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Epigenetics: What Causes Us To Develop Personalities?

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What causes us to develop personalities? Does it pertain to our environment or is it embedded in the very genetic structure of our DNA? Scientists have narrowed it down to a concept called epigenetics. Epigenetics are “the study of the process by which genetic information is translated into the substance and behavior of an organism: specifically, the study of the way in which the expression of heritable traits is modified by environmental influences or other mechanisms without a change to the DNA sequence” (Dictionary.com). However, epigenetics require more than a definition pulled from the internet to understand. Multiple case studies, research interpretation, and countless hours of observation through species separate from our own all make up the field of epigenetics.
Some studies that …show more content…
Epigenetic studies have provided relief for those diagnosed, with schizophrenia. And although Schizophrenia only affects approximately 1% of adults, it leads as the most prominent causes of psychosis (Keltner, p. 89). Studies on Schizophrenia relate to epigenetics because “Individuals with schizophrenia inherit a predisposition to this disorder, hence schizophrenia runs in families. Cardino and colleagues estimated 85% of the susceptibility to schizophrenia can be attributed to genetics (Keltner, p. 89). That means that the other 15% of vulnerability to this mental disorder is entirely environmental.
Interpreting research helps us to better understand how genetics and the components of personality can be linked with various mental disorders. Scientists, or more specifically psychologists, have taken

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