The Bouchard twin study, also known as the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, is a landmark study in the field of behavioral genetics. Conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota in the 1990s, the study aimed to investigate the extent to which differences in human traits and behaviors are due to genetics, as opposed to environmental influences.
The study was led by Dr. Thomas J. Bouchard Jr. and his team, who recruited twins who had been separated at birth and raised in different households. By studying identical twins, who share the same genetic makeup, and fraternal twins, who share only about 50% of their genes, the researchers were able to isolate the effects of genetics and compare them to the effects of the environment.
The researchers found that many traits and behaviors, including intelligence, personality, and even political views, were significantly influenced by genetics. In particular, the study found that genetics played a significant role in intelligence, with identical twins showing much greater similarity in IQ scores than fraternal twins.
The study also found that genetics played a role in personality traits such as extraversion and neuroticism, with identical twins showing greater similarity in these traits than fraternal twins. However, the researchers noted that environmental influences also played a role in shaping personality, with twins who were raised in similar environments showing greater similarity in personality traits than those who were raised in different environments.
Overall, the Bouchard twin study provided strong evidence for the importance of genetics in shaping human traits and behaviors. However, the researchers also emphasized that the environment plays a significant role in shaping these traits, and that the relationship between genetics and the environment is complex and multifaceted.
The Bouchard twin study has had a significant impact on the field of behavioral genetics and has helped to deepen our understanding of the role that genetics and the environment play in shaping human behavior. It has also sparked ongoing debate and research on the subject, with many scientists continuing to study the relationship between genetics and the environment in an effort to better understand how they interact to influence human development.
“Sources of Human Psychological Differences: The Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart” (1990), by Thomas J. Bouchard Jr, David T. Lykken, Matthew McGue, Nancy L. Segal and Auke Tellegen
Its findings have contributed to our understanding of the role of genetics in shaping human behavior and characteristics, and have sparked further research in this area. Zygosity diagnosis is based on extensive serological comparisons, fingerprint ridge count, and anthropometric measurements. Raven, Mill-Hill, and composite data from Minnesota twin studies 6, 42. Lykken, Matthew McGue, Nancy L. The authors do not mention any details about the questions they asked twins during those examinations.
Bouchard et al. (1990): Minnesota Twin Study (Genetic Simillarities) Flashcards
Eribaum, New York, 1989 , vol. What can we learn from identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly? The authors state that they recruited the twins in several ways. Results: The researchers found that the group of participants in the changed schema group were able to recall 7 percent more points on the second test than on the first one. This finding and the failure to find Table 4. The heritability of a trait equals Vg; the heritability of the stable component of a trait for example, the mean value around which one's aggressiveness varies equals Vgl Vt -Vm. Whether sociobiologists can make evolutionary sense of the varieties of human genetic variation we have discussed here remains to be seen 41. The team conducted the study at the Bouchard and his colleagues conducted their study to determine the origin of individual differences in ability, personality, interest, and social attitudes.
(PDF) Bouchard 1990
Conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota in the 1980s, the study aimed to examine the role of genetics in human personality, intelligence, and other traits. Moloney, unpublished thesis University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1990. Finally, the authors state that genetic factors control the effects of environmental factors. According to the authors, the monozygotic reared apart twins showed similarities in behavior, interests, religion, and intelligence regardless of their rearing environment. Based on the 1990 Science findings seen in Table 1, Bouchard et al. Raven, Manual for Raven's Progressive Matrices and Vocabulary Scales Lewis, London, 1986. At the interface of behavioral genetics and sociobiology is the question of the origin and function, if any, of the within-species variability we have been discussing.