26 Unit 1 Reaching Your Potential
gives workers a sense of satisfaction. The same
is true about what a person does in his or her
community, especially if it is extensive or extends
across many years.
Many adults take a spouse and follow the
path of parenting, passing on their heritage—their
family beliefs and traditions—to their children.
Children become a new infl uence in the adult’s
environment. The identity of the adult is often
infl uenced by his or her parenting experiences
and later by experiences in grandparenting. All
these experiences can lead to a full and satisfying
life (Figure 1.19).
Responding with Resilience
Many factors impact how you developed
into who you are today. As you study the effects
of heredity and environment on your personal
identity, you may feel that there are limits to your
freedom to act and choose. It is true that your
genetic makeup is fi xed and your environment
may not be how you would like it to be. You still
have great control over your life and your identity,
however.
For example, feeling stress over a future test will
probably cause you to study hard for it.
Extreme or long-term stress can have a negative
effect on your growth, however. Exposure to stress
and violence can trigger the fi ght-or-fl ight response,
which is the instinctive reaction of the body to
protect itself from harm by preparing to fi ght or
fl eeing to safety. This response includes a rapid
heart rate and faster breathing. Even after the
person is safe, these responses may persist for a
while. The impact of living in this state during
development is negative. A child exposed to too
much negative stress may become impulsive,
aggressive, and hyperactive. His or her ability to
think logically and develop language skills may
also decrease.
A child who grows up in a stressful envi-
ronment may develop special learning needs as
well. This is not necessarily the fault of anyone
in particular—least of all the child. Sometimes
unknown factors affect the brain’s development. It
is important that parents, teachers, and others who
work with these children understand their special
needs and the best ways to help them learn. This
help is necessary for the child to reach his or her
maximum potential for growth and development.
The Environment in the Adult
Years
An adult’s environment continues to affect his
or her identity, attitudes, and actions. An adult’s
job is a very important environmental infl uence on
an adult’s life and identity. Just like young children,
adults identify themselves by what they are able
to do. A person’s job has a title that identifi es the
worker. If a person works at something that he or
she feels is important and worthwhile, it increases
that person’s feelings of worth. Doing a job well
What are some ways that violence in your
environment could affect growth and development?
What types of teen activities or experiences could
possibly stimulate a fight-or-flight response?
Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com
Figure 1.19 Sharing activities with their grandchild
gives these grandparents a feeling of fulfillment.
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.