What Are Behavioral Acquired Traits? Learn How Habits Shape Us

Defining Behavioral Acquired Traits: The Basics

Behavioral acquired traits are behaviors learned through experience, environment, or interaction rather than passed down genetically. In other words, they're not in your DNA — you pick them up along the way.

Think riding a bike, speaking a second language, or knowing how to use sarcasm (hey, that one’s more common than you’d think). You're not born with it — you acquire it.

These traits are shaped by:

• Education

• Upbringing

• Peer influence

• Cultural context

• Repeated practice

And no, they can’t be passed on biologically. Your kid won’t be born knowing French just because you speak it fluently (though it might help them learn faster).

Examples of Behavioral Acquired Traits

Real-life behaviors we learn

Here’s a list that might surprise you with how much you’ve learned without realizing:

• Table manners – You weren’t born knowing how to use a fork and knife.

• Fear of public speaking – Yup, often learned through a bad experience or anxious environment.

• Respect for authority – Often reinforced by parents, school, or even jobs.

• Sports skills – Dribbling a basketball or serving in tennis? Purely acquired.

These are all examples of traits picked up through doing — not from your genes.

What they’re not

Let’s get one thing clear: Behavioral acquired traits are not instincts. You don’t learn how to blink or breathe. You just do.

Also not included: genetic traits like eye color, or innate talents (though that one's sometimes blurry... more on that later).

How Behavioral Traits Are Acquired

Through conditioning

Psychologists like Pavlov and Skinner have shown how classical and operant conditioning can shape behavior. That means we can develop new behaviors through reward and punishment.

You clean your room, you get praised. You touch a hot stove, you learn — fast — not to do that again.

Through observation

Albert Bandura’s social learning theory suggests we pick up behaviors just by watching others. Monkey see, monkey do — but, well, in a human context. You learn how to joke, argue, drive, or even procrastinate just by observing people around you.

(We all had that one classmate who taught us how not to behave. Thanks, Kyle.)

Through repetition and practice

Some traits just take time. Playing piano. Running marathons. Staying calm under pressure (this one’s hard, I won’t lie). You learn these things through trial and error, over and over again.

Nature vs. Nurture: Where Do Behavioral Traits Fit?

This debate’s as old as psychology itself. But behavioral acquired traits land squarely in the “nurture” side of things.

Still, it's messy sometimes. Let’s say someone’s naturally patient (nature) — they might more easily learn behaviors like conflict resolution (nurture). One supports the other.

So yeah, it’s not either/or. More like: your environment gives shape to what your genes gave you to work with.

Can Acquired Traits Be Unlearned?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but it’s not always easy.

You can unlearn toxic behaviors, bad habits, fear responses — but it usually takes effort, self-awareness, maybe even therapy.

That’s kinda the beauty of acquired traits: if you learned it once, you can rewire it.

Final Thoughts: Behavioral Acquired Traits Make You... Well, You

In the end, behavioral acquired traits are the layers we build on top of our biological selves. They’re what let us adapt, change, grow — or sometimes, pick up bad habits we swear we’ll drop next Monday.

They're your personality's toolkit, shaped by your life, choices, people around you, and yeah, even a few late-night YouTube rabbit holes.

The cool part? You can always learn more. And that’s a trait worth keeping.

Is 165 cm normal for a 15 year old?

The predicted height for a female, based on your parents heights, is 155 to 165cm. Most 15 year old girls are nearly done growing. I was too. It's a very normal height for a girl.

Is 160 cm too tall for a 12 year old?

How Tall Should a 12 Year Old Be? We can only speak to national average heights here in North America, whereby, a 12 year old girl would be between 137 cm to 162 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/3 feet). A 12 year old boy should be between 137 cm to 160 cm tall (4-1/2 to 5-1/4 feet).

How tall is a average 15 year old?

Average Height to Weight for Teenage Boys - 13 to 20 Years

How to get taller at 18?

Staying physically active is even more essential from childhood to grow and improve overall health. But taking it up even in adulthood can help you add a few inches to your height. Strength-building exercises, yoga, jumping rope, and biking all can help to increase your flexibility and grow a few inches taller.

Is 5.7 a good height for a 15 year old boy?

Generally speaking, the average height for 15 year olds girls is 62.9 inches (or 159.7 cm). On the other hand, teen boys at the age of 15 have a much higher average height, which is 67.0 inches (or 170.1 cm).

Can you grow between 16 and 18?

Most girls stop growing taller by age 14 or 15. However, after their early teenage growth spurt, boys continue gaining height at a gradual pace until around 18. Note that some kids will stop growing earlier and others may keep growing a year or two more.

Can you grow 1 cm after 17?

Even with a healthy diet, most people's height won't increase after age 18 to 20. The graph below shows the rate of growth from birth to age 20. As you can see, the growth lines fall to zero between ages 18 and 20 ( 7 , 8 ). The reason why your height stops increasing is your bones, specifically your growth plates.