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Glite Dictionary
🧠 Mind-body link 🧬 Genes and environment 🗣️ Social behavior
interactionist

interactionist

8.0
A person who thinks genes and life experiences together shape traits
  • noun
  • /ˌɪntərˈækʃənɪst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : interaccionista
  • As an interactionist, she focused on how people's behavior is shaped by both genetic predispositions and their environment.

Examples

  • An interactionist approach takes into consideration the interaction between the needs and abilities of the individual and the conditions surrounding the presentation of the task being asked of the individual (Lee, 1997).

    Academic text (2006)

  • The interactionist view emphasizes the importance of both biological and social factors in shaping a person's character.

  • An interactionist perspective helps us understand how both nature and nurture influence personality development.

How Committed

interactionist
  • Specialized
8.0
skeptic
  • US
77 4.1

Surface Forms

interactionist singular
interactionists plural

Morphology

interactionist = interaction (transparent) = interaction + ist

Clear agentive formation from 'interaction' meaning influence between factors; the sense specifying genetics × environment is an instantiation but follows the same morphological logic.

Etymology

Interactionist comes from inter- 'between' and action 'doing', plus -ist 'a person who believes or studies'. So an interactionist about nature and nurture thinks traits come from what happens 'between' genes and the environment, meaning both work together to shape a person.