Critiques an environmentalist view of the effects of nature and nurture on behavior. Argues for an interactionist position in which nature and nurture are totally and inextricably involved in each and every organismic response. (MP)

Critically reviews literature relevant to the hypothesis that a major X-linked gene determines spatial ability in man. It is concluded that belief in the validity of the hypothesis is unfounded. (Author/SS)

Examined the effects of gender on academic achievement for 138 mono- and 125 dizygotic twin pairs, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years. Results suggested that individual differences in academic achievement may be more influenced by genetic than environmental variance in females, and by environmental than genetic variance in males. (BC)

Identified subjects' handedness and family handedness (genetic variables) and college major (environmental variable); and tested subjects on the Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test. Found that right-handed females with non-right-handed relatives and with science or math majors outperformed other females and equaled the performance of males on the…

Identifies three main strengths of Casey's spatial ability model, but notes that a study by McKeever found different results concerning the relationship between familial handedness and females' mental rotation ability. Considers the use of a familial handedness measure to be a weakness of the model because handedness might not be an inherited…

The research results indicate that, although sex differences in mathematical abilities are not pronounced before high school, for some reason by the end of that period boys do better than girls in mathematical computation and problem solving. Environmental and biological explanations, intervention strategies and further research needs are…

Evidence on the poorer spatial visualization ability in various Negro populations compared to the White populations and on the direction and magnitude of sex differences in spatial ability relative to other abilities suggests the genetic hypothesis that spatial ability is enhanced by a sex-linked recessive gene and that, since the 20-30 percent…

Examined changes in intelligence in Negro children at ages 4 and 7 as a function of sex, home stability and educational level of their parents. Results were interpreted as supporting an interaction hypothesis concerning the relative effects of heredity and environment on intelligence. (DP)

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…

An analysis of intelligence quotient (IQ) in relation to head size was performed on about 14,000 children aged 4 and 7 years, almost equally divided by race (white and black) and sex. Correlation between head size (by inference, brain size), and IQ is established as a within-families correlation. (SLD)

This paper examines evidence supporting the hypothesis that environment differentially affects intelligence in a sex-specific manner. The current position that environment and heredity contribute interactively to intelligence obscures the greater vulnerability and exposure of males to environmental influences and the reciprocal lack of equivalent…

Explores differences between males and females and their manifestation in biology and culture. Cultures differ, not in whether they cope with the socialization of males to invest in child rearing, but in how they deal with this problem. Issues of gender and power and gender and child rearing are discussed. (SLD)

This paper deals with the issue of black-white differences in cognitive skills. Some authorities attribute these differences to differences in the environments of black and white homes. Others state that the differences are due to differences in genes, i.e., heredity. Scholars holding these two opposing views have become more or less entangled in…

This longitudinal study investigated hereditary and environmental influences on life situation, self-reported health, and coping ability at mid-life in relation to background factors collected during adolescence. A nationally representative Swedish sample comprised of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins; a control group of singletons was…