Nature vs. Nurture
There has always been a large controversy over whether inherited genes or the environment influences and affects our personality, development, behavior, intelligence and ability. This controversy is most often recognized as the nature verses nurture conflict. Some people believe that it is strictly genes that affect our ways of life, others believe that it is the environment that affects us, and some believe that both of these influence our behavior.
In the past twenty years, it has been discovered that there is a genetic component to every human trait and behavior. Researchers are finding that the balance between genetic and environmental influences for certain traits change as people get older. Also, our experiences may be influenced by our genetic tendencies. A research was done to see whether a trait would show up in a child if it was environmentally influenced or genetically influenced. A child was given more negative attention than another was, and it increased the chances of the child having depressive symptoms and anti-social behavior. But these symptoms disappeared when accounted for genetic influences and how parents treat their children.
There are three types of gene relations. The first one is called a passive correlation that is the parents then would provide children with the genes and environment to promote the development of that ability. The second one is called evocative which happens when genetically distinct people evoke different reactions from peers and parents and others. And the third association is called an active correlation, when people actively select experiences that fit with their genetically influenced preferences. This doesn't mean that there are no environmental influences on behavior, because, for example, it is found to be that a loss of a parent during childhood promotes alcoholism in women. It is also shown that genetics play a big role in influencing people within society. Heritability is what is found to make up a lot of one's personality.
As a conclusion, although genes seem to play as a map for a person's life, researchers’ caution that genes act only as an influence. If an environmental background is changed, the amount of variation that is due to genetics can change. In conclusion, it is safe to say that the role of genetics and the environment equalize people's traits and behavior. Genes affect a lot of your personality and behavior but the environment mutates and molds the way people are going to act. This will always be an ongoing controversy because it is nearly impossible to pin point accurately where the role of genes and the environment steps in.
