Tools for Critical Thinking in Biology by Jenkins Stephen H.;

Author:Jenkins, Stephen H.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 2014-02-20T16:00:00+00:00

Nature, Nurture, and the Complexity of Causation

These challenges of interpreting assertions about heritability of IQ and other human traits illustrate some aspects of the complexity of causation in understanding nature and nurture. One reason for these challenges is that we can’t do experiments with humans like we can with other animals and plants. These experiments include selective breeding, cross-fostering, and common-garden experiments in which genetic and environmental effects are separated experimentally, allowing credible estimates of heritability for certain traits. They also allow researchers to study an important complexity of causation that we’ve ignored so far—interactions between genes and environments. I’ll set the stage for discussing genotype-environment interactions by describing a recent study of small birds called zebra finches to illustrate one experimental approach to studying nature and nurture. Then I’ll describe a different experimental approach with plants to illustrate a genotype-environment interaction, then two non-experimental studies of humans that suggest genotype-environment interactions.

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