The Heritability Fallacy
Document Type
Article
Program
Pitzer College, Psychology (Pitzer)
Publication Date
2016
Keywords
heritability, intelligence, development
Abstract
The term ‘heritability,’ as it is used today in human behavioral genetics, is one of the most misleading in the history of science. Contrary to popular belief, the measurable heritability of a trait does not tell us how ‘genetically inheritable’ that trait is. Further, it does not inform us about what causes a trait, the relative influence of genes in the development of a trait, or the relative influence of the environment in the development of a trait. Because we already know that genetic factors have significant influence on the development of all human traits, measures of heritability are of little value, except in very rare cases. We, therefore, suggest that continued use of the term does enormous damage to the public understanding of how human beings develop their individual traits and identities.
Rights Information
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals
Terms of Use & License Information
DOI
10.1002/wcs.1400
Recommended Citation
Moore, D. S. & Shenk, D. (2016). The heritability fallacy [Individual Development & Behavior Collection]. WIREs Cognitive Science. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1400
