Human behavior is the reaction, or response, of a person to a given situation. Some kinds of behavior are inborn, or native—for example, the reflex of swallowing or grasping. Most, much as typing or riding a bicycle, are learned (acquired through experience or training). A variety of motives arouses or stimulates behavior. In this paper, it will attempt to discuss two of the significant factors of human behavior which are heredity and hormone. It will figure out which one of these two has really affected the human behavior (Kevles, 2004). Heredity is the passing on of traits from parent to offspring.
The natural laws of heredity account for the fact that one generation of particular plant or animal resembles preceding generations. Human babies are born of human beings and grow to human adulthood. More specifically, persons with fair skin usually have fair-skinned children. Not all heredity traits, however, are as obvious as body size and shape, or skin color. For example, some persons inherit color blindness, but may not even be aware of the condition. Others may inherit the tendency to develop a certain disease under certain environmental conditions (Baskin, 2001).
Although heredity produces characteristic similarities through successive generations, there are usually limited differences, or variations, between one generation and the next. Sometimes an individual will possess a hereditary trait that has not been evident for several generations. The process that makes this possible is called atavism, or reversion, and the individual is called a throwback. Genetic, the science of heredity, is concerned not only with resemblance of offspring to parent, but also with the differences between them (Kevles, 2004).
Genetic plays an important part in medical research. Knowledge of hereditary factors in disease and disease resistance is invaluable in diagnosing and treating illnesses. Knowledge of genetics helps also in finding ways to combat disease-producing bacteria and viruses (Baskin, 2001). A popular question for many years was; which is more important in determining the characteristics of an individual, heredity or environment? Scientists have learned that both play important parts, and the most qualities are the result of the interaction of heredity and environment.
On the other hand, hormone is a chemical substance produced by certain glands and tissues of an organism, and affecting the activities of other parts of the organism. Too much or too little of any hormone will cause disease. In humans, hormones are the secretions of ductless glands band certain tissues of other organs. Such glands and tissues are called endocrines; they make up the endocrine system. Among the functions of hormones are the regulation of metabolism, growth, and reproduction (Bishop, 2000).
Therefore, hormones affect the behavior of human being because its activities are more on physiological of the human bodies that motivate an individual to perform such acts while heredity only contributes on the traits and characteristics of an individual.
Reference:
1. Baskin, Yvonne. The Gene Doctors: Medical Genetics at the Frontier (Morrow, 2001). 2. Bishop, P. M. Sex hormones and human behavior. Brit. J. Animal Behavior 1:20-22. (2000). 3. Kevles, D. J. In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity (Knopf, 2004).