DNA.

The authors predict that in a few years, many areas of psychology will be awash in specific genes responsible for the widespread influence of genetics on behavior. As the focus shifts from finding genes (genomics) to understanding how genes affect behavior (behavioral genomics), it is important for the future of psychology as a science that pathways between genes and behavior be examined not only at the molecular biological level of cells or the neuroscience level of the brain but also at the psychological level of analysis. After a brief overview of quantitative genetic research, the authors describe how genes that influence complex traits like behavioral dimensions and disorders in human and nonhuman animals are being found. Finally, the authors discuss behavioral genomics and predict that DNA will revolutionize psychological research and treatment early in the 21st century. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Under the Skin: On the Impartial Treatment of Genetic and Environmental Hypotheses of Racial Differences.

Environmental and genetic explanations have been given for Black-White racial differences in intelligence and other traits. In science, viable, alternative hypotheses are ideally given equal Bayesian prior weights; but this has not been true in the study of racial differences. This article advocates testing environmental and genetic hypotheses of racial differences as competing hypotheses. Two methods are described: (a) fitting means within structural equation models and (b) predicting means of interracial children. These methods have limitations that call for improved research designs of racial differences. One improvement capitalizes on biotechnology. Genetic admixture estimates--the percentage of genes of European origin that a Black individual possesses (independent of genes related to skin coloration)--can represent genetic influences. The study of interracial children can be improved by increasing sample size and by choosing family members who are most informative for a research question. Eventually, individual-admixture estimates will be replaced by molecular genetic tests of alleles of those genes that influence traits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological testing and assessment in the 21st century.

As spin-offs of the current revolution in the cognitive and neurosciences, clinical neuropsychologists in the 21st century will be using biological tests of intelligence and cognition that record individual differences in brain functions at the neuromolecular, neurophysiologic, and neurochemical levels. Assessment of patients will focus more on better use of still intact functions, as well as rehabilitating or bypassing impaired functions, than on diagnosis, as is the focus today. Better developed successors to today's scales for assessing personal competency and adaptive behavior, as well as overall quality of life, also will be in wide use in clinical settings. With more normal individuals, use of new generations of paper-and-pencil inventories, as well as biological measures for assessing differences in interests, attitudes, personality styles, and predispositions, is predicted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Book Review: g, Jensen, and the Science of Mental Ability.

Reviews the book "The scientific study of general intelligence: Tribute to Arthur R. Jensen" edited by H. Nyborg (2003). The book's first section is comprised of only one chapter, authored by the late John B. Carroll. In it, he re-analyzes Woodcock-Johnson-R Cognitive and Achievement data sets, and defends the psychometric argument for g--namely that it pervades almost all tests that measure cognitive ability and is the main cause for these tests' positive correlations with each other. The next section, entitled the "Biology of g," concentrates on the neurological and genetic correlates of g, but also houses two chapters on mental chronometry. Two chapters deal with the once controversial topic of brain size and g, a topic Jensen has meticulously researched and authored. The third section of this book deals with the most controversial aspect of Jensen's work, that of group differences. The book's next section concentrates on how g is a part of everyday life. The penultimate section deals with various reservations about g. The last two chapters on g are thoughts on why people ignore the concept of g. The reviewer notes that most of the chapters are well-written, supported with data, easy to follow, and make significant contributions to the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nativism versus neuroconstructivism: Rethinking the study of developmental disorders.

This article argues that one dominant position in psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy about how genetic disorders point to the innate specification of dissociated modules in the human brain should be replaced by a dynamic, neuroconstructivist approach in which genes, brain, cognition, and environment interact multidirectionally. The article challenges current thinking about a series of questions: (a) Do significantly better scores in one domain necessarily indicate an intact module? (b) What do scores in the normal range suggest? (c) What is wrong with mental-age matching? (d) Why is the notion of an intact module unlikely? (e) Do developmental disorders suggest associations rather than dissociations? (f) Is the environment the same for atypically developing individuals? The article concludes by examining the implications of taking a neuroconstructivist approach and by arguing that human intelligence is not a state (i.e., not a collection of static, built-in modules that can be intact or impaired) but a process (i.e., the emergent property over developmental time of dynamic, multidirectional interactions between genes, brain, cognition, behavior, and environment) with domain-specific outcomes impossible without the process of development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of predictors of success on NCLEX-RN for African American, foreign-born, and white baccalaureate graduates

Research into the biological bases of human intelligence differences is surveyed. Work on brain event-related potentials (ERPs) suggests that people with high IQ test scores: (1) show faster responses in some test conditions; (2) have ERP waveforms that can be distinguished from those of people with lower IQs; and (3) might have less variability in their ERPs. People with higher psychometric intelligence have, on average, larger brains, and possibly faster neural conduction speed. A few small functional brain-scanning studies suggest that, in healthy individuals, people who are of higher IQ have lower cerebral metabolic rates during mentally active conditions. This has led to the speculation that brighter people have more efficient brains. Despite some well-replicated findings in the search for the 'biology of human intelligence' there is a dearth of explanatory accounts to link cognitive performance differences with variance in brain mechanisms.     

DNA reorganization and biological aging. A review

Biological aging is a fundamental process observed in almost all living beings. It is characterized by a progressive impairment of biological systems leading to an increase in age-related mortality. The understanding of the mechanisms of aging is of particular interest not only from a general point of view, but it has wide implications for both the human individual and society. Specifically, understanding the basic mechanisms leading to human aging will certainly provide novel strategies to deal with the many different and severe age-related diseases (e.g., different types of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular diseases) and can be expected to increase the quality of life in old age significantly. Despite this obvious significance, it is amazing how little is known about the basis of aging. Currently, it is not clear whether there exists a single conserved mechanism by which all biological systems age, nor is it clear whether or not such a mechanism accounts for aging in a single species. However, beside these and many other open issues, it is clear today that there is a genetic component of aging. It is also clear that age-dependent changes of genetic information play an important role. The processes leading to the observed age-related accumulation of DNA alterations is dependent on two major factors: the rate at which the alterations occur and the ability of the biological system to repair them. In addition, there are a number of different types of DNA alterations known. One group of changes are unspecific and occur randomly. Other alterations result from the differential activity of specific genetic traits (e.g., age-related genes, mobile genetic elements). Moreover, DNA changes may be subtle, occurring at the nucleotide level, or may include larger regions of the genetic information. In this review we focus on the latter type of age-related DNA reorganizations. We will refer to reorganizations which are of special relevance in different biological systems.     

Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns.

Presents findings of a task force established by the American Psychological Association to report on the issues of what is known and unknown about intelligence. Significant conceptualizations of intelligence are reviewed, including the psychometric approach, theories of multiple forms of intelligence, cultural variations, theories of developmental progressions, and biological approaches. The meaning of intelligence test scores, what they predict, and how well they predict intelligence is discussed. Genetic factors and intelligence, focusing on individual differences, conventional IQ tests, and other tests intended to measure cognitive ability, are described. Environmental factors such as social and biological variables are discussed, and sex and ethnic group differences are addressed. Recommendations for future research are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and psychopathology: Genetic perspectives.

Genetic factors exert an important influence on adult personality traits, accounting for anywhere between 30–60% of the variance. Heredity is also important for most forms of psychopathology and plays a major role in several theories that relate personality to psychopathology. Despite this, there has been surprisingly little multivariate genetic research reported on joint analyses of personality and psychopathology. The small amount of available data suggests that genes may account for over 50% of the observed correlation between neuroticism and state symptoms of anxiety and depression. The mechanisms behind such strong genetic correlations are crucial for understanding the causal relationship between a personality trait and a disorder because genetically influenced biological systems may operate as exogenous "3rd-party" factors that are responsible for what appear to be phenotypic cause–effect relationships. How recent analytical advances in behavior genetics can use multivariate family data to address questions about the causal role of personality in psychopathology is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Heritability and biological explanation

Modern neuroscientific and genetic technologies have provoked intense disagreement between scientists who envision a future in which biogenetic theories will enrich or even replace psychological theories, and others who consider biogenetic theories exaggerated, dehumanizing, and dangerous. Both sides of the debate about the role of genes and brains in the genesis of human behavior have missed an important point: All human behavior that varies among individuals is partially heritable and correlated with measurable aspects of brains, but the very ubiquity of these findings makes them a poor basis for reformulating scientists' conceptions of human behavior. Materialism requires psychological processes to be physically instantiated, but more crucial for psychology is the occasional empirical discovery of behavioral phenomena that are specific manifestations of low-level biological variables. Heritability and psychobiological association cannot be the basis for establishing whether behavior is genetic or biological, because to do so leads only to the banal tautology that all behavior is ultimately based in the genotype and brain.     

Individual differences in executive functions are almost entirely genetic in origin.

Recent psychological and neuropsychological research suggests that executive functions--the cognitive control processes that regulate thought and action--are multifaceted and that different types of executive functions are correlated but separable. The present multivariate twin study of 3 executive functions (inhibiting dominant responses, updating working memory representations, and shifting between task sets), measured as latent variables, examined why people vary in these executive control abilities and why these abilities are correlated but separable from a behavioral genetic perspective. Results indicated that executive functions are correlated because they are influenced by a highly heritable (99%) common factor that goes beyond general intelligence or perceptual speed, and they are separable because of additional genetic influences unique to particular executive functions. This combination of general and specific genetic influences places executive functions among the most heritable psychological traits. These results highlight the potential of genetic approaches for uncovering the biological underpinnings of executive functions and suggest a need for examining multiple types of executive functions to distinguish different levels of genetic influences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Searching for justice: The discovery of IQ gains over time.

Humane-egalitarian ideals, whose aims are group justice and reducing environmental inequality and privilege, must be tested against reality, as revealed by psychology and other social sciences. Four issues are addressed: the equation between IQ and intelligence, whether group potential is determined by a group's mean IQ, whether the Black–White IQ gap is genetic, and the meritocratic thesis that genes for IQ will become highly correlated with class. Massive IQ gains over time test the IQ–intelligence equation, reveal groups who achieve far beyond their mean IQs, and falsify prominent arguments for a genetic racial IQ gap. Class IQ trends suggest America is not evolving toward a meritocracy, but a core refutation of that thesis is needed and supplied. Finally, the viability of humane ideals is assessed against a worst-case scenario. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Human abilities in cultural context.

Reviews the book, Human abilities in cultural context by S. H. Irvine and J. W. Berry (see record 1988-98683-000). The three main sections of this book provide a contemporary and historical survey of theory and research in the three areas that have dominated the study of the nature and measurement of intelligence; namely, the cognitive information-processing, Piagetian, and psychometric perspectives. Readers have become accustomed to books which express cither the biological or the sociocultural point of view on intelligence. Although the present volume is on human abilities in cultural context, the editors should be congratulated tor attracting authors who represent both the biological and sociocultural perspectives. This comprehensive collection of reviews will be a basic reference for students and researchers in cognition for many years to come. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational transfer of individual differences in hereditary monarchs: Genetic, role-modeling, cohort, or sociocultural effects?

342 hereditary monarchs were drawn from 14 European nations. Ss, along with their parents, grandparents, and predecessors, were then assessed on the variables of intelligence, morality, eminence, leadership, life span, and reign span. Theoretically significant interaction effects were also operationalized, using such moderator variables as genetic relationship, years of overlap in lives, age difference, difference in reign midpoints, and sex. The intergenerational transfer of intelligence and life span was best explained by genetics, whereas the transfer of morality and eminence was governed by role-modeling processes. The remaining variables were either transferred by more complex mechanisms (leadership) or not transferred at all from one generation to the next (reign span). Results contradict both F. A. Woods's (1906) belief that morality is genetically inherited and F. Galton's (1869) argument that eminence can serve as a nearly equivalent proxy variable for intellectual genius. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of Neuropsychological tests to predict adult patients' everyday functioning

Discusses the role of testing in (a) delineating the behavioral consequences of brain lesions and (b) predicting the likely impact of such ability deficits on everyday functioning. The available studies that relate neuropsychological test scores to aspects of self-care and independent living, academic achievement, and vocational functioning are reviewed. Results are generally positive, but the clinical value of these studies is limited by the fact that most used only intelligence or screening tests with S groups that were not very representative of the patient population referred for neuropsychological testing. Methodological considerations for future research are discussed, in addition to the potential advantages of clinical over actuarial prediction in this area. To illustrate this type of clinical interpretation and suggest hypotheses for future research, it is described how results on comprehensive neuropsychological testing can be considered in relation to questions about patients' everyday functioning. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genes, free will, and criminal responsibility

Advances in human genetics have raised the possibility that genetic mechanisms can explain various aspects of human behavior. It has been suggested that such genetic explanations would tend to diminish responsibility for one's actions. In this paper I argue that the genetic approach adds little to our understanding of free will, determinism, and responsibility. Even though human beings are material systems obeying the laws of the physical and biological sciences, their behavior may still be unpredictable and essentially undetermined. Moreover, with few exceptions, behavior influenced by genes is no more deterministic than is behavior influenced by the environment. An analysis of the genetic and environmental influences and the complex interactions between them reveals a certain symmetry between genetic and environmental explanations of behavior. Consequently, any argument concerning the relevance of a genetic excuse to a criminal defense will be equally applicable to an environmental excuse.     

On the growth of intelligence.

Data from the Berkeley Growth Study pertaining to the development of intelligence as measured by tests, and some related material, are reviewed. The concept of IQ constancy, prediction of later intelligence scores from infancy scores, and problems encountered in constructing curves of growth in intelligence, are some of the topics discussed. An age curve of intelligence from birth to 50 years, based on data of 3 studies, is proposed and graphically represented. "This curve is offered as an alternative to previously published age-curves of intelligence." It is hoped that further research will refine, modify, and extend it into a more complete and accurate representation of intellectual changes over the entire span of life. 31 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal intelligence expressed: A theoretical analysis.

An individual's cumulative life decisions help determine that person's well-being. To make good decisions requires knowing something about who one is and who one wants to be. It seems plausible that personality may draw on a specifically tailored intelligence that supports its own self-understanding and contributes to such life decisions. This personal intelligence (PI) helps the individual meet his or her own personal needs and to fit in with (or stand out from) the environment. What are people high in PI actually like relative to those lower in the skills? Drawing on a 2008 theory of PI-related abilities, the author reviews several literatures to examine what features distinguish the behavior of people high in PI from those lower in such skills. The feature list sets the stage for future research in distinguishing high-PI individuals from low-PI individuals according to their life expressions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental retardation: Some conceptions and dilemmas.

Uncertainties about causes, expression, and treatment of mental retardation will not yield to simplistic unidimensional models that fail to take into account a vast array of dynamically interacting biological, social, and ecological variables. Issues concerning mental retardation cut across major conceptual dilemmas that have long confronted psychology, biology, and sociology: What is the nature of intelligence? To what extent can environment influence outcome? What level of theoretical construction will produce our most useful bases for social policy? The problems are complex: The solutions can be no less. The time has come to develop a new definition of mental retardation, accompanied by reliable methods to assess and classify children's intellectual and social competence in relation to a valid taxonomy of environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)