CoSMoS and TwinPaW: Initial Report on Two New German Twin Studies

Spinath, Frank M.; Wolf, H.

doi:10.1375/183242706779462903

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The sampling frame for the present study was the German twin study on Cognitive Ability, Self-Perceived Motivation, and School Achievement (CoSMoS; [ 33 ]) combined with data from a pilot study ( n = 50 pairs) that was conducted to validate measures used in CoSMoS. Twin families were recruited through individual inquiries at registration offices in two German federal states (Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia; for details of the recruitment procedure see [ 34 ]. All families provided informed consent prior to their participation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the heritability of cognitive abilities vary as a function of parental education? Evidence from a German twin sample

Spengler¹,

Gottschling

Hahn

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

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A well-known hypothesis in the behavioral genetic literature predicts that the heritability of cognitive abilities is higher in the presence of higher socioeconomic contexts. However, studies suggest that the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on the heritability of cognitive ability may not be universal, as it has mostly been demonstrated in the United States, but not in other Western nations. In the present study we tested whether the importance of genetic and environmental effects on cognitive abilities varies as a function of parental education in a German twin sample. Cognitive ability scores (general, verbal, and nonverbal) were obtained on 531 German twin pairs (192 monozygotic, 339 dizygotic, ranging from 7 to 14 years of age; Mage = 10.25, SD = 1.83). Data on parental education were available from mothers and fathers. Results for general cognitive ability and nonverbal ability indicated no significant gene x parental education interaction effect. For verbal ability, a significant nonshared environment (E) x parental education interaction was found in the direction of greater nonshared environmental influences on verbal abilities among children raised by more educated parents.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the heritability of cognitive abilities vary as a function of parental education? Evidence from a German twin sample

Spengler¹,

Gottschling

Hahn

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

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“…Data of nearly 13,000 identical twins (monozygotic, MZ) and non-identical (dizygotic, DZ) same-sex twins came from six different ongoing twin studies conducted in United Kingdom (Twins Early Development Study – TEDS; Haworth, Davis, & Plomin, 2012 ), Canada (Quebec Newborn Twin Study – QNTS; Boivin et al, 2013 ), Japan (Keio Twin Project; Ando et al, 2013 ), Germany (Twin study on Cognitive ability, Self-reported Motivation and School performance – CoSMoS; Spinath & Wolf, 2006 ), United States (Western Reserve Reading Project – WRRP; Petrill, Deater-Deckard, Thompson, DeThorne, & Schatschneider, 2006 ); and Russia (Russian School Twin Registry – RSTR; Kovas et al, 2012 ). Detailed information on each sample is presented in the Appendix A.1 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why children differ in motivation to learn: Insights from over 13,000 twins from 6 countries

Kovas

Garon‐Carrier

Boivin

et al. 2015

Personality and Individual Differences

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Little is known about why people differ in their levels of academic motivation. This study explored the etiology of individual differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability for several school subjects in nearly 13,000 twins aged 9–16 from 6 countries. The results showed a striking consistency across ages, school subjects, and cultures. Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and children’s perceptions of their competence were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the variance and all of the observed twins’ similarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental factors, such as home or classroom, did not contribute to the twin’s similarity in academic motivation. Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences.

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“…Families were contacted by phone or mail and parents provided informed consent prior to the participation of the twin family. A set of questionnaires including a measure on value priorities was mailed to the families (see Spinath & Wolf, , for more details on the recruitment procedure).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic and Environmental Parent–Child Transmission of Value Orientations: An Extended Twin Family Study

2015

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Despite cross-cultural universality of core human values, individuals differ substantially in value priorities, whereas family members show similar priorities to some degree. The latter has often been attributed to intrafamilial socialization. The analysis of self-ratings on eight core values from 399 twin pairs (ages 7-11) and their biological parents (388 mothers, 249 fathers; ages 26-65) allowed the disentanglement of environmental from genetic transmission accounting for family resemblance in value orientations. Results indicated that parent-child similarity is primarily due to shared genetic makeup. The primary source of variance in value priorities represented environmental influences that are not shared by family members. These findings do not provide evidence for parental influences beyond genetic influences contributing to intrafamilial similarity in value priorities.

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CoSMoS and TwinPaW: Initial Report on Two New German Twin Studies

Cited by 8 publications

References 15 publications

Does the heritability of cognitive abilities vary as a function of parental education? Evidence from a German twin sample

Does the heritability of cognitive abilities vary as a function of parental education? Evidence from a German twin sample

Why children differ in motivation to learn: Insights from over 13,000 twins from 6 countries

Genetic and Environmental Parent–Child Transmission of Value Orientations: An Extended Twin Family Study

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