Kingston Philosophy Café

Kingston Institute of Social Science, Kingston University London, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences presents Professor Robert Plomin on " Genetics, Psychology and Education".

Recent research on learning abilities and disabilities during the early school years will be used as examples of the interface between genetics, psychology and education.  Behavioural genetic research on learning disabilities has gone far beyond just showing that genetics contributes substantially to the origins of reading and mathematics disabilities.  Three examples from recent twin research will be discussed (Kovas et al., 2007).  First, the genes responsible for the high heritability of common learning disabilities are the same genes responsible for normal variation in learning abilities. Second, the persistence of learning disabilities and abilities is largely mediated genetically. Third, the same set of genes (‘generalist genes’) affects different learning abilities and disabilities.  Conversely, the environment is largely responsible for age-to-age changes and for differences across abilities.  Attempts are now being made to identify the DNA sequences responsible for these genetic effects.  An overview of results from the first genome-wide association studies of reading and mathematics performance will be presented. 

Professor Plomin hopes that his presentation will lead to a discussion of the implications of genetics for psychology and education.  

Robert Plomin is MRC Research Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and Director of the Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre. His current research includes a study of 10,000 pairs of twins born in England during 1994-96, which focuses on developmental problems in language, cognition and adjustment.  He is past president of the international Behavior Genetics Association, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the UK, and  a fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.  He has received lifetime research achievement awards from the Behavior Genetics Association (2002), the American Psychological Society (2005), and the Society for Research in Child Development (2005).  He is senior author of the major textbook in the field (Behavioral Genetics, Worth Publishers, 5th edition, 2008) as well as author of a dozen other books.  He has published more than 500 papers and chapters.

Admission free, but book online at:
www.kingston.ac.uk/fass/activities/conferences/register/

Event webpage: http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/activities/item.php?updatenum=1076