PSYB32H3 Lecture 2: PSYB20 Lec 2
Document Summary
Major studies used by researchers: twin studies, adoption studies. Take identical twins who were separated at birth or early in life and were raised in different environments. Limitations: very small sample, rare or difficult to find identical twins separated, lack of control of circumstances, clear interpretations are hard to obtain, these limitations are hard to overcome. Limitations: only useful if researchers can obtain information from adoptive and biological, notion of selective placement parents, which may not always be the case. The tendency of adoption agencies to select adoptive parents who match the biological parents" characteristics. Sometimes they even select adoptive parents who are related ot hte child in some way: homogeneity of adoptive homes. Adoptive homes tend to be above average; more or less privileged in certain factors, so adoptive homes are usually homogeneous. The lower the variability to a variable, the less likely they will correlate with other variables.
