This paper considers the role of intelligence in lifetime achievement, noting the importance not only of general cognitive ability but also abilities not measured by standardized intelligence tests. It urges educators of the gifted to utilize their knowledge of intelligence and talent development to challenge the one-dimensional conception of…

This article describes three very different family environments that nurtured highly gifted children: the Brontes, George Washington Carver, and a group of contemporary siblings in Wales. All cases illustrate the importance of early stimulating environments, including the dynamic interaction of children with nurturing adults, development of the…

Critiques ideas expressed by Gould in "The Mismeasure of Man." Agrees with Gould that many scientists who studied human intelligence were racist, but disagrees that their work must therefore necessarily be dismissed. Disputes Gould's claim that factor analysts who study human intelligence have reified their factors and that factor…

This editorial provides an informal review of "The Bell Curve" (Herrnstein and Murray, 1994). The book, packaged as scientific writing, is an attack on affirmative action and on government attempts to foster egalitarianism. It is a political treatise that assumes that racial differences in intelligence are valid and genetic. (SLD)

Argues that the philosophical context noted in Haynes's "How Skewed Is 'The Bell Curve,'" is incomplete; that the Constitution does not treat blacks the same as whites; and that not enough cultural and social context was addressed. The authors characterize the "The Bell Curve" as a wrecking ball for dismantling social programs…

Agrees with Haynes' assessment of "The Bell Curve" as scientifically flawed research with adverse political implications and as pseudoscientifically representing racism. The author criticizes Haynes for not fully illuminating the dangerous implications (now occurring) for the well-being of blacks today and into the next century. (GR)

Discusses three themes important for the future progress of developmental psychology: (1) a focus on not only individuals, but also individuals in networks of relationships; (2) description as the first, but not the only, stage in the analysis of developmental processes; and (3) a multidisciplinary approach. (BC)

Considers assumptions underlying design of Bussell et al.'s Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development study. Suggests that a source of the common environment specific to this study is the effect of an individual in mutual ratings of relationship with siblings, leading to a larger common-environment effect across variables than within…

In response to Francis Dunlop's paper, the author rejects a priorist verdict on the nature/culture controversy and argues its importance in prescription, explores the logic of the nature/culture interaction in humans, relates differential biology to differing male and female interests, and explores options for modifying sex-stereotyping through…

This article examines implicit social and political assumptions underlying "The Bell Curve." The book's suggestion that there is increasing stratification between the "IQ haves" and the "IQ have-nots" is critiqued, noting that the social construction of reality is obscured in the book's schema. Sociologists and gifted…

Notes Halpern's general support for Casey's model. Addresses differences in Casey's and McKeever's findings on familial handedness and females' spatial ability by performing another experiment in which data are analyzed according to two different theoretical assumptions. Addresses the question of the heritability of handedness by noting that what…

The author of "The Learning Mystique: A Critical Look at Learning Disabilities," responds to critical and supportive reactions (EC 220 147-152) concerning the relevance of cited issues, the role of language, heritability, scientific criteria, poor reading versus true dyslexia, and the promise of his proposed interactivity theory. (DB)

In contrast to earlier notions, a systems view of an organism's development sees genes as only one component in a hierarchy of influences that produces finished traits and differentiation. Developmental canalization proceeds from genes, behavior, and environment as well as from the coaction of these factors. (BC)

Notes that psychologists' interest in behavioral development concerns individual differences in behavior. Explores complexities of genetic and environmental determination of development, and of canalization. Intelligence is considered as an example of the canalization of human behavior. (BC)

Described is an ongoing study of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, separated in infancy and reared apart. Discussed are the procedures and results of this study with interpretations of the results. The effects of parenting, education, and other interventions are considered. (CW)