Psychology: Twin and Equal Environment Assumption
ARE YOU A "NATURAL"?
(Bouchard, T., Lykken, D., McGue, M., Segal, N., & Tellegen,A. 1990 )
1. What question was the researcher trying to answer (hypothesis) ?
How relatively recent and ongoing fundamental change in the way many psychologists view human behavior in its broadest sense. How many people believe with the idea that they might be the product of their genes rather than the choices they have made in their lives. Are people product of their genes or the choices made in there lives ?
2. Methodology Bouchard first went to find sets of monozygotic twins who were separated early in life, reared apart for all of most of their lives, and reunited as adults.Each twin completed approximately 50 hours of testing on nearly every human dimension you might imagine. They completed four personality trait scales, three aptitude and occupational interest inventories, and two intelligence tests. In addition the participants filled in checklists of household belongings (such as power tools, telescope, original artwork, unabridged dictionary) to assess the similarity of their family resources, and a family environment scale that measured how they felt about the parenting they received from their adoptive parents. They were also administered a life history interview, a psychiatric interview, and a sexual history interview. All of these assessments were carried out individually so that there was no possibility that one twin might inadvertently influence the answers and responses of the other.
3. Results / Conclusions
These findings indicate that genetic factors (or "the genome") appear to account for most of the variation in a remarkable variety of human characteristics. This finding was demonstrated by the data in two important ways. One is that genetically identical humans (monozygotic twins), who were raised in separate and often very different settings, grew into adults who were extraordinarily similar, not only in appearance but also in basic
(Bouchard, T., Lykken, D., McGue, M., Segal, N., & Tellegen,A. 1990 )
1. What question was the researcher trying to answer (hypothesis) ?
How relatively recent and ongoing fundamental change in the way many psychologists view human behavior in its broadest sense. How many people believe with the idea that they might be the product of their genes rather than the choices they have made in their lives. Are people product of their genes or the choices made in there lives ?
2. Methodology Bouchard first went to find sets of monozygotic twins who were separated early in life, reared apart for all of most of their lives, and reunited as adults.Each twin completed approximately 50 hours of testing on nearly every human dimension you might imagine. They completed four personality trait scales, three aptitude and occupational interest inventories, and two intelligence tests. In addition the participants filled in checklists of household belongings (such as power tools, telescope, original artwork, unabridged dictionary) to assess the similarity of their family resources, and a family environment scale that measured how they felt about the parenting they received from their adoptive parents. They were also administered a life history interview, a psychiatric interview, and a sexual history interview. All of these assessments were carried out individually so that there was no possibility that one twin might inadvertently influence the answers and responses of the other.
3. Results / Conclusions
These findings indicate that genetic factors (or "the genome") appear to account for most of the variation in a remarkable variety of human characteristics. This finding was demonstrated by the data in two important ways. One is that genetically identical humans (monozygotic twins), who were raised in separate and often very different settings, grew into adults who were extraordinarily similar, not only in appearance but also in basic