why do psychologists study twins
Why Twin Studies? Twins provide a valuable source of information for health and psychological research, as their unique relationship allows researchers to pull apart and examine genetic and environmental influences. Twin study findings have been influential in detecting and treating various diseases and psychological disorders. How are they able to do this? Twin studies allow researchers to examine the overall role of genes in the development of a trait or disorder.
In the most widely publicized study of this type, launched in 1979, University of Minnesota psychologist Thomas Bouchard and his colleagues have chronicled the fates of about 60 pairs of identical twins raised separately.