Читать книгу The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Childhood Social Development - Группа авторов - Страница 49

Darya Gaysina

Why are there differences in children’s social development even from the first weeks of their lives? Why can these differences be seen among children growing up in the same family? What are the origins of individual differences in social development, as well as in other behavioral traits? These are the main questions that behavioral geneticists try to address.

Nowadays, it is widely, even if not universally, accepted that individual differences in behavior are resulted from both genetic influences (Nature) and environmental influences (Nurture), that play an important role from the moment of conception throughout the life span. Moreover, Nature and Nurture do not act in isolation, but co‐act through complex gene–environment interplay, and jointly contribute to the whole variety of psychological characteristics (e.g., temperament, cognition, and emotions) of each person, and to individual differences in these characteristics that exist in the population.

Behavioral genetics is an interdisciplinary field that combines approaches of genetic and behavioral sciences to explore: the role of genetic factors; the role of environmental factors; and the role of gene–environment interplay, to better understand the origins of individual differences in social development and other psychological characteristics. This chapter focuses on key concepts in behavioral genetics, and on recent findings from genetically informative studies, such as twin, adoption, and molecular genetic studies, in relation to child social development. Specifically, we will explore relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences on typical and atypical child social development, and how these influences may change during development. We will discover how specific genetic factors contribute to child social development, and how these genetic effects can be modified by environmental influences. We will also find out how our genetic makeup shapes our environmental experiences. Finally, we will discuss how the findings from behavioral genetic research can be used in practice, in order to help children, families, and professionals working with children.