Twin Research

10 Pages 2474 Words

Raymond J. Corsini provides us with a somewhat more simplistic
definition of the term intelligence. According to Corsini (1984) the term
intelligence can be employed to indicate the amount of knowledge available and
the rapidity with which new knowledge is acquired; the ability to adapt to new
situations and to handle concepts, relationships, and abstract symbols.
While the heredity/environment topic continues to be a controversial
issue, a great deal of evidence has been gathered to support both arguments.
In order to investigate the topic of nature/nurture it is important to
consider a variety of research elements. Among these elements are some of the
most relevant issues pertaining to this subject including: twin, adoption,
family, orphanage life, IQ, and race studies. It is to these studies we will
now turn our attention.

TWIN STUDIES

The importance of twin studies is evident if we look at the studies
objectively, if intelligence is basically hereditary, identical twins who have
the same genetic legacy, should be concordant for that trait than are fraternal
twins, which are no more alike genetically than other siblings.
Burt's (1958) famous study show that the intelligence test scores of
identical twins, whether reared together or apart , display considerably higher
correlation than the scores of fraternal twins.
Burt's work is currently viewed with caution due to the manner in which
he gathered and interpreted his data (Vernon, 1979). However, Burt's research
provides an important foundation for this research.
Jone's study (1946) shows that there is a modest difference in the
intelligence test scores of twins reared apart, and the more divergent the
environments, the greater the difference.

“While environmental factors are important in raising or lowering a
child's level of intellectual performance, these studies demonstrate that they
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