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Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the balance between two competing factors which determine fate: genetics (nature) and environment (nurture). The alliterative expression "nature and nurture" in English has been in use since at least the Elizabethan period and goes back to medieval French.
Twin studies are studies conducted on identical or fraternal twins. They aim to reveal the importance of environmental and genetic influences for traits, phenotypes, and disorders. Twin research is considered a key tool in behavioral genetics and in related fields, from biology to psychology. Twin studies are part of the broader methodology used in behavior genetics, which uses all data that are genetically informative – siblings studies, adoption studies, pedigree, etc. These studies have been used to track traits ranging from personal behavior to the presentation of severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
Human genetics is the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population genetics, developmental genetics, clinical genetics, and genetic counseling.
Research on the heritability of IQ inquires into the degree of variation in IQ within a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population. There has been significant controversy in the academic community about the heritability of IQ since research on the issue began in the late nineteenth century. Intelligence in the normal range is a polygenic trait, meaning that it is influenced by more than one gene, and in the case of intelligence at least 500 genes. Further, explaining the similarity in IQ of closely related persons requires careful study because environmental factors may be correlated with genetic factors.
Robert Joseph Plomin is an American/British psychologist and geneticist best known for his work in twin studies and behavior genetics. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Plomin as the 71st most cited psychologist of the 20th century. He is the author of several books on genetics and psychology.
Gene–environment correlation is said to occur when exposure to environmental conditions depends on an individual's genotype.
In multivariate quantitative genetics, a genetic correlation is the proportion of variance that two traits share due to genetic causes, the correlation between the genetic influences on a trait and the genetic influences on a different trait estimating the degree of pleiotropy or causal overlap. A genetic correlation of 0 implies that the genetic effects on one trait are independent of the other, while a correlation of 1 implies that all of the genetic influences on the two traits are identical. The bivariate genetic correlation can be generalized to inferring genetic latent variable factors across > 2 traits using factor analysis. Genetic correlation models were introduced into behavioral genetics in the 1970s–1980s.
Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" connotes a focus on genetic influences, the field broadly investigates the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences, and the development of research designs that can remove the confounding of genes and environment. Behavioural genetics was founded as a scientific discipline by Francis Galton in the late 19th century, only to be discredited through association with eugenics movements before and during World War II. In the latter half of the 20th century, the field saw renewed prominence with research on inheritance of behaviour and mental illness in humans, as well as research on genetically informative model organisms through selective breeding and crosses. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, technological advances in molecular genetics made it possible to measure and modify the genome directly. This led to major advances in model organism research and in human studies, leading to new scientific discoveries.
There are a variety of disabilities affecting cognitive ability. This is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual or cognitive deficits, including intellectual disability, deficits too mild to properly qualify as intellectual disability, various specific conditions, and problems acquired later in life through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.
The Behavior Genetics Association (BGA) is a learned society established in 1970 and which promotes research into the connections between heredity and behavior, both human and animal. Its members support education and training in behavior genetics; and publish Behavior Genetics, a journal on the topic.
Terrie Edith Moffitt is an American clinical psychologist who is best known for her pioneering research on the development of antisocial behavior and for her collaboration with colleague and partner Avshalom Caspi in research on gene-environment interactions in mental disorders.
Francesca Gabrielle Elizabeth Happé is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Director of the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London. Her research concerns autism spectrum conditions, specifically the understanding social cognitive processes in these conditions.
Angelica Ronald is a Professor of Psychology and Genetics at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development within the Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London, where she is the director of the Genes Environment Lifespan (GEL) laboratory. Angelica Ronald is also a visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London. She has been awarded the Spearman Medal from the British Psychological Society and the Thompson award from the Behavior Genetics Association for her research.
Avshalom Caspi is an Israeli-American psychologist and the Edward M. Arnett Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University, as well as Professor of Personality Development at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. He is known for his research on mental health and human development, much of which he has conducted with his wife and longtime research partner, Terrie Moffitt. The two first met when they presented adjacent posters at a 1987 conference in St. Louis, Missouri entitled "Deviant Pathways from Childhood to Adulthood". Among Caspi's notable discoveries was that of an association between the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and clinical depression. This discovery, originally reported in a 2003 study, spurred a wave of subsequent research on the potential genetic roots of various psychiatric conditions. However, a 2017 meta-analysis did not support the original finding, nor did a large analysis with nearly 100% power to detect the original finding. Therefore, the general approach of candidate gene or candidate gene by environment interaction research in single small studies is no longer widely accepted.
In behavioural genetics, DeFries–Fulker (DF) regression, also sometimes called DeFries–Fulker extremes analysis, is a type of multiple regression analysis designed for estimating the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects in twin studies. It is named after John C. DeFries and David Fulker, who first proposed it in 1985. It was originally developed to assess heritability of reading disability in twin studies, but it has since been used to assess the heritability of other cognitive traits, and has also been applied to non-twin methodologies.
Nancy L. Pedersen is an American genetic epidemiologist. She is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and the leader of the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. She is known for her research on human twins, much of which is based on the Swedish Twin Registry. This has included research on the genetic basis of Alzheimer's disease and self-confidence.
In the context of the nature-nurture debate, interactionism is the view that all human behavioral traits develop from the interaction of both "nature" and "nurture", that is, from both genetic and environmental factors. This view further holds that genetic and environmental influences on organismal development are so closely interdependent that they are inseparable from one another. Historically, it has often been confused with the statistical concept of gene-environment interaction. Historically, interactionism has presented a limited view of the manner in which behavioral traits develop, and has simply demonstrated that "nature" and "nurture" are both necessary. Among the first biologists to propose an interactionist theory of development was Daniel Lehrman. Since then, numerous interactionist perspectives have been proposed, and the contradictions between many of these perspectives has led to much controversy in evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics. Proponents of various forms of interactionist perspectives include Philip Kitcher, who refers to his view as "causal democracy", and Susan Oyama, who describes her perspective as "constructive interactionism". Critics of interactionism include major figures in behavioral genetics such as Arthur Jensen, Robert Plomin, and philosopher Neven Sesardic.
In adoption studies, selective placement refers to the practice by which adoption agencies tend to deliberately match certain characteristics of an adopted child's adopted parents with those of his or her biological parents. When this occurs, it results in a correlation between environments between biological relatives raised in different homes. It has the potential to bias the conclusions of such studies, because twins who were reared in separate environments may in fact have been reared in much more similar environments than assumed. This can result in an inflated estimate of heritability. There is evidence that selective placement was a major confound in many early studies of twins reared apart. Some adoption studies report little or no evidence of selective placement. For example, a 1979 study by Ho et al. reported a generally low level of selective placement in adopted children for either physical or behavioral traits. The authors concluded that to the extent that selective placement occurred for such traits, "our data suggest that it is based largely on characteristics of the birth father," rather than those of the adoptee. Carey (2003) concluded that selective placement was "moderate" for physical characteristics and typically "small or nonexistent" for behavioral characteristics.
Leslie D. Leve is an American academic and researcher. She is a professor in the Counseling Psychology and Human Services Department as well as the associate director of Prevention Science Institute at the University of Oregon. She also holds the positions of Associate Director for the Prevention Science graduate programs, was President of the Society for Prevention Research from 2017 to 2019, and is Associate Vice President for Research in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation and serves on National Institutes of Health study section panels and on the editorial board for Development and Psychopathology.
Gene-environment interplay, also known as nature-nurture interplay, is a term encompassing multiple ways that genes and environments work together to produce phenotypic traits. Processes classified as examples of gene-environment interplay include gene-environment interaction, gene-environment correlation, and epigenetics,. It is often studied with behavioral genetic research designs like twin, family, and adoption studies.
References
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- ↑ Neiderhiser, J. (1994). Family environment and adjustment in adolescence: Genetic and environmental influences over time. OCLC 299224747.
- ↑ "Fifteen named distinguished professors at Penn State". Pennsylvania State University. January 6, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- 1 2 MacMillan author biography for Jenae Neiderhiser Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ↑ Auman-Bauer, K. (September 21, 2016). "Study to measure effects of early environment on mental and physical health". Penn State News. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- 1 2 Peng, I. (October 11, 2018). "Psychology professor awarded $12.5 million to study adopted children's development". GW Hatchet. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ↑ Cohut, M. (February 27, 2019). Nature vs. nurture: Do genes influence our morals? Medical News Today Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ↑ Ramos, A.; Griffin, A.; Neiderheiser, J.; Reiss, D. (2019). "Did I inherit my moral compass? Examining socialization and evocative mechanisms for virtuous character development". Behavior Genetics. 49 (2): 175–186. doi:10.1007/s10519-018-09945-4. eISSN 1573-3297. ISSN 0001-8244. OCLC 888537945. PMC 6443408 . PMID 30656439.
- ↑ Flam, F. (September 8, 2008). "Is it a gene that makes a man a family guy?" The Inquirer Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ↑ "Executive Committee". Behavior Genetics Association. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ↑ List of Fellows, Association for Psychological Science Archived August 13, 2020, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved July 9, 2019.
