Article 2 The role of shared and nonshared environments both affect developing children, however, the exact extent is unknown. Thomas Bouchard investigates the role of shared environments on the development of IQ concerning identical twins reared apart. The purpose of the study was to learn whether or not shared environments and the IQ of identical twins reared apart demonstrated a high or low correlation. Previous research prior to this article indicates that shared environments and developing IQ demonstrate high correlation. The researchers measured IQ by classifying twins into high and low similarity groups based on four different environmental measures: age of separation, reunion in childhood, rearing by a relative, and similarity in social environment. Each twin was placed into two groups for all the measurements. The classification of groups entailed (in order), twins that were separated before and after six months of age, reunion before and after testing, reared by family or non-family member, and …show more content…
differences in environment. Thomas accepts the classification of the twins into the various categories used by the original researcher, although notes that he did not check the accuracy of the classifications. Furthermore, more than one measure of general mental ability is used for Bouchard’s study in order to replicate previous findings, whereas the previous study used only the dependent variable - IQ. Bouchard drew from previous findings of twin studies that used IQ tests to asses participants intelligence, then used the Raven raw scores and Otis IQ scores and calculated the weighted average of the two results in order to reach his conclusion. If the proper estimators are used, it is suggested and tentatively confirmed that age of separation has no effect on IQ similarity of MZ twins reared apart.
For the measure assessing age of reunion, the results indicate there is a high level of overall correlation between identical twins reared apart. Thus, the identical twins that were not reunited prior to testing exhibited the same development and intelligence as the twins that were reunited before testing. The next measure, rearing by a relative, revealed that identical twins that are raised by unrelated family members are essentially no different from identical twins reared by biological parents, as evidenced by the heritability values. Lastly, identical twins that were reared in minimally similar environments demonstrated more similarity than twins reared in strongly similar environments (.70 vs .67). This is interesting because one would expect the twins in strongly similar environments to be more
similar. As evidenced by Bouchard’s findings, environmental similarities do not fully explain the similarity in intelligence of identical children reared apart. Moreover, as indicative of this twin study, shared and nonshared environments are not overwhelmingly conclusive explaining similarities in intelligence, rather the genes in which the identical twins share seems to be the primary reason observed differences. As is the case with many twin studies, the data would have been more useful if a larger sample size was used in order to solidify the studies data.
Identical, conjoined, and half-twins are all examples of intrinsic variability in humans. Intrinsic variability exists in all animals and is an adaptive mechanism built into the nervous system in response to input. This mechanism allows humans to distinguish the same inputs as different from one another and therefore, the possible outputs vary with time. It is possible that due to identical genetic input, the twins could share identical neural pathways and identical I-Functions. This hypothesis could explain the identical behaviors and inter-connectedness of feelings and thoughts that twins share. Differences that are seen in twin behaviors could simply be due to intrinsic variability causing differing output or behaviors.
...nt of Twins in Prior to School and Kindergarten to Year Two School Settings. Journal of Childhood Research, 240-253.
The nature- nurture debate has many different case studies, which often questions environmental and hereditary aspects of the nature- nurture debate. A tangent which is focused on in this essay is how the case studies of schizophrenia and IQ, specifically affect twin and adoption studies. This essay will firstly, give a brief outline of the nature-nurture debate and the definitions of twin and adoption studies. Secondly, it will illustrate two main case studies, which are IQ and Schizophrenia studies. Thirdly, will contrast and compare the two and research’s impact on the case studies in regards to nature vs. nurture and finally, will conclude with the impact of the nature-nurture debate and twin and adoption studies.
Dr. Eileen Pearlman says that “The separation and individuation process begins early in life, and for some twins it takes longer than others as not only do twins need to learn to separate and individuate from their mothers but they also have to learn to separate and individuate from each other.” The constant comparison from individuals looking into their life can make this harder for twins. People need to understand that with being a twin there are advantages but also disadvantages. People and even family members of twins can fail to realize this. The figment of people's imagination is that twins get along, have similar tastes, and are the exactly alike, almost the same
...rities and the same preferences. They also felt an immediate bond upon meeting. Jim Springer and Jim Lewis are twins who were separated four weeks after they were born in 1939, and they were reunited thirty-nine years later. The twins discovered that they had married and divorced women named Linda, married second wives named Betty, and named their first sons James Allan and James Alan, respectively. They both drove the same model of blue Chevrolet, and they both enjoyed the same hobby. They often vacationed on the same small beach in St. Petersburg, Florida, and owned dogs named Toy (Heredity 62). There have been many cases reported similar to this one, such as where twins were separated at birth and when reunited, found that they had astounding similarities between the two. By studying twins who were reared apart, scientists are learning how the forces of nature and nurture interact to make us what we are (Chensanow 69).
The demographic used for the study is described as “highly advantaged children (middle-class whites with IQs of at least 135)…” (Gallagher). An IQ of 135 or higher is a very selective group and less than 1% of the entire world fits that criteria (“What Goes Into the Making of a Genius?”). With an IQ at or over 135, these children are more susceptible to anxiety, stress, and relationship issues among peers (“Social and Emotional Issues”). These troubles could directly impact their happiness and have a large effect on their lives if the issues persist. The results are even more limiting when the other factors such as race and financial background are taken into account. The lives led by these children are by no means typical and having access to certain advantages and a greater susceptibility to certain conditions can have an impact on the results. When 99% of the world is exempt from this study and the results are being applied to such a broad spectrum, it is not an acceptable application of the provided
For years I have been fascinated by that mysterious quirk of nature called twins. In my family, there are several sets of identical twins, and I have always concentrated on their similarities. I did not realize that identical twins also have many differences. My identical twin cousins, Sue and Heidi, appear to be perfect mirror images. They love to dress alike. They can feel each other's pain. They sound alike and can complete each other's sentences. But upon taking a closer look, I have found that they are as different as day and night. Aside from Sue and Heidi's outward characteristics, they possess several distinguishing traits that allow them to be viewed as two separate, independent individuals.
In one’s childhood it is apparent that the immediate family members have a significant impact on the way a child grows up. The environment a child is raised in can and will affect him or her in many ways. Developing siblings learn from one another through everyday play and family activities. The interactions within a family provide many opportunities to acquire social, emotional, and behavioral skills (Conger, Stocker, McGuire, 2009).
Segal, Nancy L. Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us about Human Behavior. New York: Dutton, 1999. Print.
In this world, there are many different individuals who are not only different in demographics but also different neurologically. Due to an immense amount of people it is important to first understand each individual, in order, to better understand them and to help them when it comes to certain areas such as education, the work force, and etc…. For this reason psychologists have aimed to further understand individuals through the use of psychological assessments. This paper aims to examine a particular assessment tool, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Fifth Edition), which measures both intelligence and cognitive abilities (Roid, 2003). This assessment is usually administered by psychologists and the scores are most often used to determine placement in academics and services allotted to children and adolescents (despite their compatibility for adults) (Wilson & Gilmore, 2012). Furthermore before the investigation dives into the particulars of the test, such as its strengths and weakness’, it is best to first learn more about the intelligence scales general characteristics.
Your social skills as a kindergartener determines if you can go to college or get a good job.Does the way you are raised affects you in the future? This essay will inform you about the some scientific facts.Furthermore this essay will show an example of a person.Also to finish it it will mention the children that are raised with one/non parents.
Social cognition is very important to young child’s development. A child’s key development takes place during the first five years of a child’s life. (Child Encyclopedia) A child’s environmental factors play a huge role in their mental development. Social cognition has produced a knowledge that psychologists now have a better understanding about
Child growth and development is a process that consists of some building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations of building blocks in a child’s development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the debate of nature versus nurture debate. Many researchers agree that child development is a complex interaction between his/her genetic background (nature) and his/her environment (nurture). In essence, some developmental aspects are strongly affected by biology whereas other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individu...
It is true that identical twins who are raised together have many things in common,
There are lots of environmental issues going on globally. The earth faces problems such as pollution, global warming, waste disposal, and loss of biodiversity. These are just a small amount of issues out of the so many. These environmental problems pose an abundant amount of risk to the health of humans and animals. There needs to be a solution to all these problems and that is by informing others, so that way everyone can make the environment a better place.