Nature and Nurture

Are behaviours learned or inherited?

From what I've seen so far in the few years I've lived on this planet, I think both factors are responsible for people's behaviour. Sometimes the characters we exhibit are hereditary, while some are learned.

There's a woman in my area who’s in her 60s but looks very young due to the nature of her body, how she maintains her skin, and the kind of dresses she wears. Everyone knows her as a “runs mama” (please Google what a runs mama is if you don’t know). She divorced her various husbands and is currently unmarried but has four children from two men. One of the children, whom I know very well because she used to patronise me, is following the same path—and she’s even deeper into it than her mother. The girl, a very young one with my kind of complexion (you’d need to browse for my picture to understand what I mean), already has two children (daughters) from different men, and she’s not married to any of the fathers. The last born is still a baby, between 1–2 years old, and guess what? She has abandoned the baby with her mother and travelled to a faraway city to meet a man. It may sound like I’m exaggerating, right? No, I’m not.

As much as the mother is known for that lifestyle, I’m sure she wouldn’t want her children to follow the same path. She must have advised her with all her strength, but the advice didn’t work. It’s also possible that the girl doesn’t like the path she’s following and may have tried to settle down with one man, but the hereditary force is too strong for her will to prevail.

On the other hand, I have seen some behaviours that aren’t hereditary but are basically picked up from society and trends. A typical example is the widespread fraud that’s trending and has turned a lot of people into big-time thieves. Most of the people involved in today’s fraud don’t come from families known for such acts. In fact, if you trace their background, you’d find that even stealing N1 was never part of their upbringing—but the story has changed today. These behaviours arise from peer pressure, and before they know it, they’ve delved into deep internet robbery. The crazy thing is, fraud is no longer seen as a crime; rather, it has been normalised as a way of life.

I know one in my hometown—a deacon's son in our church that I was close to. The family is decent and Christian family, but now, his children are into fraud, driving big cars and owning properties. Honestly, it’s not their parents’ fault, because I trust that they brought up their children well. But peer pressure is real, and those children couldn’t resist it, especially since internet fraud has become so common and normalised in our society. When they eventually “hit” it big, their parents have no option but to support them.

Thanks for reading.

This is my entry to Week 190, Edition 03 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community

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