Human Intelligence
Twin Studies and the Acquisition of Human Intelligence
The question of nature vs. nurture has been a topic of conversation, a hotly debated issue and reason for researchers to gather copious amounts of material for thousands of years. Philosophers discussed whether a child was mainly constructed of inborn (nature) or learned/observed traits (nurture) before Alexander the Great had conquered anything. Nature refers what is commonly called genetics today; nurture, conversely, is what an individual picks up from the environment. Many have been in one camp or another, but only recently have scientists had the ability to truly assess which is more correct.
One facet of this study, that of intelligence, may be the single greatest issue of discussion among scientists and lay persons. Intelligence as nature has taken a beating in the public arena due to such publications as "The Bell Curve." Many did not appreciate the findings, especially along racial lines in the book, so it was dismissed. Scientists have also shown many areas where the authors used faulty evidence. But, this essay is concerned with what nature vs. nurture truly is, how the study relates to intelligence, and an evaluation of the competing evidence in the argument.
Some terms must first be defined prior for this investigation to begin. Much of the evidence examined relates to twin studies performed with what are typically referred to as identical and fraternal twins. In these scientific studies identical twins are termed monozygotic (MZ) or coming from a single egg, and di-zygotic (DZ) or coming from different eggs (Mackintosh, 1998, 71). The identical twins will be referred to as MZ and the fraternal twins as DZ. Another term, common in many studies, is correlation. Eric Gander (2003, 83) defines this term as "the degree of similarity between two variables."
Psychology, generally being considered the study of behavior rather than specific...
Sometimes, it is even necessary to carry out certain clandestine operations like deceptions, clandestine collection of information, covert actions, and also the carrying out of the exercise of distributing disinformation or misleading information, which would mislead the suspected threat. The United States Intelligence Community is, as stated earlier, made up a number of different agencies. The Central Intelligence Agency is one of these. Also known popularly as the CIA, this
In this Nature vs. Nurture essay example, we will offer topics, titles, an outline, and what it takes to make a great paper. We begin with a strong introduction and thesis statement, followed by body paragraphs that offer in depth analysis of the topics as well as current evidence. We end the essay with a succinct recap of everything under the conclusion section. In critical essays, the main thing to
Firstly, in Piagetian manner, the subject is confronted with a moral dilemma, that is, a short story in which two or more moral principles oppose each other. He or she is asked to make a choice. Secondly, the interviewer uses intensive probing, that is, why-questions, and questions which stimulate the respondent to consider varying situational contexts. Thirdly, stage scoring of interview is based on well conceived and meaningful measurement
K-12 Curriculum and Instruction: Changing Paradigms in the 21st Century This is not your grandfathers' economy or his educational paradigm however; today's curriculum still appears as such and therein lays a very significant and challenging problem that presents to today's educators and leaders. According to Sir Ken Robinson, "We have a system of education that is modeled on the interest of industrialism and in the image of it. Schools are still
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Influence of Genetics vs. Environment on Intelligence: This essay analyzes the degree to which intelligence is shaped by an individual's genetic makeup versus their environmental influences. It delves into various studies that dissect the heritability of IQ and how factors like education, socioeconomic status, and family upbringing contribute to cognitive development. 2. Behavioral Outcomes: Innate Temperament vs. Learned Responses: Focusing on
The children were scored in terms of whether they imitated the action that had been modeled for them as well as for the presence of any "errors" -- the introduction of actions not in the modeled behavior. The results were then subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. The researchers found, in contrast to previous similar research, that children with both conditions did not evidence any greater problems with either gross motor
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