositions and talents have strong links with the genes we inherit from our parents. That is why some people are extrovert while some are introvert, and some people are better at arts while some do better in science. Those qualities are predisposed before we are born, and it is unlikely to transform them toward the opposite ones on most people's occasions.
On the other hand, experiences also have big impact on people's character and achievement. A considerable number of examples can be found to substantiate this argument, such as a silent child who may become talkative after going to social occasions for a while, or a slow student who may ace in a class through hard work. Even children with the same nature that they appear to have may grow into different kind of adults due to their different experiences.
However, I have to point out that the function of experience is not to help to determine, but to discover who they really are. People are not often what they are supposed to be, and we should not simply owe their changes to their experiences. For instance, I think that introverts turn into extraverts just because their outgoing sides are detected, and that those with low intelligence quotient become successful just because their high emotional quotient is given enough importance, even if these findings are made through experiences. Therefore, experience is only a tool by which people can find out their true natures and reach their actual potentials.
In conclusion, nature outweighs nurture regarding the roles they play in people's personality and development, though the significance of the latter also cannot be neglected.
