My Grandmother Biological Perspective

Individuals can range variously on any characteristic measures whether judging on positive or aggressive traits. In regards to my grandmother, one open characteristic she has had for decades is her risk avoidant ideals and behavior. While the reasons for why she is this way are endlessly theorized, there are some strong personality perspectives that can help reason her characteristic. Using considerate detail, this paper will analyze and percept on my grandmother, Jean, from the personality perspectives of social and cultural influences, behaviorism, and biology.
Beginning with the biological personality perspective, hormonal and genetic concepts can easily reason with her way of being non-risky. The biological perspective could begin to reason

with gender difference perspectives in that just because she is a woman she has a less aggressive need for risky behavior due to less testosterone. Similarly, other risk influencing hormones are adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol, associated with stress, could either be sufficiently high or low and explain why she does not partake in risky behavior. For example, anytime she has somewhere to be she always left early to ensure security in case of traffic confliction or anything; she likes to drive smooth, slow, with minimal changes or distractions. Continuing with that driving example, I mean common distractions like music and discussion. Thus, her cortisol could be so high meaning she is extremely stressed making her drive extra careful, or it could be sufficiently low in that she is not stressed at all, and just naturally drives carefully. Considering the adrenaline hormone, it could be very low, and that is why she is always easily content, and has gentle ways of action and behavior. All in all, the stability of her hormones can be a big decisive factor in her non risky behavior.
Furthermore, connecting with biological concepts her temperament would be classified under cautious and social norm compliant. Not only is this shown in the manner of how she lives her everyday life, but it is also proven in the measurement of the temperament dimensions. For example, she is always careful and wanting to be safe. She even quoted that she finds meaning in life by, “doing what’s right”. Thus, she is very cautious and socially compliant to norms. Regarding the four dimensions, her activity level is low in that she easily content with simplicity, she has very unreactive emotionality in that she is always calm and collected, she has a good progressive social level, and lastly she has significantly low impulsivity. Just like the apparent peaceful-increasing hormones, her risk avoidant behavior strongly links with the biological aspects of the cautious social norm compliant dimension of temperament. All in all, she has many liable biological influences for her non risky behavior.
Contrasting reasonings that are based on the science of the body and mind, the most environmentally relative perspective to Jean's risk avoidance is the cultural and social connections.

When asked the question of why she never takes risks, and why she wants to be 100% safe she gave the simple socially experienced answer of "because that's how I was raised". Going over her background, she talked about how there wasn't really even any risks to take. Thus, not only was she culturally raised during more settling times, but she wasn't socially exposed to anything wild or risky. For example, the most risky situation she ever experienced (that is also most closely relatable to the behavioral perspective because of it being the only significant learning experience from her taking a risk) was when she skipped school once with a friend of which her uncle caught her, but then decided to tell her parents on her instead of confronting her. Then, when her dad asked her about school, and she lied, she said she got a deadly backside beating. Skipping school causing the bad parental confrontation was her most risky experience. Other than this confrontational experience, she claimed to have no others that were significant "learning experiences". Thus, I could only identify this one strongly influencing behavioral experience because she confirmed no consistent, or ratio, forms of reinforcement for her good

behavior..
To continue with the basis of the behavioral perspective, the only expected conditioning she experienced was punishment for ANY bad behavior. She said her parents didn't let her get away with anything. They weren't even allowed to talk during dinner at the table; let alone take any chances of risk that they were against or would consider disrespectful. Thoroughly, she was raised in a very strict manner that was "considered normal and respectable" back then. In consideration of free will, the behaviorism perspective would further connect saying her non risky behavior was completely embedded into her; she is a lab rat who learned to never stray about. In final regards to the behaviorism perspective, the consistent punishment alone could be the behavioral conditioning explanation for her lack of risk, but either way the perspective links to many plausible reasonings.
Referring back to the social and cultural focus, she was born in financial trauma with the great depression and family financial instability. That historical event alone could have impacted her secure methodology for living. Furthermore, she was low class. Even though claims she wasn't introduced to anything wild involving risk she could have experienced lower class uncomfort, in a risky-feeling way, to the point where it made her just want to ensure comfortable security in her future; not the extravagant life comfort that usually does involve risk. Otherwise, maybe since she was naturally raised non risky, she simply adapted to non risky behavior. Regardless, the cultural and social surroundings of her time had to enforce her non risky behavior. Lastly, even though she did grow up during war time, being a woman led her the ability to live a normal life in America, which on the average civilian level had little to no risk at all. Connecting to the social focusing perspective, her statements of little risk opportunity alone link her personality to the comforted security of livelihood. Socially, she was raised in the average area, and she always made friends with similar individuals like her. She talked about how there wasn’t much to do, and how they didn’t feel the need to find something more wild to do. Thus, not only was she barely introduced to risky situations often enough to willingly partake in risky exposure, but the cultural and social norms throughout life did not direct her towards encouraging risky behavior. When adding up her family background, her lack of risky exposure opportunity, the norms of society, and the American culture of her time, it can easily be argued that her ways of risk avoidance can be socially and culturally reasoned.
In relations to all perspectives, however, I would most likely reason significantly with the integrative biopsychosocial theory for the simple fact that it looks at personality development from a full perspective; it’s open to all theories. No matter what characteristic one focuses on in another, there can be a million influencing factors. Whether aggression or anxiety, an individual's trait can be reasoned with on multiple levels. Furthermore, each reasoning factor can connect and be a piece of the puzzle. For example, my grandmother might be risk avoidant because of her family background, how she was raised, what she was culturally and socially introduced to as well as maybe more simply because of her hormonal balances. What’s more plausible is this fact that all of those reasons most significantly worked together to build her into the non risky individual she became. In finalization, her risk avoidant behavior was somehow manifested. Whether the reasons connect to the science-like perspectives of cognitive and/or biological factors or the environmental focusing factors, they are all shared factors that formed her developmental need for security. This need has helped her lived long, stay healthy, and feel great with pride about how she lived her life; involving no risky business at all.