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Showing posts with the label intelligence tests

Giftedness-Nature vs. Nurture?

Giftedness is either seen as genetic or learned in the scientific community. A nativist believes that it is the biological and genetic traits that make giftedness possible while the environmentalists believe that intelligence can be learned.  Winkler and Jolly (2012) explore these concepts in their attempt to help others understand the historical sides of the argument.  Nativists believe that these traits develop biologically over time and make their way into future offspring. This offspring is born with giftedness and cannot learn it or remove it no matter how hard they try. Giftedness can be enhanced but cannot be learned throughout one’s life.  The environmentalist believes that giftedness is developed in the environment. You can theoretically take any child and provide books and learning to create a gifted person. In the environmentalists perspective genetics have little to do with this story.  Thus far both theories have been proved inconclusive and strict nativis