Why Your Personality Is Not Genetically Hardwired
Behavioral geneticists study the genetic and environmental underpinnings of psychological and many other human traits. With a decades-long history and well-established research methods, the field has produced some of the most well-replicated findings in psychology.
A commonsensical interpretation
I don’t think there has to be anything controversial about genetically more similar people tending to be more similar psychologically—that is, in terms of their personality traits.
It would be weird if my genes had no relevance to how I typically behave, think, and feel. They dictate the production of every protein making up every part of my organism, including my brain. To survive and thrive, I have to continually match the quirks of this organism and its brain to the available circumstances. In doing so, I behave, think, and feel in certain ways, which makes up my unique personality.
How this is often misinterpreted
It is not uncommon to assume this statistical trend to mean that there must be specific genes for certain traits, making us somehow hardwired for our traits. And of course many find this conclusion controversial.
But there is no evidence for any of this. For example, although people’s different extraversion levels are partly due to their genetic differences, we know of no genes specifically responsible for extraversion—or any other personality trait, for that matter. Likewise, it is common for people’s personality trait levels to change, either spontaneously, as a result of their experiences, or even because they deliberately want to change.
As a result, there is no direct link between genes and traits. Any trait level can correspond to innumerable gene combinations and the other way around: The same genetic background can lead to different levels of many traits.
Genetic without genetic determinism
Because so many genes are involved in making up the different aspects of our organisms that we need to work around, they can all contribute to our psychological differences. This is what makes individual genes’ roles minuscule and not specific to any trait, exactly as studies show.
In this way, how we are psychologically partly reflects our genetic make-ups, but not because our genes determine our traits. Instead, our traits reflect how we continually try to thrive in our life circumstances, given the genetic hands our organisms have been dealt.
What are your thoughts on this article?
#Genetics #Psychology #Personality
@calmDew1576 this is so interesting! great post
@zareya I'm very glad you found the post interesting. It is clear that personality is a result of many factors instead of just genetics. This also proves the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
