Behavior Genetics

1942

John Paul Scott (1909–2000)

As a young geneticist Paul Scott first came to Bar Harbor, Maine, in 1938, to spend a summer at the Jackson Laboratory. There he studied aggressive behavior in inbred strains of mice. This was the beginning of a long career in which he pioneered a new field of scientific study—behavior genetics—and he published his first scientific article on it in 1942. While he began with mice, Scott became best known for his work with dogs. Through his intensive research program, Scott was able to clearly show how the interplay between genetics and the environment was important to development. Scott brought to his scientific research a deep commitment to using science to try to solve some of the social problems of his time—especially the problem of war.

Other scientists continued and expanded the research begun by Scott. Using such techniques as twin and adoption studies, they have sought to tease out the contributions of genes to a variety of traits and abilities, such as intelligence. What they have found is that it is impossible to completely separate genetic influence from environmental influence, as the two work together, a process sometimes called epigenetics. Genes shape the environment, and the environment shapes genetic expression. For example, genetics strongly influence such traits as introversion and extroversion. Extroverted parents are more likely to have homes where there is a lot of stimulation and opportunities for social interaction, as compared to introverted parents, whose homes may be quieter and less social. Genes and behavior both influence the kind of homes children are reared in, thus inducing the children in those homes to be more or less introverted or extroverted.

As the great Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb once wrote, “Development is due 100 percent to genetics and 100 percent to environment.”

SEE ALSO Nature versus Nurture (1874), Genetic Epistemology (1926), Growth Studies (1927), Neuroplasticity (1948)

“Leading Breeds of Dogs,” illustration by F. E. Wright, from Webster’s New Illustrated Dictionary, 1911. Geneticist Paul Scott is chiefly known for his study of the interplay between genetics and the environment in five breeds of dogs, described in his classic Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog (1965).