Interactionism

Culture impacts a person’s personality greatly. According to Axia College (2011), “Traits are tendencies to act, think, or feel in consistent ways that interact with external influences, such as cultural norms and situational variable, to influence a person’s functioning.” External influences such as culture can impact, and even change a person’s traits or behaviors. A person’s reaction to a situation is largely based on characteristics and traits learned from his or her own cultural experiences. Social experience can influence one’s behavior, however cultural norms define what is acceptable behavior in social situations. Depending on the person and the situation, cultural experiences can define his or her characteristics and traits.

Behavioral Disposition and Neurophysiological Substrates

A person’s behavior, overtime and in various situations, define who he or she becomes. Changing the behavior can change our traits and characteristics. Although “biological patterns in the central nervous system” (pg. 117) can cause behavior to occur, changing our behavior can result in changing the neurological patterns in the brain. Thought is a process that can change the behavior and it is also relative that behavior can change the thought process. Neurophysiological substrates and behavioral dispositions coincide; changing one can affect and change the other. Behavioral dispositions cannot exist without neurophysiological substrates and neurophysiological substrates cannot exist without behavioral dispositions. Some situations can change the behavior which, after time, can change neurological patterns in the brain. These changes in the brain will later change how one perceives and processes information which can change behavior, resulting in changes to characteristics and traits.

References

Axia College (2011). Dispositional Traits and the Prediction of Behavior. Personality Traits: Fundamental Concepts and Issues. Retrieved March 18, 2011 from Axia College, PSY230 website.