1.2.4 Personality and Environment

Our environments also affect our personalities. It is obvious that children growing up in a war zone will be affected in many different ways including their personalities. Most Americans do not, however, live in those kinds of circumstances. Our environments will vary based on our parents' personalities, levels of education, personal habits, behavior, and other aspects of home life. Our personalities will be affected by the schools we attend, our friends and other peers, extended families, caregivers, neighborhoods, and socio-economic status, as well as all other characteristics of our environment. How would this work? A tendency toward orderliness and a preference for privacy are commonly considered personality traits. A child who has these types of personality traits who is living in a very disorganized family, in a small filthy home, with several siblings and several animals must develop a tolerance for messiness and a lack of privacy in order to survive. Maybe the basic personality traits will emerge when the child is an adult, but it is also likely that he will live the way he was raised.