Highlights a research study indicating that children can spontaneously impose linguistic structure on their communication, even in the absence of a conventional linguistic environment. Subjects (16- to 50-month-old deaf children) had normal social environments but severely restricted language environments because of their disability. (JN)

Provides an overview of a longitudinal, prospective, multivariate adoption study of behavioral development and discusses the results of analyses of cognitive measures and environmental assessments as examples of the types of information that can emerge from a design of this sort. (Author/RH)

Milkman (TM 504 643) accuses Arthur Jensen of misapplying heritability data in speculating on the causes of racial differences in intelligence test scores, and offers a method for illuminating Jensen's alleged error. It is contended in this article that Milkman has misconstrued Jensen's argument and that his method is without point. (Author/CTM)

Focuses on mental tests, test developers, and the social and historical context in which mental tests were developed in the United States and England. Suggests that the tests were produced in an intellectual and social climate heavily influenced by eugenicist theory and that more attention should be paid to research which casts doubts on the…

Refutes six common misconceptions about Piaget's theories, including their educational implications; Piaget's position on heredity v environment; and the relationships between developmental stages, age, and brain growth spurts. Condensed from "Impact on Instructional Improvement", Winter 1981, p7-11. (SJL)

This article reviews sex studies of children of cousin marriages and three studies of children of incestuous matings. It is argued that these studies, taken as a whole, provide no substantial evidence for an inbreeding depression effect within the polygenic system commonly asserted to determine IQ. (Author/DB)

Examines the evidence for sex differences in cognitive functioning, and evaluates the evidence for hormonal, genetic, neuroanatomical, and cultural determinants of such differences. Inadequacies in research methodology are noted. (Author/SS)

A 3D mental rotation task was used to measure spatial performance in boys and girls in Ghana and Scotland. Sex differences of equal magnitude appeared in both cultures. In light of these findings, the author discusses genetic and environmental theories of spatial ability and the problems in testing such skills. (SJL)

The special needs of gifted children are examined within the context of a democratic philosophy of education. (LH)

This article suggests that there are genetic and cultural factors which account for the difference in drinking patterns between Caucasian and Asian Americans. It is also suggested that Asian acculturation has an influence on this difference. (EB)

Research indicates that adopted children are disproportionately represented in child psychiatric populations, a finding variously attributed to ascertainment bias; adverse pre-, peri-, and post-natal environmental influences; and genetic factors. A literature review supports the view that adopted children are particularly prone to externalizing…

In "The End of Racism" Dinesh D'Souza proposes a theory of rational discrimination based on the recognition that there are vast civilizational differences between black and white Americans and states a case for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act because it actually harms black prospects. (SLD)

Conducted a trivariate genetic analysis of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME), Mental Development Index (MDI), and Task Orientation (TO). Found that for 101 nonadoptive and 92 adoptive sibling pairs at 12 and 24 months of age, TO explained the remaining genetic variance on the HOME not explained by the MDI. (MDM)