People have many misconceptions on studies that determine behavior, traits and psychopathology in relations to genetic influences. In this article some of those misconceptions are examined and dispelled.
1) Strong genetic effects mean that environmental influences must be unimportant
The fact of the matter is that even if we are discussing a trait or disorder that has strong genetic influence, environmental factors can have major impact on the level of the trait. For example, height is strongly genetically determined, yet nutritional factors have a very large effect on the actual height a person attains. Between 1900 and 1960, the average height of boys reared in London increased by 10 cm due to improved diets (Tizard, 1975).
2) Genes provide a limit to potential
The reality of the matter is that one’s potential can change if one’s environment changes. An example is that of children born to socially disadvantaged parents and adopted by socially privileged families. Studies show that such children have a men IQ of about 12 points higher than those reared in the socially disadvantaged environment ( Capron & Duyme, 1989; Plomin et al., 2001).
3) Genetic studies are of no value for studying environmental influences
Actually the opposite is true. Genetic research strategies provide critical tests of environmental influences on personality and psychopathology. For example monozygotic twins have identical genes, concordance rates of less than 100 percent illustrates the importance of environmental influences , particularly when the environment is not shared, (Bouchard & Loehin, 2001; Jang, 2005).
Read more: http://healthmad.com/mental-health/misconception-and-stereotypes-on-the-role-of-nature-nurture-and-psychopathology/#ixzz1KeGJ78JQ
1) Strong genetic effects mean that environmental influences must be unimportant
The fact of the matter is that even if we are discussing a trait or disorder that has strong genetic influence, environmental factors can have major impact on the level of the trait. For example, height is strongly genetically determined, yet nutritional factors have a very large effect on the actual height a person attains. Between 1900 and 1960, the average height of boys reared in London increased by 10 cm due to improved diets (Tizard, 1975).
2) Genes provide a limit to potential
The reality of the matter is that one’s potential can change if one’s environment changes. An example is that of children born to socially disadvantaged parents and adopted by socially privileged families. Studies show that such children have a men IQ of about 12 points higher than those reared in the socially disadvantaged environment ( Capron & Duyme, 1989; Plomin et al., 2001).
3) Genetic studies are of no value for studying environmental influences
Actually the opposite is true. Genetic research strategies provide critical tests of environmental influences on personality and psychopathology. For example monozygotic twins have identical genes, concordance rates of less than 100 percent illustrates the importance of environmental influences , particularly when the environment is not shared, (Bouchard & Loehin, 2001; Jang, 2005).
Read more: http://healthmad.com/mental-health/misconception-and-stereotypes-on-the-role-of-nature-nurture-and-psychopathology/#ixzz1KeGJ78JQ
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