Hereditary Versus Environmental Factors

The hereditary versus environmental factors debate, sometimes called the "nature versus nurture" argument, is ongoing. How much a person's experiences and surroundings affect his behavior compared to the affects of his genetic makeup is the subject of child-rearing and education philosophies, criminal and courtroom discussions and sociological theories. Though a person has free will and ultimately controls his decisions, his ancestors and his environment both play a role in the life a person leads.

Health

• Many physical characteristics are dependent on genetics, such as eye color and height. Since these things are genetically linked, it makes sense that other physical issues, including health, would be linked to genetics. Doctors ask patients to report family history when it comes to diseases such as cancer and heart disease, but there are just as many links between how people behave and the diseases that develop. A person who is overweight, physically inactive and a lifelong smoker could be just as likely to develop heart disease as a person whose lifestyle is healthy but had parents that died of heart disease. Likewise, there are fit women leading healthy lifestyles who develop breast cancer, just like their mother or sister.

Behavior

• There is an entire field dedicated to understanding behavioral genetics. Though it is impossible to prove whether heredity or environment is more important to how a person behaves, those who study behavior are able to see how certain factors interact with each other to create specific outcomes. Researchers and psychologists debated after the April 1999 Columbine High School shootings about the factors that drove the shooters to act. Ultimately, it was believed to have been a combination of hereditary and environmental factors that triggered the massacre as opposed to only a psychological disorder, only poor parenting or only years of bullying.

Personality

• Siblings are the most obvious example of environmental factors being the main cause of temperament and personality. Siblings with the same biological parents might have completely different personality traits. One sibling might be outgoing and active, while the other is reserved and shy. Though they share the same ancestors, they behave in completely different ways. Researchers also believe birth order is a factor in how children behave later in life. Heredity may cause relatives to share personality traits, such as stubbornness or outgoing attitudes, but this also could be attributed to the child's exposure to these traits as his own personality developed.

Intelligence

• Another factor that is influenced by hereditary and environmental factors is intelligence. A child may inherit his parent's ability to process information quickly or retain it for long periods of time. If a child is good at math and so is his father, it might be assumed the child inherited his talent with numbers from his parent. However, it may be the comfort level and encouragement from his parents that makes the most difference. The confidence and enthusiasm a parent shows can affect a child's ability to learn. Like other factors, it is likely a combination of hereditary and environmental factors that result in a person's intelligence.