Nature and Nurture The Complex Interplay of Genetic and Environmental Influences on Human Behavior and Development

What does it mean to find a gene or set of genes that are associated with ADHD, schizophrenia, or autism? Could we eradicate such diseases from our species through gene therapy? Is it possible to eradicate from our genome the genetic material that predisposes us to be too aggressive, too shy, less intelligent, or not active enough? Who has the political power and/or moral authority to make these decisions?

The premise of Nature and Nurture is that the complexity of the transactions between nature and nurture--between genes and the environment from the cellular to the cultural level--make these questions incredibly complex and in need of careful attention by educators, scientists, the public, and policymakers. A product of the conference held at Brown University in 2001, this book suggests that genes and environments work together interactively in a complex and closely intertwined fashion. The contributors to this book--biologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and economists--present knowledge that enables research and application to transcend the traditional question of whatever variance or significance is attributed to genetics versus environment in the development of a particular behavioral trait.

This book presents a variety of views on the current status of knowledge about the ways in which dynamic, developmental, mutually interactive systems in the genetic and environmental domains operate. The chapters represent contributions from different perspectives.

Contents: S.E. Hyman, Foreword. Preface. C. García Coll, E.L. Bearer, R.M. Lerner, Introduction: Nature and Nurture in Human Behavior and Development: A View of the Issues. R.M. Lerner, Genes and the Promotion of Positive Human Development: Hereditarian Versus Developmental Systems Perspectives. S.J. Suomi, How Gene-Environment Interactions Influence Emotional Development in Rhesus Monkeys. M.B. Spencer, V. Harpalani, Nature, Nurture, and the Question of "How?": A Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory. A. Fausto-Sterling, Commentary. G. Gottlieb, Normally Occurring Environmental and Behavioral Influences on Gene Activity: From Central Dogma to Probabilistic Epigenesis. R. Rende, Beyond Heritability: Biological Process in Social Context. J. Hirsch, Uniqueness, Diversity, Similarity, Repeatability, and Heritability. L. Braun, Commentary. W.T. Dickens, J.L. Cohen, Instinct and Choice: A Framework for Analysis. E.L. Bearer, Behavior as Influence and Result of the Genetic Program: Non-kin Rejection, Ethnic Conflict, and Issues in Global Health Care. W.F. Overton, Embodied Development: Ending the Nativism-Empiricism Debate. C. García Coll, E.L. Bearer, R.M. Lerner, Conclusions: Beyond Nature Versus Nurture to More Complex, Relational, and Dynamic Developmental Systems.