• Human society is dynamic and diverse.
• Differences exist between societies and within the same society among peoples and groups.
• Society is based on the principle of difference.
• Society exhibits diversity because people in society differ from each other.
• As the saying goes, “all fingers are not equal,” meaning all people are not alike.
• Human beings differ in their physical development, mental make-up, moral and spiritual temperament, noble work, intellectual endeavors, and even criminal activity.
• Physical traits like stature, skin color, height, weight, hair texture, and eye structure vary among individuals.
• Psychological qualities such as intelligence, ability, aptitude, interest, taste, attitude, temperament, and mental health also differ significantly.
• Groups also differ, and individuals reveal different personalities.
• Personality is a person’s patterns of habits, attitudes, and traits that determine their adjustment to their environment (G.W. Allport).
• Differences in personality arise because each individual represents a unique combination of physical and psychological traits.
• Factors contributing to the development of human personality include:
  • Biological inheritance
  • Physical environment
  • Culture
  • Group experience
  • Unique experience of the individual.
• These factors are often reduced to heredity and environment.
• Can differences in personality be explained by heredity alone, environment, or both?
• Some argue heredity is more significant, while others assert environment plays a dominant role.
• The nature-nurture controversy is a major topic in sociology.
• This is one of the great unresolved issues in sociology, with extensive research by sociologists, psychologists, biologists, anthropologists, and statisticians.
• A glimpse of these studies may help provide a relatively convincing answer to the nature-nurture controversy.

ENVIRONMENT: ITS TYPES AND INFLUENCE

Meaning of Environment

• Environment refers to anything immediately surrounding an object and exerting a direct influence on it (P. Gisbert).
• According to Kimball Young, environment refers to the forces, situations, or stimuli influencing the organism from outside.
• The role of environment is significant enough to affect both society and behavior.
• The environment is more than just a conditioning factor of life.
• As Maclver says, the environment interpenetrates life everywhere, directing or diverting, stimulating or depressing human energies.
• The environment moulds speech and subtly changes a person’s frame.
• The environment lives within the individual and is inseparable from life.
• Life and environment are correlates.
• Any change in a living creature involves a change in its relation to the environment, and vice versa.
• The environment is a factor of great complexity and consists of various aspects.