The ‘Nature Versus Nurture’ debate has always been very difficult to conclude, and it has not been yet, nor will it ever likely be. Whether or not a person’s behaviour is attained from uncontrollable genetic impulses or their life experiences, it remains a controversial issue in both the public and scientific eye; however, a recent study in 2008, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, investigated behavioural genetics in relation to mental toughness, and determined that a person’s ability to ‘bounce back’ is largely reliant on their genes.
It is difficult to wholly define ‘mental toughness’; nevertheless, it is widely accepted as a person’s ability to be determined and focused, with the drive to rise above difficult situations. A ‘mentally tough’ person remains decisive even when under pressure; in spite of this, that does not mean that they are less susceptible to mental diseases such as depression, just they are better equipped to deal with them.
The ‘five big factors of personality’,’ extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and neuroticism as proposed by Costa and McCrae (1992), were found to be the predominant factors in personality traits that separate individuals. These factors, along with previous studies into the definition of ‘mental toughness’ performed by Clough, Earl and Sewell (2001), were used as the predominate aspects of comparison in the study.
By comparing the relationship between ‘mental toughness’ and the ‘five big factors of personality’ against 219 monozygotic and dizygotic twins across North America, as measured by the 48-item mental toughness questionnaire designed by Peter Clough at the University of Hull, UK, results showed that the personality and ‘mental toughness’ of the twins was principally attributed to common unshared environmental factors, and genetics. Shared environmental factors had a negligible impact on the ‘five big factors of personality’.
‘Nature versus Nurture’ will continue to be a controversial debate, but in the case of ‘mental toughness’, in light of the evidence given, nature wins out.
Source Study:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9F-4TR97GR-1&_user=331728&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2009&_rdoc=1&_fmt=full&_orig=search&_cdi=5897&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000016898&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=331728&md5=6bcf01c0a1401024d311639df79cba37#secx3
Related Articles and studies:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026804.600-an-iron-will-runs-in-the-family.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9F-4T832Y2-1&_user=331728&_origUdi=B6V9F-4TR97GR-1&_fmt=high&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F2008&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_acct=C000016898&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=331728&md5=b6e10203b9d3717bd8012ee83dfcdfd7
Link to Video on Nature Versus Nurture:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfsvoQsf-BA
By Danielle Edwards
