BellaOnline Forums Family Siblings What influenced your personality?

In the nature vs nurture argument, is your personality more influenced by nature (you were just born that way!) or nurture (hey, my family made me like this!)?

i think everything influences everyones personality in some way or another. Like friends, family, values, morals, worldy happenings, and the things we do to each other...

Usually I'm wordy, but both.

I started out very innocent and trusting of everything. Followed, what you put out will come back to you.

But my personality now is more, what you offer will be taken by whatever serves the person taking it, and then, well, not so much, after they're done.

However if you value what you have to offer and realize an outside party has a reason for seeking you out and may not be forthcoming, then you can jump right back up on that horse again.

Both. My children all came with their own personalities from birth, but they have also been greatly influenced by each other, our family, their life experiences, etc.

I agree Becky. It's Nature and Nurture for me as well.
I've always been 'vertically challenged' (SHORT!) at 5ft even since I was 16 so that's a strong factor in my personality. I won't get personal, but my family life was not ideal so that shaped my personality as well.

Isn't it the truth! Kids come with their little hardwired personalities at birth, then life adds new dimensions to them.

Everything that happens in your life, and those things that you see happen to others, will leave a print on you. Sometimes, we don't know why things happen, but there is usually a reason revealed later.

My whole life was a big funnel that slid me into the jobs that I have now. Strange how that happens!

A child is born with certain mental, physical and intellectual potential. How will these resources to develop depends on the upbringing and the circumstances in which the child develops. Two children with similar potential can be completely different personalities. At least I think so.

I would say both! I was born with a very unique way of thinking, very different than that of my peers and family. However, my upbringing definitely influenced the way I think.

If it's which had more impact, I would say nature.

Both. I see some of my elders personality in me, but I think the way I was brought up and the circumstances I grew up in are responsible for a larger percentage of my personality.

Both

Happy Leap Day! And I think that my children influenced my personality!

For a while, I thought nurture had a lot to do with it. Now that I have kids, I thought 'nature' - because they both seemed to be born with their own, very distinctive personalities. I called them my 'slot machine babies' because it seemed to be a pull of the slot handle - you get 3 cherries, 2 7's and an olive, whatever.... But now I really think it is a mixture of both nature and nuture. However, I remember feeling the way I feel about life from a very young age - call it my nature. But then I know the life I had growing up was a very strong influence - in my self-confidence, ability to trust, etc... So to answer your question of what influenced my personality, I believe I was born with my personality, but then it was shaped by my environment and influences growing up. I hope I can provide the same for my kids - positive, nurturing and happy so they are self-confident and sensitive and intellectually curious.

i think my character is affected most by nature, i was born like that.

I think it really is the unique interaction of someones temperament combined with their experiences that shapes their personality.
Even with siblings, they are born as different individuals, and then they experience things in a different way and viewpoint then ourselves. Lately, when I talk to my brother, we have been comparing stories of what went on in our family when we were rowing up, and boy, did we see different things!

Agreed! Nature and nurture at work!

I imagine it's both. My sister and I grew up in the exact same household but ended up with different personalities. We were different even as young children.

I believe people are mostly influenced by nature since people these days look at status or class like what shoes or clothes people are wearing. A rich person barely likes to communicate with middle or low class people since they have been influenced by nature. I had a friend once that was rich and barely hung out with me due to my class since also when she met a poor person she would act scared of them.

In the early years, nature. As time progressed, however, nurture took over and my personality was shaped by life experience.