Identical twins have different personalities, how come?

Children who are identical twins come from one egg that produces two fetuses. Generally, identical twins have the same DNA base, body shape and face are similar so that people sometimes have difficulty distinguishing between the two.

However, it turns out that identical twins can have opposite traits. How could this be?

Identical twins can have different personalities

Many scientists think that different treatment received from parents, friends, or people around them can affect the different personalities of identical twins.

A study conducted by a team from the faculty of psychology at the University of Oslo found the possibility that the environment can also have an impact on the character building of children.

To see the differences between the personalities of a pair of identical twins, the study referred to the theory big five personality or also called the five major dimensions of personality.

The theory is defined as the whole way a person interacts with the people around him.

Big five personality includes five aspects:

Openness. This aspect categorizes how open a person is to explore new things.
Conscientiousness. This shows people who tend to be careful and consider many things before making a decision.
Extraversion. Relating to a person's comfort level when socializing with other individuals.
Agreeableness. People who have this trait are usually more obedient and tend to avoid conflict.
Neuroticism. This aspect looks at a person's ability when dealing with various pressures or stress.

In some studies, big five personality half owned by someone can be influenced by genetic factors. Half of them are influenced by environmental factors or experiences that have happened in their life.

The study was conducted on 53 pairs of twins, 35 of which were identical twins. The researchers visited the participants' homes every few years from the age of the child was still two months to 29 years.

The study collected data by means of interviews and self-reports from the participants.

The level of stress faced changes a person's personality

After making long-term observations, the results showed that children who were exposed to stress factors more often tended to have different personalities.

This can be seen from the case experienced by one pair of identical twins who were the study participants.

The pair of boy twins have been faced with turbulent family problems since they were babies. The two of them are close and very dependent on each other.

They are also very active and share similar traits, although one is a little more reserved and the other is open and dominant.

When they entered the period before puberty, their mother became seriously ill and depressed afterwards. From that incident, the personality development between the two of them showed more and more differences.

One child who is more quiet tends to have more stable emotional development. While another one has a level of stress control orneuroticism even though he has a more open social life.

The personality of identical twins is also influenced by nerve growth

Another study conducted by a group of scientists from Germany found that the different personalities of identical twins are also influenced by the growth of new nerves.

The study was carried out on mice that were genetically identical and lived in the same environment. The researchers paired the tools microchip an electromagnetic signal transmitter that tracks the movement of mice to determine their behavior.

After conducting the three-month salaam experiment, the mice showed very different behavior patterns. Some mice appeared to be more active in roaming larger areas than some other mice.

This difference is thought to be due to a process of neurogenesis or the formation of a new generation of nerves in the hippocampus, a brain region that functions as learning and memory.

In addition, the emergence of new neurons also depends on how well the mice recognize the environment in which they live.

But again the research also shows that personal experiences can help the brain work in reacting to new information that will lead to the development of behavior of living things in the future.

From the two studies above, individual experiences may be a very influential factor in the different personalities of identical twins.