Because I’m so? (personality formation)

Because I’m so? Am I the result of my circumstances? Has my family influenced me to be this way? Many of us have asked ourselves these same questions on some occasion. Biologist Julian Huxley said that the variety of individual personalities is so wide, complex and wonderful that it gives our world authentic beauty.

However, sometimes it is difficult to live together. Because our personalities can sometimes clash with others. There are even those who feel limited by their way of being. Not everyone is satisfied with their personality type and would like to improve it, enhance some aspects and make others disappear. Is this possible? Can we change our character?

From the field of psychology we have been studying these aspects for decades. Carl Jung pointed out that Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being. In this dimension, multiple factors are actually combined, from genetic, environmental, experiential and even motivational aspects. We analyze it below.

Because I’m so? factors that shape our personality

When we ask ourselves “why am I like this?” We do it by looking for causal origins. We forget that. In a way, oneself is also responsible for one’s way of being. It is, for example, when responding and interpreting things in a certain way. There is, therefore, the possibility of change, of varying some small traits to adapt better to the environment and feel happier and more satisfied.

Thus, there is something that is often observed in psychological therapy and that is worth highlighting. Many people think that they are the way they are as a direct result of their upbringing and the influence of their parents. It is true that there is a weight and a determination. However, as Dr. Nick Haslam, professor of psychology at the University of Melbourne and personality expert, points out, We can all improve and heal certain aspects, build a stronger and healthier profile

Because Personality, beyond what we have been led to believe, is not fixed. What’s more, studies such as those carried out at the University of Illinois by Dr. Nathan Hudson indicate that people can change some of the traits that define the well-known Big 5 theory of human personality. These factors would be openness to experience, sociability, our efficiency, kindness and being more or less confident.

Knowing therefore that our personality traits are not permanent, let us now know what usually defines them on average.

The biological-environmental interaction

Both genetics and the environment in which we grow influence the formation of our personality. The environment, communication habits and the relationship we establish with our families and school, early experiences, the affection received and even socioeconomic variables (suffering from deprivation or having good well-being) shape our personality.

Nor can we leave aside such important aspects as nutrition, physical health and neuropsychological development.

Our experiences and the way we interpret them

Gordon Allport, one of the great leaders in the study of personality, said that this is an entity that is too complex to become entangled in a conceptual straitjacket. However, few things interest us more than trying to define and understand it.

So, every time we ask ourselves why I am like this, It is worth reviewing all the experiences we have had. Everything we suffered, felt, experienced, laughed at, cried and feared makes up the person we are now. Suffer an early loss, have suffered bullying in childhood, maternal or paternal abandonment, having fallen in love and learned from that process… Each of these things influences us.

However, more than the event itself, influences the way we interpret it.

Character, temperament and intelligence

Hans J. Eysenck was an English psychologist who dedicated his entire life to the study of personality. According to him, the personality structure was defined by three very specific areas:

The character, which is defined by the education receivedthe cultural context and the environment in which we grow and develop.The temperament. This area is linked to our biology and, above all, to those brain processes in which neurotransmitters make us more extroverted, introverted, impulsive, emotional, etc. Finally, there is our intelligence, that cognitive factor that not only shows our potential, but also sculpts our own personality.

Because I’m so? Focus on your motivations

In an article published by Dr. Carol Dweck in the American Psychological Association (APA), she tells us something interesting. Our personality develops more around our motivations (needs and objectives). This means that people are not mediated by fixed and invariable traits.

In a way, this idea is a criticism of the classic Big Five Model (Goldberg, 1993). Currently, psychology is more oriented towards thinking that we can all invest in our human growth and change certain dimensions to achieve well-being.

It all depends on our motivations and needs. For example, if I feel limited by my insecurity and shyness, it is possible that with work, therapy, and firm commitments to myself, I can be a little more confident and open to others. Change is therefore always possible. Let’s keep it in mind.

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