Individual Differences and the Canalization of Human Behavior

Gottlieb (1991) suggests that behavior geneticists and developmental psychologists have underestimated the importance of environmental regulation of species-typical behavior, outlines a theory of how environments and genes interact dynamically as behavior develops, and provides supporting examples from his own and others' laboratories. Although oversimplified explanations of development have occasionally gained currency, we contend that the complexities of genotype-environment relations have been addressed in psychology, with still greater difficulties arising from psychologists' interest in individual differences in behavior. The complexities of studying genetic and environmental determination of the development of individual differences are explored, using intelligence as an example. Finally, we outline a research program in the spirit of Gottlieb's contribution.