Are Personality Types Inborn or Environmental?

[RSV3]

I think most people who study socionics would say it is solely genetic, but that position doesn't seem to have much empirical support...

I think it's most likely a combination of nature and nurture, with one's type being completely formed/fixed at some point during early childhood.

[xerx]

You're the exact same type as one of your parents as a result of the asexual reproduction of that parent.

[Absurd]

That's disturbing, but true haha. I wouldn't say we were born blank as that is too extreme, but I agree with the part about being filled with ink.

Extreme is my middle name, glad you agree, though.

I think it's most likely a combination of nature and nurture, with one's type being completely formed/fixed at some point during early childhood.

Not to mention most of it is learned. Haha, I mean, one doesn't come into the world completely conscious of the world around him, does one ?

[717495]

Yes, personality types are inbred.

[silke]

Yes, personality types are inbred.

and that is why first cousin marriages are prohibited in many countries

[Bluenoir]

I think we need to make a distinction between personality and sociotype. I have a hard time swallowing that they are one in the same thing. I am not the same as Crispy, Megadoomer or any other LIIs, even if we all may have identical subconscious information values that sociotype supposedly represents.

In my opinion, certain predispositions and traits do certainly have a genetic basis. However I think the formative stages of childhood also have a huge impact on overall "personality" of the person.

As for sociotype, prove it even exists as socionics has it. Untill we do that, this discussion is meaningless

[Pa3s]

Yes, personality types are inbred.

lol, I have thought about exactly the same joke.

[Kalinoche buenanoche]

same here.Ne creative FTW!~~!`111212!@!

[consentingadult]

Are we born with personality types as a result of our genetic code or are personalities formed at a young age while our minds are highly malleable? Perhaps it's a mix of both, but either way there will be predominance of either genetics or environment and which one do you think it is?

Neither. They are ideal types (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_type)

[Gilly]

Are we born with personality types as a result of our genetic code or are personalities formed at a young age while our minds are highly malleable? Perhaps it's a mix of both, but either way there will be predominance of either genetics or environment and which one do you think it is?

Neither. They are ideal types (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_type)

We agree for once.

[pianosinger]

I think inborn. Especially after observing my two boys and how different they have been from the very start. My youngest was a completely different baby from his brother; I could notice the difference almost from Day 1.

How sure do you feel that these differences are related to Socionics?

Not all of them are, but some I believe could be Socionics related. Especially, I'm pretty certain about my oldest being an Intuitor and my youngest being a Sensor; there's a pretty big difference there.

Also, temperament is more or less apparent (though occasionally I am not so sure). My oldest is most likely an Ep, and my youngest some sort of Introverted type.

[Marie84]

I have a feeling that type is likely inborn but personality is probably a combination of genetics and environment

[Raver]

I have a feeling that type is likely inborn but personality is probably a combination of genetics and environment

When I made his thread I was asking about socionics type more than just personality type. IMO, I think your sociotype and personality is a unique combination of genetics and enviroment interacting with eachother. It begins to form as soon as you become a cell in your mother's body and it is probably complete by the time you are three like Slacker said.

[Marie84]

I have a feeling that type is likely inborn but personality is probably a combination of genetics and environment

When I made his thread I was asking about socionics type more than just personality type. IMO, I think your sociotype and personality is a unique combination of genetics and enviroment interacting with eachother. It begins to form as soon as you become a cell in your mother's body and it is probably complete by the time you are three like Slacker said.

idk, I've known plenty of people who have gone through personality changes either with age or through some life changing circumstance. Or perhaps personality is not the right word to use hear, maybe changes in outlook or ideologies that affect their behavior is a better way of putting it

[silke]

My guess would be that it is inborn. It seems T-F, N-S dichotomies describe something very fundamental in human cognition that is likely to be genetically pre-set rather than left up to environment. However, I've heard stories of identical twins who claimed to be of different types (IEE-IEI, LII-ILE) but have never met them in person to check if this is true.

[717495]

Inborn, just guessing based on how amazingly the human mind is formed.

[Raver]

When I made his thread I was asking about socionics type more than just personality type. IMO, I think your sociotype and personality is a unique combination of genetics and enviroment interacting with eachother. It begins to form as soon as you become a cell in your mother's body and it is probably complete by the time you are three like Slacker said.

idk, I've known plenty of people who have gone through personality changes either with age or through some life changing circumstance. Or perhaps personality is not the right word to use hear, maybe changes in outlook or ideologies that affect their behavior is a better way of putting it

Agreed, personality is likely to change constantly prior to the age of 25 (or even later) as the brain is still developing until then. However, I think sociotype is set at a young age, like age three. I disagree that sociotype is inborn, it just developed at a very young age. Seriously, has anyone been able to type a 1 month old?

[JRiddy]

idk, I've known plenty of people who have gone through personality changes either with age or through some life changing circumstance. Or perhaps personality is not the right word to use hear, maybe changes in outlook or ideologies that affect their behavior is a better way of putting it

Agreed, personality is likely to change constantly prior to the age of 25 (or even later) as the brain is still developing until then. However, I think sociotype is set at a young age, like age three. I disagree that sociotype is inborn, it just developed at a very young age. Seriously, has anyone been able to type a 1 month old?

I feel pretty confident that my 13 mo old niece is ESFp, and I started thinking that when she was 3 mo old or so. Also she seems 6-ish. Time will tell, for sure, but I'm inclined to believe that these things can get concretized fairly early.

[Raver]

Agreed, personality is likely to change constantly prior to the age of 25 (or even later) as the brain is still developing until then. However, I think sociotype is set at a young age, like age three. I disagree that sociotype is inborn, it just developed at a very young age. Seriously, has anyone been able to type a 1 month old?

I feel pretty confident that my 13 mo old niece is ESFp, and I started thinking that when she was 3 mo old or so. Also she seems 6-ish. Time will tell, for sure, but I'm inclined to believe that these things can get concretized fairly early.

What you say is possible. However, it's also possible that our personality is formed while we are in the mother's womb since we start off as a tiny cell and grow. Is that seen as inborn or environmental? I'd say both, since while a fetus is in utero it is taking in a lot of information from the outside world based on the mother's behaviour and this could possibly be when our sociotypes are formed!

[Lobo]

My understanding from pediatrician visits is that our brains are not completely developed until around the age of 3. Something like that.

Maybe you can make mold kids towards being a certain type before that age. Slacker, get to work, don't be giving that baby Ti! . Don't reward her for putting blocks in the right spaces.

[JRiddy]

I feel pretty confident that my 13 mo old niece is ESFp, and I started thinking that when she was 3 mo old or so. Also she seems 6-ish. Time will tell, for sure, but I'm inclined to believe that these things can get concretized fairly early.

What you say is possible. However, it's also possible that our personality is formed while we are in the mother's womb since we start off as a tiny cell and grow. Is that seen as inborn or environmental? I'd say both, since while a fetus is in utero it is taking in a lot of information from the outside world based on the mother's behaviour and this could possibly be when our sociotypes are formed!

True

What I really believe is that major personality traits come about as a result of an almost impenetrably complex inter-relationship between nature and nuture. I believe there are certain genetic proclivities, but how far they are followed and reinforced seems to be up to the environment.

[tcaudilllg]

Increasingly it's being discovered that hormone concentrations and availability are the determinants of many traits.

VI is real. Judgers all have rigid faces... perceiver faces are noticeably more snake-like. This distinction is evident within a few months of birth, as the baby fat fades. I think type is inborn and set before birth, but it can be difficult to distinguish because key traits (like for example intuitive daydreaming) are simply not within the ability of an infant.

I believe a study would affirm this hypothesis.

[The Ineffable]

Because I frankly don't see being in/out of a uterus as a strict divide in development.

I agree, though if you talk about the OP he/she said: "as a result of our genetic code".

[consentingadult]

Increasingly it's being discovered that hormone concentrations and availability are the determinants of many traits.

VI is real. Judgers all have rigid faces... perceiver faces are noticeably more snake-like. This distinction is evident within a few months of birth, as the baby fat fades. I think type is inborn and set before birth, but it can be difficult to distinguish because key traits (like for example intuitive daydreaming) are simply not within the ability of an infant.

I believe a study would affirm this hypothesis.

lets assume that all judgers indeed have rigid faces (and also assume that all of us understand the same thing when speaking of rigid faces). This does not neccesarily prove that having a rigid face is causally related to being a judger. It could very well be that we (the people in society) have constructed stereotypes that make us treat other people in accordance with our stereotypes. Even worse: people easily conform to the expectations of other people's stereotypes, that much we know.

I'm not saying this is the case when it comes to socionic type, but I think there are ample examples from social psychology and sociology that should make us cautious and not dismiss this possibility. It might, to some extent, play a role in all of it.

[woofwoofl]

My understanding from pediatrician visits is that our brains are not completely developed until around the age of 3. Something like that.

Maybe you can make mold kids towards being a certain type before that age. Slacker, get to work, don't be giving that baby Ti! . Don't reward her for putting blocks in the right spaces.

[Clumsy]

Who knows?

I say it's solely biological. I largely think this way because of visual similarities I observe within individuals of a given type (i.e. a number of ILIs who look shockingly similar and have very similar surface characteristics in demeanor, for instance, though being separate from a different batch of ILIs who share similarities that go beyond ethnic background, sex, hormone levels, and sexual orientation).

Environmental factors don't make for the type just as they don't make for those surface similarities I have observed (and that others have observed and have attempted to demonstrate via compilations of photographs of individuals of a given type).

agreed

[Raver]

Who knows?

I say it's solely biological. I largely think this way because of visual similarities I observe within individuals of a given type (i.e. a number of ILIs who look shockingly similar and have very similar surface characteristics in demeanor, for instance, though being separate from a different batch of ILIs who share similarities that go beyond ethnic background, sex, hormone levels, and sexual orientation).

Environmental factors don't make for the type just as they don't make for those surface similarities I have observed (and that others have observed and have attempted to demonstrate via compilations of photographs of individuals of a given type).

agreed

I've seen conflictors that look a lot alike, I don't think this necessarily proves anything. Having identical twins with very different personalities shows that who we are as individuals is more than being simply predetermined.

VI is meant to be used for facial expressions, so if you look at physical characteristics, then you're going about it the wrong way.

[Galen]

This would be a better question if Socionics was a personality typology.