A question about personalities of infants...

[Melvin:squeeking paramite]

I have an interesting (hopefully) question for you all... When children are born, do you think that they are born blank, or with personalities? Blank meaning that they develop a personality as they grow but don't have that personality when they are born and the other being that they are born with their personality. Another possibility is that their upbringing/experience does not shape their personality, but they just uncover it by themselves... (though that one seems a bit farfetched...)

I think that people are born blank, and that they develop a personality as you grow. I really don't think that people are born good, bad or with individual personalities. What about every one else? What do you think? Do you have any other theories? When you answer, please explain...

[Disgruntled Intern]

Since we talked about it on MSN...I refuse to repeat myself here..

[Steve]

They are born with a personality and it can be changed but mostly their personality becomes a charicature of sorts in which it's most dominant parts become even more dominant.

[Lampion]

Children are born with an individual personality that was developed throughout their previous incarnations as a human. That personality is not imutable. In their first years reincarnated, though, they are very susceptible to the environment and people around them, which could lead them to develop minor or major changes in their personalities.

Using our consciousness to learn lessons through our lives, we can change our opinions and behaviors, affecting directly manifestations of our personality. A greedy person, for instance, can change into a very generous person, a weak could turn into a strong person, and so forth.

[Gluk Schmuck]

'A little from column A, a little from column B,' in the words of a diverging senile Simpson.

I belive that their genes (and possibly the environment of the womb) dictate thir personality to some extent although it is impossibble for someone to be born evil.
When babies are newborn, for example, some are more irritable than others and things like that. Most of a baby's personality is developed though its upbringing.

[Fazerina]

I don't think babies are born blank. I think they've already got characterics when they're born, but the environment in which they grow up and the people they live with and the values they're taught affect them of course and they together make the personality of the child.

Originally posted by Gluk Schumck
it is impossibble for someone to be born evil.

I agree on that. No one can have "evil genes" and be born as bad. What I mean with characterictics is that some babies are always happy and smiling, some are always pissed off, some are always crying... They're already individuals, so it's wrong to say that they would be blank...

[Danny]

The old "Nature v Nurture" debate, eh? It's a combination of the two, as far as I know...

[Lampion]

Putting aside all my spiritual beliefs, I still don't beleive that children are born "blank". I believe that our most important period of time, in terms of experiences which defines our personality, is the time we spend inside our mother's womb. While there, we share all the emotions of our mother, in a general way, because our emotions are basically triggered by enzimes and hormones flushed inside our blood stream by our mother's body. When she was very happy, we felt it. When she was scared, sad, stressed, angry, frightened, we felt it all. All those experiences helped molding our personality.

when we where inside our mother's womb, we could hear her voice, and most importantly, we could listen to her heart beating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during nine months. Why do you think all babies like to be gently shaked in a rhytmic way? And why (that's a personal theory) people like rhytmic music so much? All native tribes had some sort of drums to express their music.

Women's voice tend to be more "high"pitvhed thatn men's voices. Children seem to like that. That's why all of us, men, tend to imitate an women's voice when we are talking to a baby, because that seens to sound better to them.

Aaaanyway... and how about identical twins? In this case I still believe that each one will react diferently to the same (or to be exact, almost the same) stimuli from their mother's body and outter environment, developing unique responses to the experiences they went through, while inside their mother's womb.

Having said that, I add: Behold, mothers of the world, the responsability for your children's personalities begins early in the days of pregnancy!

Any comments?

[Fazerina]

Originally posted by Lampion
I believe that our most important period of time, in terms of experiences which defines our personality, is the time we spend inside our mother's womb. While there, we share all the emotions of our mother, in a general way, because our emotions are basically triggered by enzimes and hormones flushed inside our blood stream by our mother's body. When she was very happy, we felt it. When she was scared, sad, stressed, angry, frightened, we felt it all. All those experiences helped molding our personality.

I believe that too.

when we where inside our mother's womb, we could hear her voice, and most importantly, we could listen to her heart beating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, during nine months. Why do you think all babies like to be gently shaked in a rhytmic way? And why (that's a personal theory) people like rhytmic music so much? All native tribes had some sort of drums to express their music.

That's an interesting theory. I think you've got a point there.

And what comes to identical twins, we all know that they don't have the same personalities with each other. Well, although they'll (probably anyway) be living in the same environment and with the same people after they're born, their experiences will still not be totally same...