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Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality
Biological and Humanistic Approaches to Personality
Genetic influences on personality
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The biological theory is based upon a myriad of scientific research and countless observations from different scientists across various time periods. The biological theory focuses on how genetics play a role in how personality develops from birth to adulthood. There are a plethora of views the biological theory has on how personality develops and one of them starts with how we are born. Based on the biological theory, humans are born with a temperament and that temperament can be genetically passed down from generation to generation. According to Lambertini, Chen, and Nomura (2015), the maternal psychological stress in pregnancy or MPSP plays a role in what that baby’s temperament will be like when they are born. What they discovered in their …show more content…
The pros of this theory are that there is tons of research backing up these claims and the emphasis on the genetics behind personality can not only aid in predicting future behaviors but can also predict future health problems. According to Vedhara et al. (2015), they discovered that extraversion was connected to an increased expression of a pro-inflammatory gene (CTRA gene) and conscientiousness was linked to a reduced expression of the same pro-inflammatory gene. Whether the expression is increased or reduced, if the gene is not balanced the individual could either have an overactive immune system or an immunocompromised immune system. This study illustrates how the biological theory can aid people in possibly predicting their future health problems just by determining what kind of personality traits they possess which is an appealing advantage. Even though this theory has pros, every theory has its limitations. The cons of this theory are that biology can’t explain all the aspects of human personality and the theory puts a cap at a certain age on further human growth. Sheldon, Sheldon, Nichols (2007) criticized, how the biological theory indeed describes personality and behavior, but the theory cannot properly explain personality and behavior. Also, they …show more content…
It can genetically pinpoint where an individual's temperament comes from and tell a person how our personality is developed based on our genetics. The theory can also possibly predict future health problems a person may have just by looking at what kinds of personality traits someone has can also improve the mental health of those that have mental illnesses that deal with chemical imbalances such as Schizophrenia. However, all theories have their pros and cons. While these pros do exist, its main limitation is that it can't explain all human behavior especially behavior that is influenced by our surrounding environment. These flaws exist, but it doesn't cover the fact that the biological theory helps improve the lives of thousands each
The nature versus nurture theory is a way to distinguish whether certain traits or characteristics of individuals are impacted more by biological means or environmental means. What the “nature” part signifies in the the theory is that we are more impacted by heredity and biological effects of our personality and what defines us as a person. What “nurture” signifies is that environmental factors have a more powerful impact on our lives and personality. As we mostly know, most things aren’t black and white, and so it’s hard ro determine which type of factors is more effective. Most people believe that it’s a blend of both nature and nurture that makes us who we are.
These subjects were tested on the negative affects of their children as well as the presence of any depressive or anxious symptoms and stressors. Through a two-part series of questionnaires parents were asked about their children and their observable behaviors using a five point Likert scale rating. The purpose of this study based on the findings as described in the article abstract is to test the relationship between temperament and stressors as a predictor of youth depressive and anxious symptoms over a 3-month period (Gulley, Hankin & Young, 2016). Although many factors contribute to the onset of depressive and anxious symptoms in early to late adolescence, temperament is often times attributed with directly determining how we externalize and internalize our day to day problems; temperament refers to individual differences in affective reactivity and self-regulation (Rothbart & Rueda, 2005). As described in the article, negative affectivity is directly correlated to internalized disorders due to its link to depressive and anxious tendencies. Temperament like we saw in “Understanding the Anxious Mind” is associated with high-reactivity in individuals who were found to possess
Schetter, C. (2009). Stress Processes in Pregnancy and Preterm Birth. Current Directions In Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 18(4), 205-209. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01637.x
In psychology, the nature versus nurture argument is a long-debated topic. With each new discovery, there are two famous questions, "Did genes make this happen or did one's environment cause it?" Torgersen (2009) confronts this battle by gathering data of the effects of the environment on the development of personality disorders, explaining that – due to research in Norway and other regions – the progression and endowment of personality disorders may actually boil down to genetic predisposition rather than environmental factors. In other words, it is suggested
It should define the relationship between the past and the present characteristics of an individual. Personality can change over time, so I believe a theory should help explain how the personality has changed. A good theory should cover issues such as dependency in personality, aggressive behaviors, and behaviors in general. It should include social influences and biological influences and explain the bad and good factors of these influences. A personality theory should encompass various avenues to improve the negative aspects of a person’s character in order to enable him or her to become a more productive member of
Biological Positivism has both its strengths and weaknesses, it changed the way of criminological ideas and opened up new theories that were based on scientific facts rather than philosophical ideas like in Classicism. It also highlighted the importance of looking into peoples genetic make-up as research such as Brunners' research into the extra 'Y' chromosome which led to the idea that genetic defects in a family can cause abnormal behaviours and also the Twin and Adoptions studies that showed a correlation between genetics and crime. In more modern approaches, researchers then started to look more into the brain and biochemical factors such as brain dysfunctions and imbalanced chemicals. These explanations showed the huge affect these problems had on an individuals behaviour and thought processes.
Lange, A. (2011). Prenatal maternal stress and the developing fetus and infant: A review of animal models as related to human research. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, 10, 326-340.
Evolutionary theory is developed from Darwin’s argument that “suggests that a process of natural selection leads to the survival of the fittest and the development of traits that enable a species to adept to its environment. “ Many have taken this a step further by saying that our genetic inheritance determines not only our physical traits but also certain personality traits and social behaviors. There is such a controversy over significant behaviors that unfold because many believe that we are already pre-programmed human species. It has also been argued that evolution is reflected in functioning and structure of the nervous system and that is has evolutionary factors that have a significant influence on everyday behavior. With what is being said means that if we follow the evolutionary theory, then it would be said that we are already pre-programmed from before birth to follow certain protocols in life. Whether it is from finding a mate or by getting a job. It also believed that this theory gives use cues from our own system to follow, providing us with certain aspects of life from our ancestors. By believing in this theory we can determine that the importance of heredity when influencing human behavior. Behavioral geneticists and evolutionary psychologists have both agreed that not only do genetic factors provide specific behaviors or traits but it also shows the limitations on the emergence of such traits or behaviors. What this means is that our genetics will determine how tall we will be to how ...
Biological and cognitive are both different theoretical perspectives. They both have unique differences. The biological and cognitive approaches differ in their view on the nature versus nurture debate. The biological approach focuses on nature rather than nurture. It believes that behavior is determined by internal physiological processes such as the structure and functions of the neurons, hormones, DNA and structure of the brain. The cognitive perspective goes into the domain of mental processes to understand human nature. This perspective shows how we learn, make decisions, use language, plan for future, and form judgments.
Many psychologists have performed examinations over personality for many decades. With a vast amount of theories behind the meaning of personality, there still is no true explanation to why we are who we are. Some would argue that our personality is inherited and passed down through birth, whereas some theorist believes one’s personality is altered by life events and choices. I find it hard to grasp the idea that personality travels through the gene pool. I believe that personality changes frequently, in the sense that we adapt to our environment. Our surroundings, actions, and decisions all play a role in developing a personality. For example, a child that grew up in foster care might show signs of aggression or depression, whereas a child
Nature, the more scientific theory of the two, is the belief that hereditary traits found in our genes make us who we are, believable but not very convincing when we consider the theory of nurture. Human beings learn new things everyday, as soon as we come in to the world, our learning process begins. As a newborn baby, we slowly learn and adapt in order to survive in a new environment which is unlike that of our mothers wombs, our first environment in which we first grew, adapted to and developed in. The home environment parents and siblings play a huge role in determining personality. Influences from outside the family are also very important to the development of ones personality. But everything starts at home.
There are also other factors that influence a person’s development. One theory has proposes that a person’s development is influence by the biological factors such as genetic and DNA. This theory is called the nature theory. For example, the genetic and DNA have shaped our own physical development. Th resemblance of family members are due to the fact that they share similar genes and DNA. My own face resembles both my mother and father, although it resembles more of my
Psychodynamic, Trait, Behaviorism, and Humanistic are the four major theories of personality. Our personality is our unique characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and acting. These theories each have their own different explanation of how our personalities came to be. They offer an explanation of why we are the way that we are by using factors, drives, characteristics, and experiences.
Huizink, A. C., Robles de Medina, P. G., Mulder, E. J., Visser, G. H., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2003). Stress during pregnancy is associated with developmental outcome in infancy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(6), 810-818.
The first major theory of personality I will be talking about is the psychodynamic theory. Psychodynamics is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces that underlie human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate to early experience. It is especially interested in the dynamic relations