The study of twins / Peter Mittler.

  • Mittler, Peter J.
Date:
[1971]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: The study of twins / Peter Mittler. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    18 Introduction niques and try to identify genetic components at increasingly molecular levels of behaviour. Our twin subjects are likely to be studied at an earlier stage; psychologists have in recent years discovered rich fields for research in the newborn baby and the very young child, and learned that the neonate is already equipped with surprisingly mature perceptual skills. Complex methods for studying the behaviour of newborns have been developed, and these will in all probab¬ ility be used with twins who have until now been studied by psychologists only when they were able to tackle intelligence tests. The advantage of studying newborn twins is obvious, even though they have already been subjected to 'environ¬ mental' influences for nine months in utero. Considerable advances can also be expected from the development of more sophisticated statistical techniques for the analysis of data derived not only from twins but from family and pedigree studies. In particular, multivariate methods of analysis and the use of specially prepared com¬ puter programs will enable large quantities of material to be analysed with the complexity which the subject un¬ doubtedly deserves. Some of the older twin studies are already being re-analysed by means of modern biometrie techniques derived from quantitative genetics; one of the happier results of such collaboration is that geneticists and psychologists who once had so many interests in common will again learn to combine their skills in the design of new investigations. This book will try to provide a framework within which the reader can critically evaluate the many studies which have been conducted on twins. A short book, such as this, cannot cover exhaustively such an extensive literature, but even a limited review of some of the more important studies can contribute to a critical appraisal of the assets and de¬ ficits of the twin method. Such a framework should prove useful in considering current and future trends. It is important to stress at the outset that headings such as 'perception', 'intelligence', 'personality', 'psychosis' are merely convenient for the purpose of classifying wealth of