Readings: Aiken Ch 1: "Origins and Developments"; Coren article: "When Teaching is Evaluated on Political Grounds"

Questions: What are advantages and disadvantages of human diversity? How well has diversity been recognized and tolerated, or even capitalized upon, over centuries?

Readings: Aiken Ch 2: "Measurement and Research Methods"

Questions: How can we accurately and fairly measure differences between individuals? How can we compare groups of individuals? What is a "mental test"? What are the properties of tests? What is "test bias"? Are IQ tests biased against certain groups of people?

Readings: Aiken Ch 3-4: "Biological Foundations"; "Sociocultural Foundations"; Plomin Ch 1: "Why are People Different?"; Plomin Ch 2: How Do Genes Influence Behavior? Plomin Ch 3: How Can Genetic Influence on Behavior be Detected?

Questions: What are the causes of human diversity? How can we determine the effects of both heredity and environment on diversity? Is biology destiny? What are the implications for the welfare of individuals from (a) knowledge about genetic and environmental bases of diversity, and (b) attitudes about genetic and environmental bases of diversity?

Readings: Aiken Chs 6-7: "Theories, Concepts, and Correlates of Cognitive Abilities"; "Exceptional and Special Cognitive Abilities"; Plomin pp 67-89: "How Much does Heredity Affect (Cognitive Abilities)?"; article by Neisser, et al. (1996): "Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns"

Questions: What is "intelligence"? Are there different kinds of intelligence? How important are genetic and environmental factors in intellectual functioning? Do we each have limited or unlimited potential in our cognitive abilities?

Readings: Aiken Ch 8: "Personality Theories, Concepts, and Correlates"; Plomin pp 90-98: "How Much Does Heredity Affect (Personality)?"

Questions: What are "personality" and "temperament"? How do we differ in our styles of thinking and behavior? How important are genetic and environmental factors in our personalities? How do our parents, siblings, and peers shape our personalities?

Readings: Aiken Ch 9: "Personality Problems and Disorders"; Plomin pp 99-112: "How Much Does Heredity Affect (Psychophathology, Delinquency, and Crime)?"; Raine articles: "The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ): A scale for the assessment of schizotypal personality based on DSM-III-R criteria"; Raine & Lencz chapter: "Conceptual and theoretical issues in schizotypal personality research"; Raine articles: "Birth complications combined with early maternal rejection at age 1 year predispose to violent crime at age 18 years" and "Murderous minds: Can we see the mark of Cain?"

Questions: What are "normal" and "abnormal"? What influences an individual to become extreme on some dimensions? Do extremely deviant individuals deserve the same resources and rights as those in the normal range? What are the ethical issues of research into biological and genetic effects in deviant behavior?

Readings: (To be announced)

Questions: What influences the way we see ourselves? Do we see ourselves differently than others see us? How does our self-concept influence our behavior? What steps can we take to see ourselves more accurately?

Questions: What does this standardized instrument indicate about you and how you are unique? Are your scores valid and reliable? How do heredity and environment affect your profile?

Readings: "Stereotyping and Prejudice", from The Nature of Prejudice, by G. Allport (1954).

Questions: What influences the way we see others? What is the "fundamental attribution error"? How are stereotypes formed? What steps can we take to reduce the use of stereotypes? How can stereotypes and prejudice related? How might certain individuals or groups of individuals be treated unfairly through the use of stereotypes? What steps can we take to be more accurate in our perceptions of others?

Readings: (to be announced)

Questions: How can we accurately determine what differences exist between groups of individuals? How can we study the causes of group differences? Can genetic and environmental factors which produce individual differences within groups also lead to differences between groups?

Readings: Articles by Lytton & Romney and by Berenbaum & Hines

Questions: What gender stereotypes exist today? How do men and women really differ from one another? What are the causes of these differences? If true gender differences exist in certain cognitive abilities, what are the implications for equal educational and job opportunities for women and men?

Readings: Jensen chapter: "Social Class and Race Differences in Intelligence"

Questions: What is "race"? What are the differences between biological and cultural definitions of race? What racial stereotypes currently exist in American society? How do different racial groups actually differ, according to empirical research? What are the causes of any differences that may exist? If true race differences exist in certain cognitive abilities, what are the implications for equal educational and job opportunities for individuals from different races?

Readings: (to be announced)

Questions: What is "social class" and how is it important in contemporary American society? What causal factors determine our social status? How do individuals from different social classes differ in their abilities, personalities, and values, if at all? What are the causes of any differences that exist? If genetic factors affects social status itself, what are the implications for social mobility?

Questions: What is "pure environment"? How can environment be measured? Are environmental measures influenced by genetic factors?

Readings: Buss article: "Psychological Sex Differences and Evolution"; Raine chapter: "Crime in the Context of Evolution"

Questions: What is the evolutionary basis of diversity? How have the two sexes and any differences between them evolved? How can we study evolution based on contemporary studies of human behavior? Have humans evolved to be innately aggressive or altruistic? How could criminal behavior have evolved?

Readings: (to be announced)

Questions: How can knowledge (or ignorance) of the dimensions and true causes of diversity affect human rights and oppression of certain individuals or groups of individuals? What are the implications of biologically based diversity for social policy? What guidelines can be suggested to protect human rights and reduce conflict and oppression, if a balanced view of diversity prevails (emphasizing the joint influences of both social and biological factors)?