Question

The correlation of traits between twins raised apart is often considered a powerful argument that genetics as opposed to the environment is responsible for expression of the shared trait.While this reasoning may provide valuable insight into the role of genetics as opposed to environment in the control of behavior, serious caution should be taken to not jump to a causative statement. Correlations provide evidence of associations but are not appropriate grounds for implied causation.

In thinking about the short article below discussing Jim Springer and Jim Lewis, please discuss several factors which help support the above statement

Please answer in 200 words or less

Answer 1

Give me a dozen well-formed babies and I’ll raise them in my own environment and make them whoever you want them to become such as doctors, engineers etc. – James Watson. Watson was completely taking the environment into consideration while interpreting the development of a child. Although genetics play a major role in determining the development direction of a child, in my opinion, it’s environment that plays the most important role in shaping the child’s behaviours.

Let’s take the simple example of children of migrants who came to the US with all their traits. The way they have transformed themselves in terms of language, culture, behaviours etc. They don’t even remember the slightest things about their life style back in their respective countries because the environment where they grew has influenced them to become what they are today. People who were introvert have become extroverts when they were among the individualistic societies because they were free from their genetic and cultural predisposition.

This is true to mostly the children and not the adults because unlearning and relearning becomes very difficult for adults but children do well in adopting to a new environment thus conditioning themselves to the environment to the fullest possible extent. This they do in order to survive because it’s all about survival of the fittest and not the strongest.