ABSTRACT
In an age when socialization theory was the predominant paradigm, Sandra Scarr shocked developmentalists by claiming that most environmental differences are “functionally equivalent” (Scarr & Weinberg, 1983). Specifically, she posited that environmental differences within the normal range of experiences did not influence individual differences in developmental phenotypes, leaving the majority of individual phenotypic variability explained by genetic differences. In her presidential address to the Society for Research in Child Development as well as in her reply to her critics (Scarr, 1992, 1993), she extended her thinking on the environment’s role in development. In the reply, Scarr acknowledged the contributions of critics, including Baumrind (1993), Jackson (1993), Bronfenbrenner, Lenzenweger, and Ceci (1993), Hoffman (1991), Wachs (1992), and others, who helped her clarify what she intended and did not intend in making this bold claim. The reply represented Scarr’s definitive statement on how the environment influences development.
