Re: [Cognitive Psychology] The New Heritability Coefficient

From: Party of Citizens (citizens@vcn.bc.ca)
Date: Sun Jun 15 2003 - 16:30:31 MDT

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    Now if only someone would set up experiments for fruit flies to learn T
    mazes and then map the genes for maze learning.

    POC
    <http://www.geocities.com/machine_psychology?

    On Sun, 15 Jun 2003, nkotn2000 wrote:

    > Dear all, dear piok,
    >
    > Tnanks for your Re, piok
    >
    > Of course, we need not absolutely use the word "instinct". Psychology
    > of today uses a large number of synonyms for "instinct" (because of
    > speciesism, I believe). However it's a bit unscientific to use so
    > many words. Moreover it's also unscientific to use different sets of
    > words when we explain human and non-human behavior. Many species have
    > much larger brains than humans have, and many species have relatively
    > (to
    > body size)larger brains than our species have. ...
    >
    > Even though we clock up more unique experiences as we age, evidence
    > amassed over the past
    > seventy-five years suggests that the "genetic contribution" to mental
    > achievement and emotional characteristics increases with age!!!
    > Example: The
    > (broad) heritability coefficient of IQ is about 0.4 (= 40 %) when
    > measured in
    > children, about 0.6 (= 60%) in adolescents, and about 0.8 (= 80%) in
    > later
    > maturity. More learning causes more genetic determinism!?
    >
    > Even reflexes can learn, so, of course, all instincts are learning
    > instincts
    > (= instincts can learn). Moreover, instincts are situational. Can we
    > quantify
    > how well a particular instinct can learn? Yes. This problem was
    > solved by
    > Mitch Bronston. His solution is to use the (broad) heritability
    > coefficient,
    > but let the "environmental" part of the coefficient (= of the
    > variance)
    > quantify how well an instinct can learn. The Bronston heritability
    > coefficientdirectly explains the paradoxes above. It tells us that a
    > behavioral
    > trait's genetically determined specific learning ability/capacity is
    > decreasing
    > with age. But, fortunately, this coefficient also tells us that the
    > other parts
    > of the total ability/capacity of a behavioral trait are increasing,
    > so that the
    > total ability/capacity is pretty constant with age.
    >
    > Even if environmentalism was only partly correct, the Bronston
    > coefficient
    > had to decrease with age. Clearly, the increasing Bronston
    > coefficient for
    > human behavioral traits proves that human behavior is instinctive,
    > and is
    > not created by chaotic and poverty-stricken environmental factors. But
    > remember:
    > 1) all instincts are learning instincts, and 2) all instincts are
    > situational.
    > Obviously, human intelligence(s) and intellect(s) depend on our
    > having more
    > instincts, not fewer. By the way: The BHC was first published in my
    > book: A
    > Dictionary of Human Instincts. The theory and application of the BHC
    > are also
    > published in my book Human Behavior: The New Synthesis. If we do not
    > know
    > this coefficient then it's absolutely impossible to correctly
    > understand human
    > and non-human behavior. Example: The personality (= the human
    > instincts
    > including the intelligence instincts) is genetic, and the personality
    > is
    > genetically "changing" (but not much) because our instincts are
    > learning
    > instincts.
    >
    > But this learning comes from the instincts, not from the environment.
    > We behave
    > IN an environment not because of an environment. Our instincts are
    > adapted to
    > survive IN the environment(s).This is how things work.
    >
    > Best Wishes
    > from Nils
    > in Tromso, Norway.
    >
    >
    >
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