ABSTRACT
This chapter presents social environmental and behavior genetic theories of intellectual development and academic achievement, and evaluates the adequacy of the theories' predictions to account for existing observations. Observations are scientifically credible measurements of phenomena that are the subject matter of a theory. Under the term observation it include all kinds of measurements, such as tests, ratings, self-reports, and behavioral observations. Both socialization and behavior genetic theory focus on processes that transmit behaviors from one generation to the next, so that observations of family influences are crucial to both theories. The term parental influences includes the many characteristics of schools, neighborhoods, and communities to which parents expose children, as part of the correlated family environment. Opportunity theories have largely ignored the possibility of genetic transmission in families and social classes, and thus, are unchallenged by behavior genetic results. It may also help to alter that isolation.
