Chapter7 - Growing up as twins: the perspectives of twin researchers

Abstract

Twin researchers who are also twins bring unique perspectives to this area of study. They do so by applying their personal experiences to the findings and conclusions yielded by research. Sometimes it takes twin researchers to recognize the behavioral and physical measures that are important to study. That is because their lives have been variously affected by their matched abilities, as in the case of most identical twins, or their different personality traits, as in the case of most fraternal twins. Regardless, all twins who conduct twin research agree that twins are valuable participants in scientific studies. It is also critical to point out that while some studies, such as those concerning school separation and private communication, may be targeted to just twins, twin research is not just for twins alone. Instead, twin designs are methods for disentangling genetic and environmental influences on human developmental traits, a goal of interest and importance to everyone.