Summary:
In Sources of Human Psychological Differences: The Minnesota Study of Twins Reared
Apart the group of research wanted to study effects of twins/triplets—directly related as
genetic formation is monozygotic (1 sperm and 1 egg forms two or three children). The
group wanted to see effects of environments and genetics to determine the effects, even
though monozygotic twins and triplets are the same, on our development – are we similar?
The study-sampled twins ranging from no contact to continuous contact, which leaves out
bias and allows for a more general look at environmental effects on twins separated at
birth. In a test of environmental effects on the inference quotient (IQ), they discovered that
a heritability factor counts for the small range in differences amongst IQ scores in
monozygotic twins. A second focus point of the study was living environment, and again,
separated twins in adoption agencies fill out living surveys and, typically, their surveys
produce results that suggest living in the same type of household – coincidence? The final
focal point of the study was to create some type of definition as to why monozygotic twins,
considering different environmental factors due to separation, are similar. Heritability of
the same exact genome, due to one sperm and one egg, accounts for all factors observed in
research – IQ, societal and home environments, and psychological similarities.
Relationship:
Considering the diversity of this introductory course, I feel as if this article has helped
reinforce three topics discussed during class – research methods, genetics, and
development. Research methods, being a scholarly-based research article, clearly helped in
