Washington (CNN) -- Mitt Romney worshiped his father. Barack Obama barely knew his. In the nature-versus-nurture debate, psychologists say fathers play an important role in the men their sons become. And the two presidential candidates' relationships with their fathers offer insight into the men they are today. "It's called the cloth of individuality," said Dr. Ditta M. Oliker, a clinical psychologist whose research has focused on the lasting effects of childhood in adulthood. Rather than an either/or, she said, psychologists now recognize the cloth that results from the interweaving of a person's DNA and experience dictates both personality and character.
@highlight
Obama's, Romney's relationships with their fathers shaped the men they became
@highlight
Obama relied on photos, clippings and family stories to learn more about his father
@highlight
"My dad is Mitt's hero," G. Scott Romney, Mitt's older brother, said
@highlight
For both candidates, "the message is that somebody did something right"
"My father became a prop in someone else's narrative," @placeholder wrote, "An attractive prop -- the alien figure with the heart of gold, the mysterious stranger who saves the town and wins the girl -- but a prop nonetheless."