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Meaning of Heredity

 Man's behavior is influenced by two forces: heredity and environment. The biological or psychological characteristics which are transmitted by the parents to their offspring are known by the name of heredity. Heredity is a biological process of transmission of certain traits of behavior of the parents to their children by means of the fertilized egg. Hereditary traits are innate, they are present at birth.

The human individual is the progeny of two parent cells that come together when a male sperm fertilizes a female egg. In the nuclei of these parent cells are certain hair like substances called chromosomes. The chromosomes contain chemical substances called gene. These basic substances chromosomes and genes determine characteristics of the individual.

The essential characteristics inherited by all human beings are physical structure, reflexes, innate drives, intelligence and temperament. There are some scholars who explain that the variations of human beings and the societies are due to differences in environment. A debate has been going on about the relative importance of hereditary and environment in determining the behavior of individuals and groups.