Effects of Culture and Environment on a Person's Life (Research Paper Sample)

Effects of Culture and Environment on a Person’s Life
Name
Institution
Effects of Culture and Environment on a Person’s Life
Culture and environment greatly influences a person’s life. The way an individual can perceive him or herself in relation to the surrounding environment affects their world. The role that heredity plays in dictating whom a person is cannot be questioned. This is true regarding to the genetic predisposition and physical characteristics of a person. However, environment and culture shapes the development of an individual in the course of their life. Thus, environment in general is responsible for defining and shaping the perception of an individual and their surrounding world. This paper discusses the effect that culture and environment has on an individual’s life.
One way through which the environment may affect a person, is through influencing what he or she terms as success. If an individual is brought up in an environment surrounded by professionals passionate about their careers and go to work on a daily basis, the individual can aspire to be like them. The person therefore results to working hard towards achieving that dream, which can change the course and outcome of his or her life (Casimir, 2009). On the other hand, if brought up in a ghetto where most of the people are drug dealers or users, the individual may be influenced to be like them. Another influential aspect that environment has, is in children, who’s growth tends to be shaped by their surroundings. For example, if nobody-valued education, children would never think that education was important.
Besides influencing the behaviors of an individual, the health of a person can also be affected by external factors. External factors can interfere with the natural biological course of their body’s growth, leading them to a different life path (Sigelman, & Rider, 2011). . A person’s exposure to a particular environment will affect the quality of his or her life in his later years. For instance, a person who develops a drinking pattern due to peer influence may suffer from alcoholism. In a social setting, it is important to be connected with other people since it reflects our thinking ability, reaction to daily basis situations and how we express our emotions. Without this interaction, it would be hard for us to acquire knowledge, develop language skills and incorporate basic concepts necessary for our survival tactics. This shows that socialization is important to humankind’s existence.
Culture affects the well-being of a person. The well-being comprises general satisfaction of life and a relative balance of negative and positive effects in their daily lives. While individualistic characteristics of a person are lenient in regards to the rules used in displaying emotions, the cultures have tight rules for emotional feeling. These norms suggest that one should always be happy and purpose to strive for happiness. Society tends to consider an individual who fails to achieve happiness in life a failure...