http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/422310748

Heredity and environment studies in the genesis of psychological characteristics

"This volume was prepared as part of an attempt to appraise the present status of knowledge in the field of eugenic research. An understanding of the limits set by heredity on the development of various characteristics and the range of modifications effected by environment is, however, basic to many other social problems, and is a subject of transcendent human interest. It is woven into the themes of the greatest novelists. And yet only very recently has it been possible to consider it a problem for objective scientific research. The attack of the scientist had to wait on the development of tools of measurement and of experimental techniques, long after the genius of Galton had pointed out the importance of the problem and made the first excursions. At any earlier date than the present, a summary of studies would have been premature. The present attempt is in a way preliminary, a reference work and guide to the probable scope of the more solid structure of knowledge which will be available in another ten years. As such, we hope it will be found of interest to all those concerned with the social problems of mankind. This summary has been compiled to be authoritative; it is organized to present the point of view reached by enlightened research, the data in most cases having been gathered within the last decade. At the risk of losing the reader's interest we have burdened the text every step of the way with references to the original source material, and we urge the interested worker who wishes more detail to consult these sources. "Heredity and Environment" is thus a reference work on psychological measurement and a summary of studies on the developmental origins of mental characteristics"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

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