The biometrical school of scientists who fit models to IQ data traces their intellectual ancestry to R. Fisher (1918), but their genetic models have no predictive value. Fisher himself was critical of the concept of heritability, because assortative mating, such as for IQ, introduces complexities into the study of a genetic trait. (SLD)

Reviews "Rethinking Innateness: A Connectionist Perspective on Development" by Elman and others (1996). Maintains that the authors argue forcefully that the nature-nurture conflict is a false dichotomy and that they present convincing existence on the possibility of qualitative change. Argues that the authors do not succeed in proposing…

Discussion of the nature/nurture controversy in giftedness concludes that giftedness has a strong hereditary basis that is greatly influenced by educational experiences. The importance of the affective domain is also stressed. Some specific suggestions are offered to help students nurture themselves and to help parents and teachers nurture others.…

Examined relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences to the covariation between sibling relationships and mother/adolescent relationships in 719 same-sex sibling pairs of varying degrees of genetic relatedness. Found that the overlapping effects of shared environment on the two relationship subsystems explained most of the…

The introduction to this special issue on nature-nurture interactions notes that the following articles represent five biologically oriented research approaches which each provide a tutorial on the investigator's major research tool, a summary of current research understandings regarding language and learning differences, and a discussion of…

The genetic and environmental contributions to the development of general cognitive ability throughout the first 16 years of life were examined using sibling data from the Colorado Adoption Project. Correlations were analyzed along with structural equation models to characterize the genetic and environmental influences on longitudinal stability…

Matt Ridley, an Oxford-trained zoologist and science writer whose latest book is "Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human" (2003a), wrote such an impressively clear and fascinating piece on "What Makes You Who You Are" that the author decided to use it to introduce the continuing pursuit of "What do I do to best promote…

This report presents data on 9-month-old twin pairs (n[MZ]=172; n[DZ]=333) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, demonstrating that the role of genetic variation among infants is trivial and the shared and nonshared environment is substantial in accounting for the observed quality of infant-caregiver relationships. In contrast, maternal…

In the latter part of last year a Macquarie University academic aroused outrage with his comments over the supposed links between race and criminality. For his colleagues and the union alike, the case provided a difficult example of the clash of shared academic values and the right to speak. Here four participants in the controversy-- from NTEU's…

Expanding on his definition of equality of educational opportunity, James Coleman suggests that it is important to connote the fact that the schools' task is to reduce the unequalizing impact of students' home and school environments. (Author/KM)

It is concluded that equality of endowment is a myth and that equality of opportunity presents a more realistic ideal to follow. (Author/KM)

Some of the key problems of educational equality -- equality of opportunities and inequality of performance; individual differences vs. group differences, coping with group inequality -- are made explicit. (Author/KM)

A critical review of Jensen's book which contains a reprint of the original controversial 1969 "Harvard Educational Review" article, 5 related articles by Jensen, and a bibliography of related articles. (EH)

Contends that some of the gravest problems that minorities face today have their origins in the mususe of science and technology. Describes the activities of eugenicists; the treatment of children labeled hyperkinetic, and the most recent techniques of "psycho-surgery" aimed at curbing violence in those labeled mentally ill. (Author)

Examines the modifiability and heritability of reflection-impulsivity as measured by Matching Familar Figures. A Cotwin control method was used to study the modifiability of reflection-impulsivity and a twin study to assess its heritability. (Author/DEP)