The influence that heredity and hormones have on human behavior has always been a major topic of human psychology.
Many have come to believe that heredity is what mainly affects a person’s attitude and way of reacting to things. In some ways this is true, but hormones may play a part in that behavior as well. According to WebMD (2010), "Heredity is the transmission of characters from parent to offspring by information encoded in the parental germ cells” (Medical Dictionary). Basically heredity is what determines a person’s appearance through the passing of certain genes from generation to generation.Metal abilities and natural talents are affected by heredity, as is the susceptibility to acquire certain diseases. This is all studies in human genetics.
Behavior genetics is the field in biology that studies the role of genetics in human behavior. With this being said, it is obvious why many would attribute human behavior to heredity alone. However, hormones play a part in human behavior also. The Endocrine system and the nervous system of the body control and regulate various activities throughout the body (Cotterill, 2000).According to Cotterill (2000), “The Endocrine system regulates the activities of the body by secreting complex chemical substances (hormones) into the blood stream. These secretions come from a variety of glands which control various organs of the body.
Hormones are secreted from the glands of the endocrine system; they are specific in that each hormone causes a response in a specific target organ or group of cells, rather than on the body as a whole. Exocrine hormones are secreted via a duct into the blood and usually affect a distant organ or tissue.Endocrine hormones are secreted within the tissue (rather than via a duct) and enter the blood stream via capillaries. Glands discharge hormones directly into the bloodstream.
” ((12: The Endocrine System (Hormones)). Normally the body has built in mechanisms that prevent excess hormones secretions, but if these mechanisms fail, the amount of hormones released into the body may be thrown off. Individuals whose hormone levels are abnormal, either due to over secretion or under secretion of a particular hormone, will show signs of abnormal behavior and illness.Children whose sex hormones are produced at an early age, for example, may demonstrate aggressive and assertive behavior in addition to the physical characteristics of maturation. In adults, changes in hormonal levels may have significant effects on intellectual capabilities, memory, learning, and emotional states.
When you look at the influence that both of these have on human behavior it is hard to determine which has the most influence. While heredity plays the main role in determining the outer appearance, it remains to be seen what plays the largest role in determining ones actual behavior.Referenceshttp://www.cancerindex.org/medterm/medtm12.htm
