Do Our Genes Determine How We Act?

How do genetics shape the personality? Several methods of research have been developed to try to understand how genetics help to shape our personalities and help us to understand predispositions that we may be born with. Research looks into the way that our genes may affect the development of traits in the personality. While genes may give us the inclination towards developing a certain personality trait it does not set the trait in stone, that is, there is no certainty of a trait developing via inheritance.

Several studies have been conducted to try to determine the role genetics may play in the development of personality traits. Why where these studies conducted? The main reason for study of genetics and personality are to obtain a better understanding of how people develop personalities. What this could mean for psychology is a way to provide explanation and understanding of certain traits people develop in their personalities. This will enable them to learn ways in which they can make changes to their personality and temperament and promote understanding from others about the role in which a trait may be hereditary.

What is the logic of genetic studies? Many ask what about the environment we are raised in. It is essential to understand the role of genetics and environments go hand in hand. Pitting them against one another is not possible. The goal seems to be to understand how they react on one another. By understanding the importance of our genes and our environments roles in the development of our behaviors we can better understand ourselves. According to Dan McAdams:

"Let us begin with a simple truth: You cannot have personality, you cannot have behavior,
you cannot have life without both genes and environments. In a fundamental sense, your
personality traits and mine are products of the interaction of our genes and our environ-
ments, for indeed genes cannot have any impact on behavior if there is no environment
within which the person can act, and environments can have no impact on behavior if there
are no genes out of which to make the person in the first place. In that genes fundamentally
depend on environments and environments fundamentally depend on genes in the making
of a person, nature and nurture are tightly intertwined in a given human life."

Studies have shown is that there is a correlation between personality traits of identical twins that have been raised in separate environments. An extremely large study in Sweden that was designed to find similarities in identical and fraternal twins found that similarities are consistent enough to prove that all personality traits that can be measured reliably are moderately inheritable. In a group of 13,000 adult twins it was found that the inheritable traits of extraversion and neuroticism were slightly over 50%. Other studies have shown similar results in studying a wider range of general personality traits have shown that there is a definite connection between measurable personality traits such as; neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Scientific research on the role of genetics in personality traits has shown modest results at best. While the datum is certainly enough to provide the statement that there is a measurable similarity in biological siblings, and an even higher one in identical twins it can by no means account for all environmental factors as well. The importance of this research however, sheds light on the fact that no matter how large or small the role may be, genetics most certainly do play a role in the development of our personality traits.