Personality Theories: Environment Vs. Heredity

The five dimensions I have chosen to explain my theory include: environment, changing, future, reward, and social.
Environment vs. Heredity The effects of nature versus nurture have been continuously debated by theorists. Several theorists disagree on if the environment, the surroundings and experiences an individual has throughout his or her life-span, or heredity, what personality characteristics an individual has genetically obtained, shapes human behavior. Some can argue that you are born with your personality which has been genetically passed down from your mother and father’s characteristics; however, the environment in which you live makes a huge impact on how you perceive the world, thus, effecting your own individual personality. …show more content…
Human behavior is largely driven by aspirations of the future. You behave in such ways that allow for you to obtain what you want out of life such as a college degree, a high salary job, or traveling experiences. I have aspirations of becoming and Occupational Therapist as well as traveling to various countries as a young adult. Because of these desires for my future, I behave in ways which allow me to accomplish these goals. Although every undergraduate student feels overwhelmed and defeated at times, I choose to push through and further my education in order to have the occupation that I prefer. In turn, I will be able to have the adventures I long for. By striving to have these future experiences, I have become a more disciplined and strong-minded …show more content…
It is disputed whether reward, achieving something pleasurable, or punishment, being subjected to pain as a penalty, shapes an individual more. As a child of the south, physical discipline such as spanking was implemented in my household. My parents were familiar with the use of candy and toys as reward and spanking as punishment for poor conduct. Pleasurable rewards were more effective in altering my actions than the threat of a spanking. Human nature responds more efficiently to praise and positive reinforcement. Instead of learning what it was that I was doing wrong, I simply continued the behavior but became fearful of the punishment of a spanking. However, when they told me if I behaved well then I would get candy, I immediately changed my behavior. I soon learned that if I continuously behaved well when we went to the grocery store, I would typically always get a packet of donuts. By providing a reward as a means of shaping behavior, an individual is more likely to repeat the desired behavior in the future in order to gain more rewards. When using punishment for not exemplifying desired behavior, the individual, especially a child, may not understand what the unwanted behavior is. This may result in fear as opposed to learning proper