The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do

According to Harris, why are studies which connect parenting decisions and children’s behavior flawed? Include evidence from the text in your answer.

Outside of those concerning parenting decisions, why is Harris skeptical of correlational studies? How does she encourage the reader to be wary of these studies’ results?

Harris asserts many researchers overlook the role of genes in explaining similarities between parents and children. How does she support her opinion that genes play a role in children’s personalities? Include evidence from the text in your answer.

Harris argues children’s peers are a significant part of how they are socialized. What are three scientific examples which you find the most persuasive in supporting this argument?

Harris argues a person’s childhood neighborhood is more important to their development than family structure. Why? What makes this theory controversial?

According to Harris, children behave differently in different contexts. Why? What makes this theory controversial?

Harris lamented American parents’ anxiety over parenting in 1998, due to the perceived weight of their decisions. Do you agree or disagree with her assessment in the present? Why or why not?

Harris rejects the notion that children are “empty vessels” (186). How does her “group socialization theory” recognize their agency? Include evidence from the text in your answer.