When it comes to looking for similarities between ourselves and our parents, we usually look to their facial features to see signs of likeness.
Apparently, our noses are most likely to be influenced by our genetics.
But have you ever thought about which personality traits you’re most likely to inherit?
A new study has found that kindness is the personality trait that parents are most likely to pass on to their children.
The research, which was conducted by Royal Holloway, University of London, and the Universities of Westminster, Vienna and Bern, looked at 418 German and Swiss families to assess which traits were passed on the most strongly.
To measure the traits, participants were shown pictures of adults and children with words about each of their values.
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Participants then had to put the pictures in order of which values related to them the most. Additionally, parents were asked how much they wanted their own child to grow up with the same values as the person in each picture.
The results found that parents who valued pro-social values, such as helping and caring, had more children that believed in the same values as they did, over parents who favoured power and achievement.
Researchers also concluded that parents who prioritised kindness were more likely to have a less authoritarian parenting style, resulting in a closer bond with their child.
Scientists said, ‘The more parents wanted their children to endorse values of self-transcendence and the less parents wanted their children to endorse the opposing values of self-enhancement, the more similar their children were to them.’
Professor Anat Bardi of Royal Holloway added, ‘This research really shows that where parents nurture positive, supportive and altruistic values, their children will also take these characteristics to heart. Where being “the best” is among the dominant interests of the parents, children tend not to express such a connection to their parent’s values
‘This research brings a positive message to the world: pro-social parents breed a pro-social next generation, but parents who endorse selfishness do not breed a selfish next generation.’
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(Images: Getty)
[h/t Stylist]
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