The Limits of Family Influence: Genes, Experience, and Behavior

by David C. Rowe

Challenging firmly established assumptions about the influence of child rearing on the development of children's personalities and intelligence, this book contends that there has been too heavy an emphasis on the family as the bearer of culture. It draws from behavior genetic research to reveal how environmental variables such as social class, parental warmth, and one- versus two-parent households may be empty of causal influence on child outcomes. The book examines the theoretical basis of socialization science and describes, in great detail, what behavior genetic studies can teach us about environmental influence. In clear, accessible language, David C. Rowe critiques these basic assumptions and demonstrates how our reliance on them prevents us from fully comprehending personality development and the influence of different experiences. Structured to give evidence for this conclusion and to explore its many implications, the book first examines the theoretical basis of socialization science and then describes in great detail what behavior genetic studies can teach us about environmental influence.The volume opens with an overview of the weaknesses of socialization science, and immediately presents a blueprint for interpreting behavior genetic studies. Demonstrating the minimal effects of the family environment on personality, psychopathology, and human intelligence, the author persuasively argues that the measures we label as environmental, including social class, may actually hide genetic variation. He covers the lack of rearing influence on behavioral sex differences and finally, moving beyond empirical evidence to speculation, he considers why variation in family environment has so little effect on personality development.Taking a bold step toward a fuller understanding of child development, this text will be valuable for developmental psychologists, human development researchers, family sociologists, behavior geneticists, social scientists, and those with an interest in personality and development. It also serves as a text for graduate and undergraduate students of child development, personality, and behavior genetics.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Nonfiction, Genetics, Parenting

232 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 1993

Reviews

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

9.5/10.

The sloppy Joe of today loves to repeat the line that the poor are disadvantaged intellectually and academically because of their poverty. It's common sense, right? We have to give them money and scholarships, right? Especially if they are of a "historically disadvantaged" population! Such is the logic of the bureaucrat who siphons off the wealth from Europeans and other productive peoples to Oppressed Inc.

But what if it's not true? What if study after study shows that the above "logic" is just another fallacy made by the human mind? Note that intellectuals are especially apt to make these fallacies! Yet do not fear, for sociobiology and behavioral genetics have come to the rescue. They show us how human behavior and psychology are not wholly determined by the environment, but are strongly based upon genetics. Its reporters may get buckets of water dumped on them by their Marxist colleagues (E.O. Wilson), assaulted and stalked by Leninists (Arthur Jensen), or defamed after making great inventions/discoveries (William Shockley, James Watson), but the truth is the truth. Isn't Plato still read in school? Or maybe Orwell? Perhaps today's SJWs could learn a thing or two from Socrates or 1984!

What curious inquirers like David C. Rowe find is that intelligence and personality are caused by genes and individual environment, but not shared parental environment. In other words, any environment shared by siblings has less than 5% influence on both personality and intelligence. This includes neighborhood, socio-economic status, religion, school (if shared), and parental home. Think: studies show that all of these factors combined have almost no influence on a child's intelligence! That is quite the interesting finding!

Intelligence is around 70-80% heritable by adulthood, and personality is around 50-55% heritable by adulthood. >90% of the rest of the variance in intelligence and personality is due to individual experiences — friends, individual experience in the womb, books only you have read, or a nasty bike crash. Rowe covers the studies up to the mid 90s in this great introduction to behavioral genetics. I highly recommend this book as an introduction to heritability/behavioral genetics. It is good for all of those who believe the inane environmentalism which infuses our media and everyday conversations. Just as Socrates questioned the reigning social orthodoxies of his day, so must you question the physically and vocationally enforced orthodoxies of today. They may attack you, they may defame you, but their society built off of false premises will crumble.

[Sema Dural · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ebeveynlerin proje olarak gördükleri çocukları ilerleyen yaşlarda da proje olmaya devam etmekte sanki. Kendilerinin yaşamadıkları, yaşayamadıkları, kendi fikirleri, ihtiyaçları ve isteklerini çocuklarının ihtiyacıymışçasına onlara dayatmaları yetişkinlik ve daha ileri dönemlerde bile devam edebiliyor. Bu yüzden birey, kendi istekleri yerine başkalarını memnun etmek adına hareket ediyor ve kendinden çokça ödünler veriyor. Ebeveynlerin tatmin edilmemiş egolarının çocukları üzerinden tatmin edilmesi yaşam döngüsünün felaketi aslında.

[Emil O. W. Kirkegaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a good read. Findings have in general held up well. It reads like Pinker's Blank Slate, but much shorter and more technical.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

psychopathy is heritable. something to think about before you breed.