Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are?
When I first encountered this question, I unequivocally thought, “My experiences, of course!” I have had vivid, quirky experiences that have made me who I am today. Everything from playing with lion cubs to floating through a swift water simulation to being a (really tall) Santa’s elf for the school district and more!
But then I thought about the question again and realized, “I chose all those experiences. I took the trip to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. I decided to experience the Swift Water course. I am that experiential person.”
I’m uncomfortable with believing in nature over nurture, which is the philosophical essence of this question. I am perturbed to think that I was born to choose vivid experiences. I don’t like to give that much power to an accident of birth. Yet I was born with bipolar genes — did they orient me to choose novel experiences?
Psychology tends to favor a model incorporating both nature and nurture. In the case of my personality, it’s covered in “traits and states” theory. About half of our personality is based on traits, or inborn tendencies (nature), while the other half is based on states, or the moods we are in (influenced by nurture). The specific personality trait is “tendency towards trying new things”, which is one of the five basic personality traits in the OCEAN model.
So the science says both, no matter what I think. I just prefer to credit my experiences.
Words Like Me 