Do we own our personalities do they simply emerge from our experiences?
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https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/09/07/21/52/urban-438393_1280.jpg

The definition of what a personality is from Wikipedia:

> Personality is defined as the characteristic set of behaviors, cognition, and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors. 

Clearly there are genetic factors just as there are speed limits on the road. The actual map of the road is not necessarily determined by the drivers in the cars on on that road even if the speed limit is determined by the makeup of each particular car.

This is in my opinion a metaphor to show that personality is shaped by the environment someone is in. The genetics may determine which sort of personality types are likely to emerge but they do not determine which personality from the spectrum of possible personalities will emerge from the person with those genes.

People are generally not going to be born into or live in perfect environments. If a person is aware that their environment shapes their personality maybe they can avoid internalizing their environment (to some degree) but it is generally the case from my observation that cultures create behaviors. This is true on Steem, it is true on Bitcointalk, it is true in any community.

If it is true then our personalities do not actually "belong to us" nor do they come from our brains. The truth at least from what I can understand seems to be that our personalities are more like the masks which people use to distinguish our behaviors, and does not necessarily reflect any real "self".  If we do choose to see it as a "self" then it's a very transient self which will change as the environment creates new incentives or triggers which make it change. Ownership in the definition applies "possession" which implies control,  but there is no "control" over the environment which shapes the personality so how much control does the person have over personality? 

Even if the person had some level of control over the environment then it is also the case that the person cannot control every possible experience they could have in that controlled environment. Different experiences any of which could cause a complete, dramatic, and even permanent change in personality.

<a title="made by Alexander Wivel [1]. [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Braininvat.jpg"><img width="256" alt="Braininvat" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Braininvat.jpg"></a>
made by Alexander Wivel [1]. [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]

In a cruel experiment we could imagine an environment where everything is controlled by a computer just like in the matrix. The person has their brain connected to the machines and the machines feed stimulus to that brain. My hypothesis is that if the machine feeds the correct inputs (correct stimulus) to a particular brain then the brain will respond with behaviors which correlate to that input. In other words the machines which can completely control an environment (the total stimulus available to the particular brain) can in essence program a personality into that particular brain by feeding experiences designed to shape the thoughts and the wiring of that brain.

Conclusion 
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In conclusion I do not think we own our personalities. I think our personalities are merely shapes. These shapes are molded by the environments we survive. If people are in harsh conditions then the personalities which form to survive those conditions will likely be very different from the personalities which emerge from people in more favorable conditions. Patterns exist because there are genetic tendencies and also common pressures which people face in certain cultures which allow for these personality patterns to be identified.

When we look at different countries and see that in some countries certain kinds of personalities are more common we have to ask what about that culture in that country is creating these personalities.  For example the psychological concept of a "narcissistic index" of different states or different countries can reveal which personality types are trending in different areas due to cultural influences of that area.  To the surprise of some readers, the most narcissistic country according to at least one study is Russia.  Of course the study would have to be replicated and if Russians are reading this then perhaps the study should be replicated in Russia to determine if it's valid or not (if you believe there could be bias).

Groups have a personality which forms from the culture. This group personality can influence or shape the emergence of the personalities of individuals within the group. In my opinion this happens based on what the group decides to value (or not value) or what the group decides to reward (or not reward). 

References
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Putnam, A. L., Ross, M. Q., Soter, L. K., & Roediger III, H. L. (2018). Collective Narcissism: Americans Exaggerate the Role of Their Home State in Appraising US History. Psychological science, 29(9), 1414-1422.

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/07/03/america-is-a-nation-of-narcissists-according-to-two-new-studies/?utm_term=.77534ad733f4
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality

3. [Personalities as shapes molded by environmental forces](https://steemit.com/philosophy/@dana-edwards/personalities-as-shapes-molded-by-environmental-forces)