Nature and Nurture: A Modern Synthesis

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"Drawing on his own researches on the behavior of dogs and mice, and on the re- searches of others on behavior in laboratory animals and in man, Fuller presents a clear, comprehensive picture of the present status of the nature-nurture controversy. He points out that the debate is less bitter today than it was two decades ago, and he holds out hope for its ultimate resolution as the workers in various disciplines learn to appreciate each other’s viewpoints and methodologies. The author approaches the discussion on the basis of broad genetic principles. He lists various “psychogenetic” techniques for gathering relevant data, and discusses them in detail on the proposition that heredity is, after all, the capacity to utilize particular environments in particular ways. He distinguishes clearly between evolutionary development which has resulted in stereotyped responses, as in some lower forms, and that which has resulted in plasticity of response, as in man. Genetic principles are clearly delineated, and the important recent concept of poly- genes is presented simply. The phenomenon of threshold is explored, and its important implications for the heredity-environment problem are discussed. Intelligence, mental disease, audiogenic seizures, culture, race and class distinctions, motivation and temperament, are all fed into Fuller’s loom, and woven into a vivid, understandable pattern. The result is one of the clearest portrayals of the nature-nurture problem that this reviewer has read in a long time. " --Laurence K. Synder