Final answer:
An individual's traits are shaped both by genetics and environmental factors, with culture being one of the most influential environmental factors on personality development. Culture, transmitted through language and societal behaviors, interacts with genetic predispositions to shape individual traits. Both universal and culture-specific aspects are crucial to this developmental process.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct option : b
The culture in which a person grows up plays a key role in shaping their personality through the learning and internalization of beliefs, customs, and behaviors that are rewarded or punished within that society. Factors such as language and societal modeling are crucial means by which culture influences an individual's personality development. While genetic factors are significant in determining traits, the environmental impacts, particularly cultural influences, provide the context within which genetic predispositions are expressed. Personality psychologists are keenly interested in how environmental factors like culture interact with biological factors to create the rich tapestry of human personality.
It is now understood that there are both universal aspects to personality traits across cultures as well as culture-specific behaviors that can create variations in how these traits are displayed and perceived. Regarding the larger debate of nature versus nurture, it is clear that both play pivotal roles in personality development. Genetics provides the foundation with inherited traits, but the environment, especially culture, builds upon that foundation to shape who individuals become. Studies show that this is a reciprocal relationship, with environment and genetics continuously interacting to determine an individual's personality and abilities.