Personality Theory

by J
(New York)

Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk

Is there a theory that discusses how the traits/personalities of people are a result of external factors in life?

For example:


Explaining how many of the kids who succeed in high school or college tend to not have as developed social skills (some degree of correlation, not perfect) as those who are mediocre in their educational success.

Or how a smart boy gets into an amazing school by working very hard in high school and during school he befriends a socialite that changes his "party" life around, in the end, the smart boy barely ends up graduating, even though he had the potential to be something great.

Reason is, I've had a good social life in college but I've been trying to change my life around by cutting off my friends, quitting smoking, staying away from alcohol, deleting all my video games. Thus, forcing myself to be bored and have nothing to do at nights, perhaps resulting in studying more and reading more books for leisure so that I can train my self for success in the future.