Friedman and Schustack (2016) explain that through numerous theories and research biology predisposes a person’s personality to hereditary traits, though not necessarily inheriting them. By extension, biology influences the way a person experiences life, from the moment of birth. Culture and environment have a great influence on biological personality inclinations as well, however. One example of this can be two sisters (myself and my sister in this example), two years apart, grow up in the same household with different outlooks on life and different interests. One asks her parents to allow her to be home-schooled because she dislikes the social structure at her high school while the other sister thrives in it and joins clubs and other extra-curricular activities. Even though the sisters have grown their own lives separately, whenever they meet or call, they discover they have made the same changes without coordinating together. Such changes include cutting or coloring their hairs the same way, the outfits they choose to wear when they meet each other, colors they paint their nails, and surprisingly – the same passwords they chose to lock their phones consisted of the same numbers only reversed for one of them.
Environmental and cultural influences would give different treatment to girls than boys using stereotypes and familial indoctrinations. Girls and boys are treated differently simply based on their gender as evidenced in the language used when speaking to infants, clothing, and toys chosen for them. Toy stores will sell pink and feminine themed items for girls including dolls and play-houses while boys are offered learning toys, sports equipment, building block toys, spatial science, and puzzles. These differences are also reflected in academia where women are stereotyped as being better with verbal and language skills, while men are being stereotyped as being better with mathematical and spatial skills (Voyer, Nolan, & Voyer, 2000).
Environmental and cultural influences would give different treatment to girls than boys using stereotypes and familial indoctrinations. Girls and boys are treated differently simply based on their gender as evidenced in the language used when speaking to infants, clothing, and toys chosen for them. Toy stores will sell pink and feminine themed items for girls including dolls and play-houses while boys are offered learning toys, sports equipment, building block toys, spatial science, and puzzles. These differences are also reflected in academia where women are stereotyped as being better with verbal and language skills, while men are being stereotyped as being better with mathematical and spatial skills (Voyer, Nolan, & Voyer, 2000).
Temperament is another determining factor that directly influences experiences. Friedman and Schustack (2016) refer to temperament as a behavior comprising of activity, emotionality, sociability and aggressive/impulsivity. The expression of each of these dimensions culminates in an individual’s behavioral experience and may result in vastly different experiences for the person. One example of this can be children with ADD or ADHD, which can also alter the way a child experiences life through the medication is taken, lack of sleep, lack of exercise and comorbidities. Many individuals with ADHD have accompanied comorbidities such as anxiety, aggression, or obsessive-compulsivity. Ideally, an individual with ADHD leans how to adapt their behavior in socially acceptable ways; however, this can often be difficult because many do not have the experiences or interventions necessary to learn how to adapt positively. Another important example is the learning process for an individual with ADHD differs greatly from someone who does not have ADHD, and this is due to their unique neural chemistry, often making it difficult to associate rewards with behaviors due to deficits in executive functioning (Desman, Petermann, & Hampel, 2008).
References
Desman, C., Petermann, F., & Hampel, P. (2008). Deficit in response inhibition in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): impact of motivation? Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence, 14(6), 483–503.
Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2016). Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Voyer, D., Nolan, C., & Voyer, S. (2000). The relation between experience and spatial performance in men and women. Sex Roles, 43(11-12), 891-915.
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