Pt1420 Unit 5 Assignment 2

1. It seems to me that if our variables in the nature vs. nurture controversy are a) biological and b) environmental, then twins would, in theory, illuminate the biological variable since we can assume that a set of identical twins will be the same biologically. It also seems to me that this assumption may be false, but if it is correct then looking at twins that were raised apart will give some good data on the nurture variable. If the twins are raised apart, did they develop the same level of intelligence or not. Which brings us to number 2.

2. IQ testing seems a bit more complicated that I once would have thought. How do we measure IQ in such a way that will reliably measure an individual’s intelligence against what they will do in life?

After the reading on memory enhancement (REF) this week I realized that I already use two of strategies listed. The biggest one I use is what REF called “Chunking” (XXXX). I am an IT Director with a focus on database administration so I deal with large amounts of student and employee data. Dealing with things like social security numbers and employee/student ID numbers I find myself breaking the numbers up into easier “chunks” all the time (and didn’t know that this was a memory strategy). The other two that REF details are elaborative rehearsal and mnemonic devices. I use elaborative rehearsal all the time. To me, elaborative rehearsal is how I learn. For me learning something is building on what you already know and incorporating the new data or information into what is comfortable and known. I have never had much use for mnemonic devices. I remember first learning about the idea in the 80’s (when I was in elementary school) in a music class. They taught us Every Good Boy Does Fine (musical notes - E,G,B,D,F)…it had something to do with reading music…I can still remember the mnemonic device, but not exactly what it was used for in this case. I guess that tells of the power of the strategy, since that has been 30+ years