What makes us the way we are?
Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra recently appeared alongside former Prime Minister and chairman of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) Anand Panyarachun in a televised interview to discuss their respective approaches to the political unrest and violence in the Southern Provinces of Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat. Mr. Anand has proposed strategies for building trust and reconciliation between the government and local Muslim communities. Prime Minister Thaksin has promoted a tougher stance, emphasizing the use of policing tactics to quell the violence.
It was interesting to notice the stark contrasts between these two Thai leaders. While both men have risen to positions of national and international prominence, their respective personal styles, their politics, and their approaches to the challenges posed by the situation in the South appear fundamentally different.
We usually take it for granted that people exhibit distinctive differences from one another in many of the attitudes that they hold, in their social behavior, and in the way they respond to events. Psychologists use the term personality to refer to an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Numerous theories of personality have gone in and out of fashion during the 100 or so years since Freud proposed the first comprehensive theory of personality. Theorists have proposed personality traits such as introversion and extraversion to try to capture the individual differences we attribute to personality. Even attitudes that underlie different political persuasions like those of Anand and Thaksin have been tied to personality characteristics.
Psychologists who study personality have generally attempted to narrow the number of personality traits to a minimum, while still capturing the rich variety of personality styles found among humans. They have worked to develop valid and reliable instruments to measure those traits, and have looked for relationships among the proposed traits and the behavior of those possessing them.
When we think of all the ways people can vary in personality, the question arises as to the origins of these differences. How do we account for the fact that some people seem much more conventional in their thinking, while others exhibit a great deal of originality? Why do some people crave adventure and risk, while others routinely appear more cautious? Why do some people characteristically exhibit hostility and aggressiveness, while others seem more even-tempered and sociable in their relationships?
Answers to these questions are usually variations on the theme of “nature versus nurture.” Our attitudes, emotions, and behavior are influenced by our biological nature, by our experiences in life, and by interactions between the two. Differences of opinions usually revolve around the relative importance attributable to heredity versus the environment.
Psychologists have traditionally emphasized environmental influences on behavior. Since personality differences appears to begin to emerge very early in life, a major focus was placed upon early childhood experiences, relationships with parents, and exposure to early trauma. Recent research, however, has suggested that heredity plays a much more important role than previously imagined.
In order to sort out personality differences attributable to heredity versus environment, psychologists typically study twins. They select samples of identical and fraternal twins raised together, as well as those raised apart. Identical twins raised together share a common genetic make-up, and similar upbringing. Measured differences in their personalities can serve as a baseline for comparing differences found between identical twins reared apart, fraternal twins reared together, and fraternal twins reared apart.
Psychologist Auke Tellegen and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota reported on a very well-designed investigation of this type in 1988. Results indicated that the effects of environmental factors upon most measures of personality appeared negligible. Genes, it appeared, were the primary determinants of personality differences. These findings, contrary to widely held beliefs at the time, are, nevertheless, consistent with other studies of personality differences using twins.
Investigations of this sort typically reveal some pretty amazing parallels between the lives of identical twins raised apart and in isolation from one another, in terms of similar interests, habits, family, and career paths. In one particularly remarkable example, a set of identical twins born in Trinidad were separated shortly after birth. One was taken to Germany where he was raised Catholic and exposed to Nazism. The other was raised in Trinidad as a Jew.
When reunited by researchers in their late forties, both men appeared for the study wearing blue double-breasted suits, mustaches and wire-rimmed glasses. They exhibited similar gestures and mannerisms. Both had a taste for spicy foods and sweet liqueurs. They had a habit of flushing the toilet before using it, liked to dip buttered toast into coffee, and enjoyed sneezing in elevators to startle others.
The conclusion that genetic factors are a prominent determinant of personality may be disappointing to those psychologists who devote their lives to studying the effects of environmental variables like child-rearing practices, socioeconomic status, and parental educational status. Compared to the influence of our genes, it appears that environmental factors amount to small potatoes when it comes to shaping our personalities.
It was interesting to notice the stark contrasts between these two Thai leaders. While both men have risen to positions of national and international prominence, their respective personal styles, their politics, and their approaches to the challenges posed by the situation in the South appear fundamentally different.
We usually take it for granted that people exhibit distinctive differences from one another in many of the attitudes that they hold, in their social behavior, and in the way they respond to events. Psychologists use the term personality to refer to an individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Numerous theories of personality have gone in and out of fashion during the 100 or so years since Freud proposed the first comprehensive theory of personality. Theorists have proposed personality traits such as introversion and extraversion to try to capture the individual differences we attribute to personality. Even attitudes that underlie different political persuasions like those of Anand and Thaksin have been tied to personality characteristics.
Psychologists who study personality have generally attempted to narrow the number of personality traits to a minimum, while still capturing the rich variety of personality styles found among humans. They have worked to develop valid and reliable instruments to measure those traits, and have looked for relationships among the proposed traits and the behavior of those possessing them.
When we think of all the ways people can vary in personality, the question arises as to the origins of these differences. How do we account for the fact that some people seem much more conventional in their thinking, while others exhibit a great deal of originality? Why do some people crave adventure and risk, while others routinely appear more cautious? Why do some people characteristically exhibit hostility and aggressiveness, while others seem more even-tempered and sociable in their relationships?
Answers to these questions are usually variations on the theme of “nature versus nurture.” Our attitudes, emotions, and behavior are influenced by our biological nature, by our experiences in life, and by interactions between the two. Differences of opinions usually revolve around the relative importance attributable to heredity versus the environment.
Psychologists have traditionally emphasized environmental influences on behavior. Since personality differences appears to begin to emerge very early in life, a major focus was placed upon early childhood experiences, relationships with parents, and exposure to early trauma. Recent research, however, has suggested that heredity plays a much more important role than previously imagined.
In order to sort out personality differences attributable to heredity versus environment, psychologists typically study twins. They select samples of identical and fraternal twins raised together, as well as those raised apart. Identical twins raised together share a common genetic make-up, and similar upbringing. Measured differences in their personalities can serve as a baseline for comparing differences found between identical twins reared apart, fraternal twins reared together, and fraternal twins reared apart.
Psychologist Auke Tellegen and his colleagues at the University of Minnesota reported on a very well-designed investigation of this type in 1988. Results indicated that the effects of environmental factors upon most measures of personality appeared negligible. Genes, it appeared, were the primary determinants of personality differences. These findings, contrary to widely held beliefs at the time, are, nevertheless, consistent with other studies of personality differences using twins.
Investigations of this sort typically reveal some pretty amazing parallels between the lives of identical twins raised apart and in isolation from one another, in terms of similar interests, habits, family, and career paths. In one particularly remarkable example, a set of identical twins born in Trinidad were separated shortly after birth. One was taken to Germany where he was raised Catholic and exposed to Nazism. The other was raised in Trinidad as a Jew.
When reunited by researchers in their late forties, both men appeared for the study wearing blue double-breasted suits, mustaches and wire-rimmed glasses. They exhibited similar gestures and mannerisms. Both had a taste for spicy foods and sweet liqueurs. They had a habit of flushing the toilet before using it, liked to dip buttered toast into coffee, and enjoyed sneezing in elevators to startle others.
The conclusion that genetic factors are a prominent determinant of personality may be disappointing to those psychologists who devote their lives to studying the effects of environmental variables like child-rearing practices, socioeconomic status, and parental educational status. Compared to the influence of our genes, it appears that environmental factors amount to small potatoes when it comes to shaping our personalities.
posted by Michael | Monday, August 08, 2005
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