The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and SIOP Foundation, Inc. have released online today a video of Dunnette Prize winner Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr.'s address at the 2018 SIOP Annual Conference, about his research on the causes of human traits. View the video here.
Bouchard led the 20-year breakthrough Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA), which contradicted contemporary scientific thinking and profoundly enriched our understanding of the impact of genetics on a wide array of human attributes, including personality, intellectual ability, and political views.
Bouchard received the Dunnette Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in psychology, for his foundational contributions to the study of individual personality differences. His recorded remarks were made during an invited address, titled "Finding Out How Things Work," at the SIOP Conference.
"From my point of view," Bouchard said, "the most important finding that came from MISTRA is the fact that virtually anything that can be measured reliably shows some genetic influence." Citing a 2015 meta-analysis in Nature by Polderman et al., he continued, "This finding has now been replicated repeatedly."
Bouchard's presentation combines a comprehensive and well-documented scientific history of the work with a compelling story about people doing science. The video includes a link to the presentation slides, making it a valuable teaching resource.
In addition to The Dunnette Prize, Bouchard has won more than a dozen awards, including the 2005 Kistler Prize and the American Psychological Foundation's Gold Medal for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology in 2014. Since 1968, Bouchard has published over 200 papers in collected works and peer reviewed journals. His publication credits include the prestigious journals Science and Nature. Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, Thomas Bouchard is still actively pursuing research and publishing in his retirement.
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