Are gifted children bright because they have inherited intellectual abilities or because they have been taught well? In other words, which is more important - nature or nurture? Actually, both are important - it is a mistake to underestimate the importance of either genetic or environmental factors. As Plomin (1989, 1990) has pointed out, development consists of a dialogue between genes and the environment. Genes are influenced not only by nutrients and chemicals in human cells, but also by the person's developmental history. Genes are "turned on" or "turned off" at different stages of development and in response to environmental changes.
Note that there is a difference between genetic and biological factors that influence human development. Genetic factors are determined at conception. Biological factors represent a broader category of factors that can be influenced not only by genes, but also by other events. For example, prenatal events or early childhood diseases may influence the intellectual development of a child. The two sets of factors are similar to the extent that they both influence the physiological makeup of the individual through growth and maturation rather than through learning. Strictly speaking, prenatal factors that occur after conception are environmental, but the term environmental factors usually refers to factors outside the human organism that influence it, including the family, society, and school.
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