In this unbelievable case, two twins are separated from
birth and reunited after 78 years. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, the
mother had to put her children up for adoption. One sibling was adopted right
away, while the other ended up under the care of her birthmother. The two twins
lived completely separate lives, eventually both married men named Jim, and
developed similar mannerisms. After reuniting, the two twins feel like they
have known each other their whole lives.
This case is extremely interesting in that can help
psychologists understand better the nature vs. nurture debate. The two twins
have grown up in completely different environments, yet have so much in common.
Further studies of the twins’ lifestyles and behaviors will unveil more
information about how each factor has impacted each of their lives. In my
opinion, there is a mix of factors in both nature and nurture that affect the
individual. An individual is not made up of either one independently, but
pieced together by different elements to make a whole. The similarities between the two twins may be
biological, while the differences are most likely to be due to environmental and
relationship influences in the past.
This is an extremely interesting story but raises a lot of questions for me. Particularly in the department of nature vs. nurture. I agree with Brian's opinion that "an individual is not made up of either one independently, but pieced together by different elements to make a whole" however, I wonder what differences the adopted child experiences from the child that ended up being cared for by the birthmother. If both children had been raised by differing parental care givers, would they share similarities or have as strong of a connection to one another.
ReplyDeleteAnother questions I have is, did the child that was still with biological parents know of their twin(?) and vice versa for the adopted child? I feel that twins, that are separated, are more likely to share their connection and see the similarities with one another if they had been aware of their existence. Meanwhile, twins that think of themselves as a single entity with no knowledge of their genetic duplication are more skeptical to sharing similarities with a "stranger" even if they are genetically identical.