SantiagoArangoEssay#2 Essays - Branches Of Biology,

March 5th , 2019 Santiago Arango 098305 Essay 2 The Twins Raised Apart project was a study done at the University of Minnesota to discern what roles genes played in the twin's personality and behavior. It began in 1979 by researcher T.J. Bouchard, he identified twins who were raised separate and brought them together years later. Many twins despite being raised apart had a large amount of similarities. The Jim Twins are the most common example used for this study, it shows just how much of their genetics played into their personality. Unbeknownst to them they chose to go to the same places when they got older despite being raised in different locations . T his led to the conclusion that their differences came from being raised apart , meaning their genes is what accounted for their similarities . The study showed that 50% of their personalities were due to genetics and the other 50% was due to the environment they were raised in. Both aspects of their surroundings and genetics equally influenced their personalities revealing that neither one had more influence over the other . Studies were also done on adopted children to find out how much the environment and genetics influenced their intelligence . The adoptive parents represented the nurture side and the biological parents display ed the nature side. The results showed that before the adopted children reach ed the age of 16, the ir intelligence was like their adoptive parents, but after that age they start becoming like their biological parents in terms of intelligence . This implies that some of the genes associated with intelligence do not show their effects on behaviour till at a later stage of human development. When comparing both studies of adoptive children to the twin studies it shows that the environment accounts for more differences than similarities. Even if the children all grew up around the same place their individual experiences will still be different. Another similarity is of course that both nurtu re and nature equally influence d the children's intelligence and behaviour. While others might argue one over the other , it is certain that they both have an important role in human personalities.