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Essay on Contributions of Heredity and Environment to Intelligence
Even though it is well established that family members resemble each other in intelligence, the extent to which this results from either shared genes or a shared environment remains controversial, perhaps especially since the relevant evidence presented by Burt has been shown probably to have been fabricated. The influence of heredity and familial environment may be distinguished by studying adoptees. Here we present correlations in intelligence and educational level between genetically related pairs of adult adoptees who have been reared separately, and, conversely, between genetically unrelated pairs of adult adoptees who have been reared together. We are unaware of any previous study of adults which has reported on both of these types of relationship. The results for intelligence conform closely to what would be predicted by a simple polygenic model of genetic transmission whereas those for educational attainment imply both genetic and familial environmental components.
The matter of the role of genetics or the environment in accounting for differences in intelligence, or IQ, began long before the mental testing movement itself. The heredity and environmental positions draw support from different ideologies and research findings, The heredity position is supported by the behavioral genetic studies of twin reared apart, findings that adopted adult children a more likely to resemble their biological parent than their adoptive parent in intelligence, and research that demonstrates the disproportionate numbers of high IQ children found among high IQ parents.
Human abilities and human differences have a genetic base. In contrast, the environmental view is supported by research that indicates the ways that fluctuations in individual IQ and differences among groups of students (i.e., students from economically rich vs., deprived schools) can be understood by looking at factors in the students' environment. Another example demonstrates the influence of the environment is the particularly troubling data indicating the decline in girls IQ points during adolescence. ( Anastasi, A. (1979)................
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