INSIGHTS INTO HUMAN BEHAVIOR

	Is behavior genetically programmed or do environmental
factors of family, culture and education influence human traits and
actions?

	Two University of Virginia psychology professors are
participating in ÒInsights into Behavior:  The Influences of Nature
and Nurture,Ó a seven-week course that is probing how genetic and
environmental factors modulate human actions.  The course, designed
in cooperation with the American Psychological Society, started this
week at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., as part of
the SmithsonianÕs Campus on the Mall program.

	Irving Gottesman, who has spent more than 35 years
researching families, twins and adoptees, will lecture Nov. 21 on
the role of genetics in the development of major mental disorders,
such as schizophrenia.  His research, which has been recognized by
numerous honors including the 1990 Dobzhansky Award for Lifelong
Contributions to Behavioral Genetics, has identified environmental
factors that can trigger a genetic predisposition  for schizophrenia.

	Among the family or societal pressures that he believes are
triggers are injuries to the brain, living in demoralizing or
threatening physical environments and emotional suffering.  The
recipient of several awards for earlier works on the origins of
schizophrenia, Gottesman is author of two 1994 books, including
ÒSchizophrenia and Manic-Depressive Disorder.Ó For more information,
Gottesman, the UniversityÕs Sherrell J. Aston Professor, can be
reached at (804) 924-0661.

	Sandra Scarr, the UniversityÕs Commonwealth Professor of
Psychology, will lecture
Dec. 12 on Òenvironments shaped by children.Ó She will discuss
genetic influences on childrenÕs knowledge and perceptions of their
environments.

	Some of ScarrÕs earlier work, research measuring the IQs of
adopted black and white children, has gained recent attention
following the publishing of ÒThe Bell Curve,Ó a book addressing
genetic factors in intelligence.  Her current research includes a
follow-up of transracially adopted children, childhood development
in normal environments and the effects of child care on infants and
young children.  ScarrÕs studies on families have won her the
American Psychological SocietyÕs James McKeen Cattell Award and the
American Psychological AssociationÕs Distinguished Contributions
Award to Research on Public Policy.  For more information, Scarr can
be reached at (804) 924-0653.

	Other lecturers in the course include Robert Plomin,
director, Center for Development and Health Genetics, Pennsylvania
State University; David Reiss, director, Center for Family Research,
George Washington University; and Robert Cairns, director, Center
for Developmental Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill.  For more information on the course, contact Faye Dale
Browning at the Smithsonian, (202) 786-2813.


October 26, 1994