Have you ever met twins? Or maybe you are a twin. Twins fascinate us. They also provide incredible scientific opportunities to understand the strong influence of genes not only in our development, but in our personalities. This is the quintessential Nature vs Nurture debate. Twins raised in the same family don't beg the same questions as twins separated at birth, as we understand that one's family play a role in their personality development (Nurture). But how do we explain the quirky similarities between twins raised apart and then reunited? The Minnesotta twin study investigated the effects of genetics and environment upon an individual's personality and behavior. The study compared the development of twins raised together to that of twins raised apart. The assumption was that any differences in personality and behavior in identical twins raised apart had to be the result of environmental factors. Conversely, similarities had to be the result of genetic factors. The below video discusses some of the fascinating twins studied and revealed that even twins rasied apart shared similar preferences that simply could not be explained by anything other than shared genetics (Nature).

Please take a minute to watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2__1Jrcpv4

How do you explain these similarities? Is this an arguement for Nature or Nurture? Reflect on your own family and identify personality traits , facial expressions, shared interests and talents that are similar to other family members. If you are raised in the same household, then we can easily explain that simply by shared exposure. But do you have a distant relative, even deceased relative, that you've heard you are similar to?

For example, my oldest daughter physically resembles my sister. But more interestingly, she actually thinks, acts and talks just like her. She even has similar facial expressions and mannerisms. We have never lived close enough for my sister to exert great influence and maybe only see her twice year. Additionally, we noticed these similarities when she was very young, too young to explain it any other way than genetics. I have heard that I am very much like my deceased Great Aunt, whom I only met a handful of times as she lived overseas. As I learn more about her, I understand how similar we are and it's so fascinating.