Overview

A gripping account that provides solid answers to the age-old question of nature vs. nurture Providing scientifically grounded support for the thesis advanced in Judith Rich Harris' controversial book The Nurture Assumption, psychologist David Cohen explains why children's aptitudes and interests depend more on genes than parenting. Drawing on two decades of research in behavioral genetics to support this provocative perspective, Dr. Cohen puts a human face on the age-old nature vs. nurture debate. Children are not born as blank slates, he argues, and he goes on to reveal new research indicating that DNA, rather than parents, determines to a significant extent how children think, feel, and behave. This riveting book uses vivid analogies to illuminate complex genetics research, and explains why parental influence may have far less impact than is normally thought. A surprising account of how our personality traits and behaviors are determined more by nature than nurture

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9780471319221

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Reviews

As a scientist, I was deeply impressed by [the book's] rigor. As a parent, I was grateful for the opportunity to understand more fully the limits of my influence over the personalities and characters of my two children. --Randy L. Diehl, Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Texas I am a developmental psychologist...and proponent of the effects of environment and parental influence on children...It was therefore with some surprise that I found myself using terms like 'brilliant, ' 'timely, ' and 'indispensable' when I read [this] book. --Judith H. Langlois, Charles and Sarah Seay Regents Professor, University of Texas Required reading for all students of the art and science of parenting. --Allan Hobson, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Stranger in the Nest is rich with fascinating facts and excellent examples of how children develop more in obedience to their genetic steersmen than to the influence of their parents. Like The Nurture Assumption, Judith Harris's revolutionary new book, Stranger in the Nest is required reading for both parents and professionals, scholarly yet beautifully written and a joy to read. --David T. Lykken, Ph.D., author of Happiness, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

As a scientist, I was deeply impressed by [the book's] rigor. As a parent, I was grateful for the opportunity to understand more fully the limits of my influence over the personalities and characters of my two children. --Randy L. Diehl, Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Texas I am a developmental psychologist...and proponent of the effects of environment and parental influence on children...It was therefore with some surprise that I found myself using terms like 'brilliant, ' 'timely, ' and 'indispensable' when I read [this] book. --Judith H. Langlois, Charles and Sarah Seay Regents Professor, University of Texas Required reading for all students of the art and science of parenting. --Allan Hobson, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Stranger in the Nest is rich with fascinating facts and excellent examples of how children develop more in obedience to their genetic steersmen than to the influence of their parents. Like The Nurture Assumption, Judith Harris's revolutionary new book, Stranger in the Nest is required reading for both parents and professionals, scholarly yet beautifully written and a joy to read. --David T. Lykken, Ph.D., author of Happiness, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

As a scientist, I was deeply impressed by [the book's] rigor. As a parent, I was grateful for the opportunity to understand more fully the limits of my influence over the personalities and characters of my two children. --Randy L. Diehl, Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Texas <br> I am a developmental psychologist...and proponent of the effects of environment and parental influence on children...It was therefore with some surprise that I found myself using terms like 'brilliant, ' 'timely, 'and 'indispensable' when I read [this] book. --Judith H. Langlois, Charles and Sarah Seay Regents Professor, University of Texas <br> Required reading for all students of the art and science of parenting. --Allan Hobson, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School <br> Stranger in the Nest is rich with fascinating facts and excellent examples of how children develop more in obedience to their genetic steersmen than to the influence of their parents. Like The Nurture Assumption, Judith Harris's revolutionary new book, Stranger in the Nest is required reading for both parents and professionals, scholarly yet beautifully written and a joy to read. --David T. Lykken, Ph.D., author of Happiness, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota

Author Information

DAVID B. COHEN, PhD, received his bachelor's degree from Columbia College, and trained as a psychologist at the University of Michigan. He is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. For the last two decades, he has researched the impact of biological factors on personality. He is the author of three previous books, including Out of the Blue: Depression and Human Nature.

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