personality

Jeebus, the other argument is only just winding down. Let me finish my midterms before we start another one.

I voted for both genetics and life experience. Gotta go make pizza now, but I'll get back to this with more extrapolation.

What's that?

It means I'm gonna think about it and get back to you.

Try to put it into bookkeeping language?

debits vs credits plus aged accounts

I think Dys put that quite nicely.

OH! That means I can at least record one when I find it.

I think it's life influences. Because Conan O'Brien, Jack Black, Chris Farely, The Simpsons, and Family Guy all had influence in my personality. They made me want to dance!!!


FLIGGA GOO GOO, FLIGGA GOO GOO!!

Just about anyone who has more than one child knows that they are each born with a unique personality, so genetics plays a big role. Experiences can be positive or negative reinforcements for the way personality is expressed, behavior can be modified through training, and drugs can alter mental states as well.

Actually this poll gives me an opportunity to vent a bit.

I'm a bit fed up with people trying to use genetics as a reason for just about everything!

I realize that many diseases have a genetic component, but there are a few things that lifestyle can also contribute to.

I remember something I said in a college biology class to a prof:"We may have the number of fat cells we have determined at birth, but whether we fill them up is up to us".

I voted genetics and life experience. I don't believe people can just blame their genes.

Wilso:

All the evidence says that you are not "stuck" with your personality-----you can change it---why not go for it?

That way you won't have to blame your genes :wink:

For some, "genes" are their personality....remember Fonzie?

Terry, are you trying to say that when you have multiple children, they each have exactly the same experiences growing up?

woah, woah. Dog **** comes from dogs, and sunshine comes from a giant gassy sort of burning planet-like thing. I would say that genes give the predisposition (like in behaviorism but not that extreme) and life circumstances give opportunity to use or not use that predisposition.

Ack! Too many similar debates going on here at A2K....I am going with Portal Star here. We are born with certain traits, and then we are socialized, for better or worse. Let's say a 'tainted' soul is born into the world, a la Jeffrey Dahmer. Now, his parents never did the horrid things he did, and it seems they were pretty decent parents, to the best of their abilities. Did something go wrong with the socialization there, or was Dahmer just 'born bad'? I choose to believe that like it or not, the parents had to have some hand in the creation of this monster.

rufio, of course children have different experiences in life, and birth order is one of the variables that affect what they experience. But as I said before, babies exhibit distinct personalities from birth, BEFORE they have enough experiences to shape them.