How Does Parenting Affect Personality?
Maybe a better question would be, does parenting really affect personality? I am going to be honest right from the beginning – I have no clear cut answers to these questions. The reason I am posting about it is that my friends and I got to talking about children’s personalities as compared to their parents’ personalities.
Friend O was wondering out loud why her child was such a quiet little girl – she’s 2. She was wondering because she is a very gregarious person and so is her whole family. Obviously, her daughter is the “odd baby out.” Anyhow, we got to talking about what shapes the personality of a child.
Is it hereditary? Is it because of one’s parenting style? If it were hereditary, then naturally extroverted people should have extroverted children. But this isn’t always the case (as it is with my friend O). That is why I tend to lean towards parenting style having a great effect on children’s personalities.
I also found some material on this topic. Irene Watson shares how parenting styles can really affect the personality of your child:
Research on parenting during childhood and adolescence has focused primarily on the effects of parenting behaviors and styles. A crucial element of parenting is the way in which the parents attempt to control the child. Numerous consequential factors that seem to be significant have been isolated. Of course, the degree and kind of control that the parent exercises over the child has portentous ramification for the development of personality.
Studies and theories show that genetic analyses do not contribute to the framework as much as does the within-family environment in effecting personality constructs.
What is your take on this?
4 Responses
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August 12th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Nature or Nurture? I’m not sure but I do know that I see all my ways of dealing with my oldest when she turns around and speaks to her little brother. Both good points and bad tend to be reflected as she tests and develops her personality.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
This is a terrific subject. I agree parenting style affects the child and ironically every parent raises each of their children differently.
April 6th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi,
I followed a link to here and found your blog very interesting. The themes of my own work are connecting the evolution of the human personality strictly to parenting and the need to maintain contact with ones offspring even when they reproduce.
I’ve just written a book about all this, I wondered if I may take the opportunity to mention it here.
Essential Personality, and why humans found love, adapted to monogamy and became better parents.
ISBN 9780954483142
The pub date is 1st June 2009 and you can examine it at amazon.co.uk
One of the questions I am trying to answer is why competent individuals often put in such bad performances as parents. Where does our ability to examine the situation and make reasoned decisions go to when we are faced with children to raise?
I’d like to hear you comments about this.
regards
Andrew Kennedy
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I love this article. I am an Introvert – very introverted and was born into a family of Extroverts. It seemed that no one understood the way I processed information – after all that is the biggest difference between introverts and extroverts. Introverts process by thinking, extroverts process by talking.
Both of my children are extroverts, one being is very extroverted. Talk about turning the tables on me. I am trying to learn to just listen to them without becoming overwhelmed with all of the talking.
Great article – I loved the topic. I found great resources on the Myers Briggs definitions of Extroversion and Introversion – they sum up the information for those in the dark.