Biology and Our Experiences

Introduction

Our biology determines our experience. This has been one of the interesting debates while explaining human behaviour and experience. Most early human experience influences how the brain develops and impacts gene expression. This reveals that the experience affects a gene's instructions for creating proteins for growth and development (Kaye & Tree 2021). Similar to the aspect of for an essential part of the human experience from a biological perspective. Memory is part of our biology, which shapes almost every biological process and experience. In the body, for example, memory is promoted by both cellular and molecular processes. Similarly, the general memory is impacted by the brain, which is a biological tissue, thus creating the impression that biological processes nature our experiences. Through memory, an individual is able to retrieve or recollect information and engage in the form of mental time travel (Kaye & Tree 2021). One kind of memory is episodic memory which is the specific events in an individual life that involve detailed re-experiencing. Other than memory, creativity and personality concepts also are essential aspects of the human experience. Other than memory, personality, which is a biological aspect, impact how individual experience. However, openness is closer to personal experience and shapes personal feelings and thoughts. However, various studies reveal that human experience is shaped by an interplay between biology and the environment (Diamond, 2009). For example, there are times when the developing brain is especially responsive to early experiences. This indicates that individuals are destined to have a particular outcome in life due to their genetic makeup or environmental factors. However, it is also agreed that biology contributes a hundred percent to any psychological phenomena and impact caretaking behaviours on the development of attachment-related traits. Therefore, this study will explore how memory, personality, and creativity which are our biology, determine our experience.

Biology and Our Experiences

Memory is part of our biology, which shapes almost every biological process and experience. In the body, every cellular and molecular process in the body uses memory to increase its efficiency. Similarly, memory as a biological process involves the hippocampus of the brain. The hippocampus binds together different aspects of a memory, which are stored in various regions of the brain- memory organization (Kaye & Tree 2021). Therefore, while exploring the memory, it is suggested to relate to an individual recollection of events that have happened in the past. Thus, with the recollection of ideas connected to our experience, it is essential to suggest that biology is vital to our experience. Through memory that is biological proves, an individual can retrieve or recollect information and engage in the form of mental time travel'. For example, individuals think of memory as episodes linked to autobiographical experience. This indicates that the memory stores what was experienced in the past. In an experiment performed by Tulving (1985), there was a distinction between spatial memory and semantic memory, which, together with episodic, are declarative memory types. This kind of memory consciously recollects. A different kind of memory is the non-declarative memory, which is related to things that an individual knows though unable to describe how to do. For example, all our experience often impacts our experiences and who we are. The experience itself is essential since it has a meaning assigned to it that shapes what we experience in our daily lives. For example, a child who experiences sexual abuse might develop a negative attitude toward a particular gender, which might shape her life and experiences (Kaye & Tree 2021). The most robust and most intense reactions in the present stem from implicit memories due to the intense feelings attached to these memories. This experience which is a memory, means that biology is essential to our daily lives. The memory created from an event impacts who we are, our future decisions, and how individuals interact with others. Therefore, it is evident that our ability to remember which biological process shapes what we experience in life. Thus, our memory, which is body biology, significantly impacts personal autonomy and relationships. One kind of memory which shapes individual experience is episodic memory. This kind of memory refers to specific events in personal life that involve more detailed re-experiencing’. The memory conscious recollect experience in individual life. The recollected information is linked to Hippocampus. The hippocampus's role is to convert short-term into long-term memories. However, the information storage and retrieval of short-term and long-term memories must take place outside of the hippocampus. Similarly, experimental and observational studies of memory in non-human animals reveal a significant role for the hippocampus, especially in learning and memory. For example, in a study conducted by Krebs et al. (1989), various birds with huge hippocampi were demonstrated to be superior in recalling food stores in summer. Also, the size of the hippocampus in chickadees was observed to be huge during autumn and winter- when birds start stashing food. This knowledge reveals that memory was a vital part of individual life, especially in shaping their experiences. On the other hand, an experiment conducted on enclosure rats demonstrated that individual neurons in the hippocampus respond to specific locations in the animal’s surroundings (Kaye & Tree 2021). The study revealed that the animal cell becomes active when in a particular spatial location. This experiment demonstrates that the environment enables an animal to build a mental map using external aspects of the environment. Consequently, the cognitive map encodes essential items' locations and allows the animal to track its position in space and detect changes in the surroundings. This idea contrasts with the idea that our biology determines our experience and creates an impression that the environment is also vital in our experience. However, regardless of the environment determining memory and experiences, it is evident that to create memory and experiences, animals require an intact hippocampus to remember the location of things that cannot be seen or smelled. Therefore, it is evident that our biology shapes our experiences. Similarly, memory is human biology that determines our experience. Consolidation theory reveals memory consolidation, where human brains convert short-term memory into long-term memory. The brain then stores the short-term memories for almost 30 seconds while the other information is moved to long-term storage (Kaye & Tree 2021). Therefore, the theory reveals two significant areas of the brain involved in the initial storage of memories. The memories that elicit experience are processed in the hippocampal regions and consolidated into the neocortex after rehearsal (Diamond, 2009). The study also revealed that recalling recently learned information activates the hippocampus. However, after more time has passed, the hippocampus becomes less active while other neocortical regions are active while recalling information. Based on the study, the consolidated theory predicts that that patients with lesions of the hippocampal regions and otherwise spared Medial temporal lobe structures will present with adverse anterograde amnesia. Similarly, such individual has a better retrieval of remote memories, thus explaining the temporal gradient since the preserved memories are consolidated in other parts of the brain. However, whether short-term or long-term memory, it is evident that experience which originates from memory is a biological process including various brain parts. There is various way thinking about the influence of biology determines in our experience. The biological perspective is critical in looking at psychological issues and studying human behaviour and experience. The biological aspects which determine human experience include the brain, nervous system, immune system, and genetics. However, there is also debate on the extent to which biological aspects determine our experiences. For example, the creative nature of our experiences and changes with age (Kaye & Tree 2021). There are fascinating patterns in creative productivity with an increase in age. The creativity is revealed to increase sharply to a peak and followed by a slower decline. This demonstrates that, as individual age, creativity increase and their experience also increase. On the other hand, after individual growth reaches a peak, creativity starts to decline, and thus experiences also decrease- individual ability to remember things. However, some creative domains have earlier peaks than others. On the other hand, other studies reveal that, other than biological aspects which impact our experiences, environmental factors contribute to the experiences (Diamond, 2009). This study, therefore, reveals that biological aspects cannot purely determine our experiences. For example, there are several ways individuals get information from the environment, allowing them to understand their surroundings. The understanding of the environment occurs via immediate sensory experience linked to experiences and memories from past events (Kaye & Tree 2021). Therefore, the environment plays a significant role in our experiences since normal development occurs in an environment that dictates our daily experiences. However, the experiences are influenced by our ability to remember, thus making biological aspects the main factors in our experiences. Memories of life experiences influence our feelings, thoughts, behaviours- personality. Apart from the personality being biological, it is an aspect of the human experience. Five major personalities have been confirmed. These personalities include extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. Openness refers to being open to intellectual curiosity and new experiences (MacLean, 2021). On the other hand, conscientiousness is the determination of individual order, self-discipline, and control. Moreover, extraversion is the sociability and friendliness of an individual. Another trait is agreeableness which is social interaction and characteristics like sympathy, modest, and trust. Lastly, neuroticism is linked to emotional instability. All these personality links to individual experience and is dictated by biological aspects. Therefore, it is clear that the biology of an individual has an excellent role in individual experience (MacLean, 2021). There is also a link between intelligence and personality. Recent research has also focused on how creativity links personality and its traits (Baas et al., 2013). The study reveals that personality trait is closely related to the personality of openness. The research also indicates that openness includes aspects like fantasy, idea, and aesthetics. Therefore, how individuals feel and experience can be determined by their openness level; thus, personality is an essential aspect of individual experience. Baas et al. (2013) state that researchers have adopted the use of openness measures to estimate creativity. However, regardless of a close link between personality and experience, the study reveals less relationship between the other four aspects of personality. A trait like neuroticism is has a positive link, though weaker, relationship with creativity. Therefore, it is evident that personality, which is a biological trait, is closely linked to extraversion while, in turn, creativity is linked to various experiences in human life.

Conclusion

In humans, memory, personality, and creativity determine our experience and are perceived as humans' biological aspects. However, the subject of the biology aspect significantly impacting our experience has been debated, it is evident that, biology has great role in our experience. Past event experience has been demonstrated to be shaped by brain which in turn is impacted by genetic expression and other aspects. One of the most important biological aspect which dictates our experience is memory which shapes almost every biological process and experience. In the body, remembrance of events is shaped by various aspects like the cellular and molecular processes. Also, in the general body, memory is promoted by the brain, which is a biological tissue, thus creating the impression that biological processes nature individual experiences. Through memory, individual can recollect information and engage in the form of mental time travel'. Memory is categorized into episodic memory, which remembers detailed re-experiencing. Other aspects that shape memory include personality and creativity. These are also biological aspects, which impact how individuals experience and behave. An example of personality is openness which is more linked to individual experiences compared to any other form of personality. Openness shapes personal feelings and thoughts. However, other than biological aspects, other elements shape human experience, including the interplay between biology and environment. For example, people might show some behaviour due to experience originating from genetic makeup and environmental aspects. However, it is evident that biology contributes to a more significant part of any psychological phenomena and experience.

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References

Baas, M., Roskes, M., Sligte, D., Nijstad, B.A. and De Dreu, C.K., 2013. Personality and creativity: The dual pathway to creativity model and a research agenda. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(10), pp.732-748.

Diamond, A., 2009. The interplay of biology and the environment broadly defined. Developmental Psychology, 45(1), p.1.

Kaye, & Tree. J. 2021. Investigating memory: experimental and clinical investigations of remembering and forgetting

Krebs, J.R., Sherry, D.F., Healy, S.D., Perry, V.H. and Vaccarino, A.L., 1989. Hippocampal specialization of food-storing birds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 86(4), pp.1388-1392.

Tulving, E., 1985. How many memory systems are there?. American psychologist, 40(4), p.385. MacLean Rory. 2021. Measuring differences in people: creativity and personality. chapter 6