Am I This Way Because of My Genes or Environment?

Exploring the Interplay Between Nature, Nurture, and Neuroplasticity

Why do you think the way you do? Why are you easily irritated, deeply empathetic, or driven to succeed while others seem more relaxed or less ambitious? It’s a question that has fascinated scientists, psychologists, and philosophers for centuries: Am I this way because of my genes or because of my environment?

Today, we know that the answer isn’t either/or. It’s both—and more. Your personality and behaviour arise from a continuous dialogue between your genetic code, your upbringing, your external world, and even how your body and brain biologically adapts to experiences over time.

Let’s unpack the science behind this and why it matters.

Additive Genetics: The Starting Blueprint

You inherit roughly 50% of your DNA from each biological parent. Genes create proteins, which make your brain and your personality. This includes thousands of genes that contribute to psychological traits like attention span, sociability, emotional sensitivity, and even your likelihood of experiencing anxiety or depression. 

This is called additive genetic influence, each gene has a small, cumulative effect on shaping your tendencies. Think of it like layering transparencies on an overhead projector: each gene adds a tint, and together, they shape the picture. 

But genes are not blueprints in the traditional sense. They’re more like recipes, a list of potential instructions. Whether or not those recipes get used (or how strongly they’re expressed) depends a lot on your environment.

So while genes may set the range, for example, how emotionally reactive or curious someone might be, they don’t determine the outcome alone. This is where early relationships come in.

Direct Caregiving: Your First Environment Shapes the System

From birth, our brains are exquisitely sensitive to our caregivers. We learn through interaction, through touch, tone, eye contact, and emotional availability. These early experiences shape how our nervous system interprets the world.

This is called the direct environment, and it includes everything that happens within your primary relationships, usually your parents or caregivers. These influences teach your brain whether the world is safe or threatening, whether emotions are expressed or hidden, and whether it’s okay to take risks or better to play small.

Consider a child who has a genetic predisposition toward high sensitivity. If raised in a calm, responsive, emotionally validating household, that sensitivity could blossom into empathy, creativity, or perceptiveness. In contrast, the same child raised in a chaotic, neglectful, or critical home might develop anxiety or chronic self-doubt. The same genes, very different outcomes.

This interaction is sometimes called a gene-environment correlation: your inborn traits influence the kind of environment you experience (a highly reactive baby might elicit more soothing or more stress from a parent), and the environment reinforces or moderates those traits in return.

The Broader External Environment: School, Society, Stress, and Culture

As we grow, the external environment, beyond parents, starts to exert its influence. School, peers, media, neighbourhood, socioeconomic status, and culture all play a role in shaping our beliefs, behaviours, and stress levels.

These environments can reinforce or counteract earlier influences. For instance, someone raised with low parental support might find mentorship at school or a connection in a community, offering a buffering effect. Conversely, someone raised in a warm, secure home may become withdrawn after being bullied or excluded in school.

Importantly, this environment also interacts with genetics. A person genetically predisposed to impulsivity might be more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours, but whether that manifests as entrepreneurial drive or self-destructive behaviour often depends on social norms, opportunity, and feedback from others.

Scientists refer to this as gene-environment interaction, the impact of your genes can vary significantly depending on the context. It’s like seeds in different soil. A sunflower seed might flourish in nutrient-rich earth and shrivel in gravel. The seed hasn’t changed, but the outcome has.

Epigenetics: The Switchboard of Experience

The most exciting development in this field is the science of epigenetics, which literally means “above the genes.” While your genetic sequence stays the same, life experiences can influence how genes are expressed. 

Epigenetic markers act like switches or dimmers, turning genes on or off, or increasing or decreasing their activity. These changes are shaped by factors like stress, trauma, nurturing, exercise, and even nutrition.

So, even if someone is genetically predisposed to depression, supportive relationships and healthy coping strategies can reduce the expression of those genes. Alternatively, chronic stress, loneliness, or early-life adversity can amplify them.

The best part? Epigenetic changes can be reversed. Just as harmful environments can lead to maladaptive changes, positive experiences, like therapy, meditation, social support, and purpose-driven work, can help restore balance and strengthen resilience.

Neuroplasticity: Changing the Architecture of Your Brain

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s remarkable ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. While our genes provide the basic blueprint for brain development, it is our experiences, shaped by both our immediate surroundings and broader social context, that influence how these genetic instructions are expressed.

Neuroplasticity sits at the intersection of nature and nurture, demonstrating that the brain is not fixed or hardwired, but adaptable and responsive. From early childhood through to adulthood, the brain continuously rewires itself in response to learning, relationships, stress, and even intentional practices such as mindfulness or psychotherapy.

Crucially, neuroplasticity does not stop at adolescence. Scientific research shows that adults, too, can make meaningful changes to their brains through sustained effort and new experiences. Whether it’s learning a new skill, changing entrenched habits, or building emotional resilience through coaching or mental health support, these activities can all lead to structural and functional changes in the brain.

This offers a hopeful and empowering message: genetic predispositions or early life experiences may influence us, but they do not define us. By deliberately engaging in new behaviours and surrounding ourselves with nurturing environments, we can reshape our neural pathways—and with them, how we think, feel, and lead our lives well into adulthood.

You’re Not Your Genes. You’re a Work in Progress

While your genes influence your tendencies, they do not write your destiny. You are not simply the sum of your inherited code. You are a dynamic system—shaped by early relationships, moulded by your culture and experiences, and continuously responding to your internal and external world.

Think of it like music. Your genes are the notes on the page. Your early caregivers are the first musicians interpreting the score. The world around you adds instruments and rhythm. And over time, you become the conductor, deciding which instruments to amplify, which sections to mute, and how to reinterpret the score.

So next time you catch yourself saying, “That’s just the way I am,” remember: Yes, you came with a script, but you hold the pen now!

Caroline Langston is the Co-Founder of Successful Consultants Ltd, an Executive, Personal and Career Development Coaching company in Hong Kong and New York. A specialist in Neuroleadership, Caroline is dedicated to coaching people to achieve performance success, wellness, and happiness in their careers and lives. She is degree-qualified, with a postgraduate certificate in the Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health. She is studying at King’s College London for an MSc in the same subject. With a Certificate in Professional Coaching Mastery, she is also a Professional Certified Accredited Coach (International Coaching Federation), has a Certificate in Team Coaching from the EMCC and further certifications in Neuro Linguistic Programming at Master Practitioner and Coach level. www.successCL.com