Nature versus nurture in personality

Primitive man living in caves would not have bothered about personality. However, with the slow but steady process of civilisation, man became conscious of himself. He tried to project himself in a way that others will respect and admire him. Soon people started talking about men and women with warm personalities.

At the same time, some people lacked personality. Then there were personality clashes when two or more people with different character traits found it difficult to maintain a good relationship with each other. Leading men such as politicians became a personality cult by winning the admiration and love of the people.

Francis Galton was the first psychologist to identify nature and nurture that formed the personality of people. He said that they could be measured. He experimented with his theory by tracing his own family tree and those of eminent judges, lawyers, doctors and statesmen. After a long and arduous research he wrote Hereditary Genius. His research showed that there were highly talented people in certain families than among the ordinary population. But he did not attribute it to nature alone. He realised that there were other factors relating to nurture as well.

According to Galton, personality consists of elements from two sources. One is nature. We have inborn and inherited qualities which cannot be shaken off easily. If a father is dishonest in his transactions, his son may also inherit such qualities. On the other hand, a son may inherit the good qualities of his father. The danger is that nature can set limits to how far we can develop our talents.

Training

On the other hand, nurture is what we experience from birth to death. Children of ordinary farmers and carpenters become judges and accountants through nurture. They constantly improve their skills and abilities through training and learning. Very often we meet ordinary clerks becoming lawyers and underpaid teachers doing well in other professions. Like nature, nurture also sets limits to how far we can develop our talents.

Although nature and nurture play an important role in fashioning our personality, nature is finally the determining factor. For instance, however much a person develops his skills and abilities to become a successful personality in his chosen field, unconsciously his nature will be visible at times. We have heard of a top politician urinating into a swimming pool of a tourist hotel when he attended a public function. Similarly, many white-clad saint-like men have stooped to molest schoolgirls. Such incidents happen more due to nature than nurture.

Galton was a psychologist who had a wealthy Quaker family background. He was also an authority on many other subjects such as anthropology, criminology, geography, biology and meteorology. Being a child prodigy, he could read and write from the age of two. He studied medicine and mathematics at two leading universities. However, his studies were disrupted by a sudden mental breakdown. These facts show how his nature and nurture contributed in building his personality.

Dynamic personality

Today, more than in the past, we see people holding top posts lacking personality. At times, we come across lesser-known people who possess a dynamic personality. No doubt, education plays a vital role in improving our personality. However, some educated people do not have the personality. That means there is something missing somewhere in our understanding the problem of personality.

Galton once sent a questionnaire to members of the Royal Society to ascertain their interests and affiliations. In his subsequent book English Men of Science he said that where nature and nurture were forced to compete, nature triumphed. External influences and appearance can make a difference.A well-dressed man carrying a briefcase and an expensive mobile phone may look important and dignified. But when he opens his mouth, he will reveal his real nature. In Galton’s words, “Nothing can efface the deeper marks of individual character.”

The nature-nurture debate continues even today. Some psychologists favour Galton’s theory now known as eugenics according to which people could be “bred” like horses giving them certain characteristics. Others believe that every baby is a tabula rasa or a “blank slate” because we are born equal. Modern psychologists, however, say that nature and nurture are crucially important in human development and personality building.