Research indicates that the characteristic we are born with have much more influence on our personality and development than any experiences we may have in our life. Which do you consider to be the major influence? -Syerapke-

A good personality has never resulted from the characteristics we are born only, it should also affected by experience we have in our life. Therefore, it cannot be the responsibility of each factor alone.

In order to have a good personality, we should have a positive attitude and proper social behavior. The former is often regarded as the responsibility of the characteristics we are born. According to a survey conducted by Harvard Psychology Department, children who are born with an attractive characteristic, such as born with smiling and outgoing is more likely to enjoy a positive attitude towards life and thus become popular. The explanation of this seems to be that inheritance via genes determined whether a child can have sentiment mood, whether they have excellent reasoning and judging capabilities, these aspects all play a vital role in building personality in later adulthood.

However, it’s an incomplete part of the picture. The prober social behavior cannot be achieved just by characteristics we are born with. These characteristics cannot tell us how to communicate with others, how to cooperate with our workmates. These social behaviors can only build by experiences we have in our life. Decades ago, an acclaimed American scholar Tony Carty conducted a famous experiment concerning on the influence of living experience on people’s behavior. It turns out that children who always played and worked with a group would have more than two times possibility to be popular in their adulthood than the other children who failed to do so. He further proved that these living experiences could reduce or even eliminate the utilitarian and selfish character of these children, which lead to an attractive personality.

In light of above mentioned discussions, I do admit that the characteristics we inherited are of significance in constructing a good personality, but the social experiences are also equally importance. These two factors are not mutually exclusive. It seems that a great personality affected by both of them. Without social experience, characteristic cannot allow us to be popular in the group and without inherited excellent characteristic, it may prevent us to have a good personality in a short period of time.