This book examines socialization science, which is the empirical effort to understand how children acquire traits from their families and cultures. This work proposes that one part of the family influence process--broad differences in family environments, except for those that are neglectful, abusive, or without opportunity--may exert little…

One of the most notable findings in contemporary behavior genetics is that children growing up in the same family are not very similar. The nine chapters in this book examine the contribution of genetics, shared environment, and nonshared environment to development. Chapters include: (1) "Behavioral Genetic Evidence for the Importance of…

Noting that beyond the individual variations among humans, there is a body of mental abilities common to every human being, this book examines the debate among researchers about the extent to which humans are "preprogrammed," and suggests a new scientific psychology of human development. By examining experimental data obtained from…

This paper identifies and analyzes some of the arguments employed by those who feel that "we have done enough" for the less fortunate members of society, who wish to curtail or end Federal involvement in social change, and who have lost sight of the dual goals of individualism and equality of opportunity. These arguments fall roughly into three…

Based on the view that individual variability is best understood as the result of influences from multiple domains operating over time, this book describes how different domains of influence operate, describes the operating processes in common to the different influences, and shows how these processes meet the criteria for a full-fledged system.…