
Twins as a Tool of Behavioral Genetics
Wiley (Publisher)
Published on 15. November 1993
Book
Hardback
326 pages
978-0-471-94174-3 (ISBN)
Description
Twins as a Tool of Behavioral Genetics Edited by T. J. Bouchard, Jr. P. Propping Every human being is genetically unique and consequently genetically different from every other human being. The one exception is identical (monozygotic) twins, who share exactly the same genome. Fraternal (dizygotic) twins share half of their genes in common by descent. Twins of both types constitute "an experiment of nature". Because it is unethical to carry out powerful experiments on human beings in order to explore the causes of variation in human traits, this natural experiment with all of its vicissitudes is one of the few windows we have with which to view the genetic and environmental determinants of complex human behavioral traits. Many scientists believe that twins can only be used to estimate "heritability" and that they reveal nothing about how genes influence behavior. In addition, they argue that modern molecular genetics will quickly make twin research obsolete. These widely held views are largely incorrect.
Twins are a unique and very powerful tool for exploring a wide variety of hypotheses about both the distal (mostly genetic) and proximal (mostly environmental) origins of human individual differences. Scientific knowledge accumulates most rapidly when scientists ask the right questions and utilize the right toolsthe right tools for the job. This book attempts to highlight the questions that might be most productively addressed through the use of twin designs. Every tool, however, has its limitations. This book carefully examines the limitations and assumptions associated with the application of the method to each of the domains discussed. Goal of this Dahlem Workshop: to evaluate the environmental and genetic mechanisms underlying the structure and development of behavior in twins studies: the achievements, limitations, and potentials.
Twins are a unique and very powerful tool for exploring a wide variety of hypotheses about both the distal (mostly genetic) and proximal (mostly environmental) origins of human individual differences. Scientific knowledge accumulates most rapidly when scientists ask the right questions and utilize the right toolsthe right tools for the job. This book attempts to highlight the questions that might be most productively addressed through the use of twin designs. Every tool, however, has its limitations. This book carefully examines the limitations and assumptions associated with the application of the method to each of the domains discussed. Goal of this Dahlem Workshop: to evaluate the environmental and genetic mechanisms underlying the structure and development of behavior in twins studies: the achievements, limitations, and potentials.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chichester
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
index
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 155 mm
Weight
630 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-471-94174-3 (9780471941743)
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Schweitzer Classification
Content
Partial table of contents: Cognitive Abilities: Current Theoretical Issues (C. Brand). How Do Social, Biological, and Genetic Factors Contribute to Individual Differences in Cognitive Abilities? (C. Mascie-Taylor). What Has Behavioral Genetics Told Us About the Nature of Personality? (J. Loehlin). Why Are Monozygotic Twins so Different in Personality? (H. Schepank). How Informative Are Twin Studies of Child Psychopathology? (M. Rutter, et al.). Prenatal and Perinatal Influences on Twin Children: Implications for Behavioral Studies (E. Bryan). What Can We Learn About the Determinants of Psychopathology and Substance Abuse from Studies of Normal Twins? (A. Heath). Indexes.