Sense of Self

I love the article this week entitled Sense of Self. The author, Thomas Hayden, tries to answer whether it is our genes, our parents, the environment, or all three that determine human behavior. It is in fact all three forces that shape us. He wrote about breeding monkeys for a shyness trait and that those monkeys who were cared for by "normal" mothers had a much harder time coping than those that had been raised by a extra nurturing mother. The extra nurturing the second group of monkeys received increased their ability to deal with stressful situations and attain higher positions on the social ladder. Applying this information to my own life helps me understand my propensity for shyness. 

I see a lot of myself in those shy monkeys. I could have used some uber-nurturing while I was growing up, but life just isn't that fair. Like monkeys with alcohol, I used food to cope with stress and my emotions. I was impulsive to the point that I wouldn't notice that I had finished an entire bag of chips in one sitting. I just knew that I had to dull the pain I was feeling, and I thought food could do it. It wasn't until recently that I realized there is a better way to live. That if you just have some patience and persistence you CAN be happy. 

I would love to learn more about the study that Jerome Kagan did as he followed 500 individuals over 20+ years. What other influences did he find that paved their life journeys? Did the children who thrashed around when presented with new stimuli ever get over their anxieties as adults? What were their teenage years like?