Are People Born Mean? Nature vs Nurture with a Twist

Originally posted by smyleegrl
Greetings, ATS!

I stumbled across this article a few minutes ago: "Were You Born Mean?"

According to the article, scientists may have found a gene that predisposes someone to being "mean."

After analyzing the answers and the saliva, they found that some people have receptors that are especially sensitive to the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, and that those people did nice things even when their survey answers revealed that they generally feared others in society.

I'm not sure about the 'mean-ness' aspect, but the above, that seems to denote a predisposition towards submissiveness. Which is very interesting. However, I am not entirely sure that that can't be nature and nurture. Sensory reception and it's development can as easily be tied to sensory stimulation.

Not sure really that this study can prove anything. Too short term. It would really require the study from birth to see if there are any changes to these receptors at key developmental periods and in relation to experience.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by reitze

 

Another good point. People do change, especially children as they mature into adolescence and adulthood. Sometimes change occurrs after a life-altering experience (religious, near-death, what have you).

I personally think a lot of folks regret their actions in high school. Teenage years are cruel. I was never bullied, and I wasn't a bully, but I failed to stick up for others. IMO, just as bad.

Thanks for another side of the story!

Thanks, though my point was more about how kids get caught up in the "cycle of hate" rather than being naturally mean. Sure most of us learn to escape that cycle via growing up. BUT on the other hand, things like religious gay-hate often turns into bulling among children and other unrecognized manifestations of the "cycle of hate".

So I'm going further than saying its something out-grown... I'm saying that the meanness among children isn't so much from those children, but more like hate-cycles that they're passing along... bringing with them from home, or church or TV or a mean babysitter or ____.

Even though many adults have outgrown their self-perceived positions withing "cycles of hate", all I gotta do is go to a church to see more being started. Scapegoating the "Muslims" or the "atheists" or the "gays" or the "drug dealers" or the ____s.