Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us About Human Behavior

ABOUT THE BOOK

From The Publisher
Bringing together the latest, cutting-edge research, with illustrative case histories of twins and their families, preeminent twin researcher Dr. Nancy L. Segal explores ways in which twins enhance our knowledge of human behavioral and physical development. How twins hold a mirror up to ourselves is reflected in real-life stories like those of Jim Lewis and Jim Springer, identical twin brothers separated at birth and reunited at age thirty-nine. In addition to having the same jobs, cars, hobbies, and health histories, each discovered in the other a long-lost best friend, in-laws, and nieces and nephews. Bernard J. Shapiro, Ph.D., and Harold T. Shapiro, Ph.D., the only known twins to share the distinction of becoming presidents of leading universities, were uncertain if they were identical or fraternal twins until the age of sixty-two. These, along with many other case histories documented in this fascinating book, go a long way toward helping us solve our behavioral riddles.

Reviews
From Boston Globe  
Thoroughly researched, annotated, and footnoted, Entwined Lives is impressive in the breadth of its study...
 
From Booknews  
An exploration of behavioral and biological aspects of human twins which discusses both experimental data and anecdotes from twins and their parents. Among the topics treated are twins' language patterns, the biological bases of identical and fraternal twinning, how twin studies affect legal decisions and settlements, and what twin research tells us about athletic skill. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
 
From Library Journal  
In the most significant survey of twin research to date, Segal (director of the Twins Study Ctr. at California State Univ., Fullerton, and a fraternal twin herself) illustrates that by using twins as "living laboratories" we can sort out which aspects of twins' lives are influenced by genetic inheritance, and, in turn, we can begin to "lay bare the basis of human behavior." Drawing on all sorts of twin studies, Segal describes twin types and elaborates on findings regarding the development of personality and intelligence. She also looks closely at twin relationships (including conjoined twins) to understand grief, competition, bonding, cooperation, and more. Most refreshing are Segal's frank discussion of the complications inherent in the research and her many proposals for further research. Though her prose is dense, it holds plenty for anyone interested in twins or in fine questions of human development and evolutionary psychology. This is an excellent supplement to Lawrence Wright's more popularly written Twins: And What They Tell Us About Who We Are (Wiley, 1997). Recommended for academic and public libraries.--Rebecca Miller, "Library Journal" Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
 
From Kirkus  
A comprehensive survey of twin research that includes an impressive array of twin-related data in an anecdote-filled and entertaining presentation. Segal, a twin herself, directs the Twins Study Center at California State University, Fullerton, and was formerly with the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (its director, Thomas Bouchard, has written the foreword). Clearly fascinated by her subject, she assumes, probably quite rightly, that interest in twins, especially identical twins, is widespread. Identical twins are, she notes, "the reflecting pools whose altered images teach us how the range of environmental influences shape developmental outcomes.'' Stories about the remarkable similarities between identical twins reunited after being raised separately are irresistible, and while Segal includes them, she goes far beyond such material. She discusses in detail what twin research has revealed about individuality, identity, and questions of nature-vs.-nurture in intelligence, personality development, and athletic prowess. Segal also considers such topics as pseudo-twins (i.e., same-age unrelated individuals reared together), the special relationship of twins with each other, the effects of one twin's death on the other, how fertility treatments have impacted multiple births, the difference between a clone and an identical twin, and twinning in the animal kingdom. Her interviews with some noteworthy twins, such as the Shapiro brothers, who both became university presidents, are especially revealing. Even the unique problems of conjoined, or Siamese, twins are treated. Its comprehensiveness and its extensive notes make this a valuable source for psychologists and other students of twinning; twins, parents of twins, and anyone who ever wished for a twin will also find much to savor here. (36 b&w photos) .
 

FROM THE BOOK

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments
	Foreword
	Preface: Not Like Me
	Introduction
1	Identical and Fraternal Twins: Living Laboratories	1
2	Identical, but Not the Same: Differences Between Identical Twins	21
3	Natural Experiments: Unusual Twin Types	36
4	Developing in Tandem: Intelligence and Special Mental Skills	49
5	Unfolding Lives: Personality Traits, Mental Disorders and Atypical Behaviors	70
6	Friendship Extraordinaire: Twins' Special Relationship	97
7	Twist of Fate: Twins Reared Apart	116
8	Another Twist of Fate: Children Adopted Together	152
9	Lonesome Crowd: Loss of a Twin	169
10	Making Multiples: New Fertility Treatments and Beyond	187
11	Two-Base Hits and Triple Toe Loops: Physical Growth and Athletic Prowess	208
12	Noah's Ark: Twins in the Nonhuman Animal Kingdom	230
13	The Other Half: Noteworthy Twins	247
14	Double Indemnity: Twins in the Courtroom	278
15	Separate Minds in Shared Bodies: Conjoined Twins	295
16	Double Entendre: Twinship's Many Meanings	313
	Afterword: Part of Me	329
	Glossary	335
	Notes	338
	Index	387

Uniting Psychology and Biology : Integrative Perspectives on Human
Development

Table of Contents

	Contributors
	Foreword
	Preface
	Tribute to Dan
Sect. I	Introduction	1
1	Pursuing the Big Picture	3
2	My Three Mentors	19
3	Is Nonduality Possible in the Social and Biological Sciences? Small Essays on Holism and Related Issues	47
4	Are Genetically Based Individual Differences Compatible With Species-Wide Adaptations?	81
Sect. II	Genetic Bases of Behavior: Contributions to Psychological Research	101
	Introduction	103
5	A Developmental and a Genetic Perspective on Aggression	107
6	Genetic Analysis of Social Behavior	131
7	Twin Research Perspective on Human Development	145
	Conclusion	175
Sect. III	Biological Approaches to Developmental Issues: Rethinking the Data	185
	Introduction	187
8	Ethological and General Systems Perspectives on Child-Parent Attachment During the Toddler and Preschool Years	189
9	Sexual Orientation as a Developmental Context for Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals: Biological Perspectives	217
10	What Can the Genotype Tell Us About Complex Human Conditions?	239
	Conclusion	271
Sect. IV	Naturalistic Studies of Behavior: How Does a Cross-Cultural Approach Inform Ongoing Research?	275
	Introduction	277
11	Why Do Hadza Children Forage?	279
12	Expression or Communication About Emotion	315
13	Mother-Infant Interaction in Cross-Cultural Perspective	339
14	Marriage in Cross-Cultural Perspective	355
	Conclusion	369
Sect. V	Evolutionary Analyses: New Issues and Continuing Controversies	379
	Introduction	381
15	Genetic Basis of Intrapsychic Conflict	385
16	Happiness in Evolutionary Perspective	397
17	Discrete Emotions Theory With Specific Reference to Pride and Shame	419
	Conclusion	445
Sect. VI	Film Retrospective: The Method and the Medium	451
	Introduction	453
18	Film Commentary: Constitutional and Environmental Interactions in Rearing Four Breeds of Dogs	469
19	Film Commentary: Development of the Smile and Fear of Strangers, With an Inquiry Into Inheritance of Behavior and Cross-Cultural Differences in Newborn Behavior	473
Sect. VII	Behavior Genetics, Human Ethology, Evolutionary Psychology, and Culture: Looking to the Future	481
	Introduction	483
20	Pair-Bonding Deconstructed by Twin Studies of Marital Status: What Is Normative?	485
21	An Ethological Perspective on Normal Behavior Especially as It Relates to Mating Systems	493
22	Evolving Beyond Evolutionary Psychology: A Look at Family Violence	507
	Conclusion	515
Sect. VIII	Final Overview: Uniting Psychology and Biology	523
App	Publications and Films by Daniel G. Freedman	535
	Name Index	543
	Subject Index	561
	About the Editors	567