Analysis of Variance in the Service of Interactionism

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Douglas Wahlsten, Visiting Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Vreeke (this issue) asserts: "If you hold that reality is interactive, but use methods which presuppose the separateness of genes and the environment, your are stuck with a problem of interpretation." A similar point was made recently by a colleague in behavior genetics who chastised me, a critic of heritability analysis [Wahlsten, 1990, 1994, 1999a, 1999b], for employing the analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a recent study [Crabbe, Wahlsten and Dudek, 1999]. In reply, I argue that (a) ANOVA does not presuppose the separateness of genes and environment; (b) devotées of interactionism often employ ANOVA to examine results of factorial experiments precisely because the method can reveal the presence of interactions; and (c) all users of ANOVA must struggle with problems of interpretation, but these problems are especially severe for those who apply correlational methods to study human populations.

Additional Information

Publication
Human Development, 43: 46-50.
Language: English
Date: 2000
Keywords
Behavior genetics, Effect size, Heritability, Multiplicative model, Sample size, Statistical power

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