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Environmental Conditions and the Development of Personality

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Abstract

It is well established that a substantial variation in personality traits can be attributed to genetic factors. However, this should not undermine the role of the environment in shaping an individual’s personality. We review research done on five important environmental predictors of personality trait development. These factors are parental socioeconomic status, parenting practices, peer relationships, romantic relationships, and work experiences. We found that, in general, the associations between these factors and personality traits are modest. Also, there is evidence for bidirectional relations between personality traits and the environmental factors. Despite being small in magnitude, the combined cumulative effect of these predictors over the years can be substantial. There are several lines of research that can be pursued in the future such as conducting meta-analyses of the associations of each of the environmental factors with personality traits and the influence of the interaction of the different factors on personality trait development.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA

    Mona Ayoub & Brent W. Roberts

  2. University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Brent W. Roberts

Authors
  1. Mona Ayoub
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  2. Brent W. Roberts
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Correspondence to Mona Ayoub .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    John F. Rauthmann

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Ayoub, M., Roberts, B.W. (2020). Environmental Conditions and the Development of Personality. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1859

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