Society and culture can also influence the development of the personality of the individual in even more fundamental ways than self-esteem issues linked to sexual expression. For example, in some societies, (most notably, in India), the prevailing social system is based on "castes" that are associated with and directly dependent on the family and social class of one's birth. Typically, individuals fortunate enough to be born into privileged classes can be expected to have relatively high self-esteem and high opinions of themselves in general. Meanwhile, those unfortunate enough to be born into the peasant classes can be expected to internalize the beliefs of their relative worthlessness, strictly as a function of the messages they receive within the predominant framework of societal beliefs in their environment.

Because so much of what we refer to informally as "personality" is actually based on the messages we receive from our external environment, most individuals will reflect various specific personality tendencies of their culture and society. Even within societies, individuals from different cultures typically have very different experiences from individuals in other cultures. Generally, individuals from non-minority mainstream cultures are more likely to develop positive and optimistic personalities than individuals born into minority cultures, particularly to the extent cultural status is persecuted or the rights of individuals from those cultures are less than those of other cultures.