Lopez 1

Amy Lopez
Prof. Julia Intawiwat.
ENG 111 - 05
11-16-2017
Essay #3: Research essay
What shapes our personality?

Every human being in the world is different from each other. Each person has her own

way to perceive things, her own way to feel about them and her own way to behave. All those

elements that make a person unique, it is called personality.

Personality has been an objective of study for decades. Scientifics have tried to

understand where that set of characteristics comes from. There are different theoretical

perspectives about personality; one of them focuses in the biological and genetic composition of

the person (Biological), another one states that humans are innately good and pursuing the best

of themselves (Humanistic). There is also one that says people learn by interacting with their

environment (Behavioral) and another one referring to the social-cognitive factors influencing

personality (Social-Cognitive).

None of those theories has the absolute true. Each one makes a good point and

contribution but they also ignore other aspect that another one focuses on and is right too.

Many psychologists, scientists that study peoples mental processes and behavior, have a

perspective called biopsychosocial which is a combination of other theories. They analyze how

behavior is influenced by biological, psychological and sociocultural factors. According to them,

there is an interaction between what is inside and around people and that is what shapes their

personality. Biological refers to the way the brain is composed, hormones and genes.
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Psychological is about mind functions like thoughts and feelings. And sociocultural treats about

society and the way it works, the things people is exposed to and all those they are deprived of as

well.

A more effective way to explain how different factors shape personality is using an

example; Tris Prior, protagonist from a science fiction and romantic novel named Divergent

can be used as example even when she is a fiction character. When you read until the last page of

the book, you realize that Tris of the beginning is different from the one at the end because of the

things she went through.

The book is about a society divided in five factions; Abnegation, dauntless, amity, candor

and erudite. At the age of 16, teenagers have to choose if stay in their faction or go to another

one and if so, which one.

Beatrice is a girl who was raised in a society based on abnegation. Since she was a child,

she was taught to put others well-being before her own. Her parents did that very well and her

neighbors had the same culture. She was told what was acceptable and what wasnt. Every day,

she saw people helping others disinterestedly and she tried to imitate them but sometimes she

didnt feel a natural desire to do so. At school and out of the neighborhood, she saw people from

other factions and felt curious about how life would be for them. So, when the time came, she

decided to leave her faction and transfer to dauntless, where people were brave and took risks

and adventures.

After the transfer, Tris changed her appearance. In the community where she had lived,

everybody looked the same, she wasnt the exception. The old version of her would allow her to

get lost in the crow, looking different would catch people attention and that was considered
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vanity, which was wrong according to their rules. She dressed loose grey cloth, her hair was tied

all the time, not accessories, and not make up. But in dauntless, people looked different and once

she got there, she adopted their style; black cloth, tight enough to highlight her physical

attributes and sometimes, exposing some centimeters of naked skin. She also started to put make

up on and use her hair loose and got some tattoos.

But she also experienced deeper changes; her behavior was modified. Leaving her house

and parents was influential in Tris transformation. She used to be cared for by her parents and

without them, she would have to be independent; take care of herself and make her own

decisions and she did. Moreover, in this new faction people were competitive; they needed to be

self-centered to survive. They were also spontaneous; they would say anything they feel or think.

They were trained to overcome their fears; they would do high-risk activities like defy the height

and speed. Tris adapted to this lifestyle very quick even when she was used to something

completely different. She loved the adrenaline running all over her body. She also started to

think about herself and the things that were good for her, winning the challenges, for example. It

was hard to accomplish them but she enjoyed it. Another new thing for her: public affection-

demonstrations. The way she showed love to people changed; the new Tris started to make

physical contact, hugs, and kisses.

And she was living and learning. She left the submission behind and gained bravery; she

started to stand up for what she believed and fight for herself and her loved ones. She would not

give anything away to someone who didnt deserve it. She learn how far a person is able to go to

get what she want so, she developed defense mechanisms; lies, tricks, violence, revenge.
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The life in abnegation and the one in dauntless made Tris behave in a distinct form but

some things stayed the same even in a different environment. She would risk her own life for her

family, she stayed curious as always and analytic, sarcastic, and adaptive.

She had a brother who was raised in the same way but he also left his faction and transfer

to Erudite. He is not the character in study, but it is important to highlight the fact that two

people (Tris and her brother) were raised in the same way and lived the same experiences

(relatively), and they both took different directions. Why? Behavior is influenced by society, its

expectations, limitations and discriminations, behavior, practices, education, lifestyle, religion,

values and so on. People learn what they see around and act according to that. But every person

perceives things and responds to them in different ways; the way they think and feel about the

situation is a matter of internal issues; biological and psychological factors.

Personality is complex and it is shaped by ones outer and inner world.

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REFERENCES

"Personality Theories." World of Sociology, Gale, edited by Joseph M. Palmisano,

Gale, 1st edition, 2001. Credo Reference,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com

%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fworldsocs%2Fpersonality_theories%2F0%3Finstitutio

nId%3D5375. Accessed 16 Nov 2017.

"personality." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Paul Lagasse, and Columbia

University, Columbia University Press, 7th edition, 2017. Credo Reference,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com

%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fcolumency%2Fpersonality%2F0%3FinstitutionId%3D

5375. Accessed 16 Nov 2017.

Marrow, Jocelyn. "Culture and Personality." Theory in Social and Cultural

Anthropology: An Encyclopedia, R. Jon McGee, and Richard L. Warms, Sage

Publications, 1st edition, 2013.Credo Reference,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com

%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fsagesocuanth%2Fculture_and_personality%2F0%3Fins

titutionId%3D5375. Accessed 16 Nov 2017.