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Nature vs. Nurture

For those who always resign and blame 'human nature' whether it is the cause of wars, violence or obscene inequality and 'greed'.

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A 2015 comprehensive meta-analysis of more than 2,500 twin studies between 1958 and 2012, covering almost 18,000 complex human traits, found (unsurprisingly) that identical twins are typically more similar than fraternal twins. But their personalities are certainly not identical.


For the 568 traits that were descriptions of temperament or personality, the study found that 47% of differences could be attributed to genetic differences. The remaining portion, it concluded, must be accounted for by environmental influences. Other studies seem to support this – only around 40-50% of personality differences are genetic.


But even when combining a range of different DNA variants, the effects on personality remain smaller than anticipated. Heritability estimates currently span from 9% to 18% for Big Five personality traits, far below the 40% suggested by twin studies. What explains this "missing heritability"?


If it's possible that "nature" contributes less than we once thought, it might be tempting to attribute more of our personality to "nurture": the circumstances we grew up in, the people who surround us, the life events that shape our unique histories. It turns out, though, that understanding how our environment shapes our personality is just as complex. 


Genetic and environmental impacts also interact in ways we haven't yet fully grasped. For one, the environment appears to be able to activate or switch off certain genetic predispositions.


Many caveats and unknowns remain, even for the most studied areas of behavioural genetics such as the connections between violence and the so-called warrior gene. Studies indicate that in some groups of males, both the presence of certain moderator genes and certain environmental risk factors (such as an abusive upbringing) could increase the potential for violent behaviour in certain scenarios. But the results are far from clear cut.

How much of our personalities are determined at birth?

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