Twins Two Lives...One Personality

Identical twins look so similar because identical twins have the same genetic makeup, meaning, the same DNA (same nitrogenous bases). This is because by they are fertilized by the same egg, making them identical.

My sister and I, 28 minutes apart, are fraternal twins. Twins have a very special and unique bond. However, being a twin isn’t just rainbows and sunshine, it’s much more complex than that. It’s the feeling of constant comparison in every aspect of our lives. We were never invited to do activities as individuals, it was both of us, or none at all. I can tell you about the time I was 4 years old and I cut my sisters hair off so my parents would pay attention more to me, or at our 5th grade dance recital when everyone complimented her on her smile and I cried because they didn’t compliment me.

Table 3-1 examines the correlations between selected characteristics for the identical twins separated at birth and the twins raised together. When compared to each other, they both have very similar brain wave activity, blood pressure and heart rate in the physiological characteristics. The Raven intelligence test was very similar, but the WAIS IQ displayed a bit of difference when compared to the other comparisons made. Personality wise, they typically had similar personalities at the same rate as twins raised together. Psychological interests were off a little bit, but still very similar. The twins that were separated at birth had less similar psychological interests compared to the twins

Most twins also have a few close friends that are separate from their sibling. Most don’t share a personality. Again, some small parts are the same, but these parts can be explained by environment. My sister and I have different interests, are involved in many different activities, and have aptitudes in many different things. For instance, she is involved very heavily in the theater and political science departments at her college, and I am involved in volunteer work wherever I can find it and the nursing department. Finally, we don’t usually dress alike. We have not dressed in the same outfits every day since the age of six, when we started helping pick out our own clothes. When we do dress alike, it is only for special events. For instance, we are planning to do so for three days at the end of summer, due to our attendance at the Twins Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio and most twins find this a fun way to celebrate being a twin. Most pairs have the same philosophy. They may dress up for holidays or birthdays (the parents and other relatives find it cute), but not on an everyday basis. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. Some twins like to dress alike all the time, even as grownups. Some have the same friends, and some even have eerily similar personalities. To these people, I say “More

The biography Identical Strangers by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein is about twins that got separated at birth, and now are finding out there is another person in the world with their exact DNA. They were part of a study on separated twins. It was to see in nature versus nurture which one has more of an impact. (31-32) Identical twins were easiest to study because of their identical DNA. Scientists working on the study placed both girls in a family in which are very similar; therefore, they both have a brother that is a couple years older than them. They find out about the other twin, and Paula is having their

Parallel to this, the focus on genetics is Particularly convicted in twin studies, which establish a comparison between monozygotic twins that are identical and dizygotic twins, which are opposingly non-identical. This distinction can be identified in Torgersens study, which compared MZ and same sex DZ twins where one proband had an anxiety disorder, and it was discovered that such disorders were 5x more frequent in MZ twin pairs, who mutually shared identical genetics.

Twin studies are a mainstay of the nature verse nurture debate because they allow researchers to conduct “natural experiments” on human beings. When researchers try to determine the relative importance of genetics and environment with regard to a certain condition, they have a hard time because they cannot generally get people with the same genes. This is where twin studies come in. Twins studies are part of the method used in behaviour genetics, which includes all data that are genetically informative. E.g. siblings, adoptees, pedigree data etc. Researchers use this method to estimate the heritability of traits and to quantify the effect of a person 's shared environment (family) and unique environment (the individual events that shape a life) on a trait.

There are many stories of identical twins who were adopted at birth who meet up late in life and discover they share remarkably similar life stories. A study in 1990 found that genetics account for 50 percent of how religious a twin was likely to be. There is also a genetic influence on dental or gum health. Among identical twins, most reported feeling closer and more familiar with their twin than they did to their best friends, even after just meeting them after spending so many years apart.

Twins, share a bond that no parent, child or sibling relationship can ever compare. There are two main types of twins, and these include: monozygotic (identical) twins and dizygotic (fraternal) twins, and they are compared by their emotional, behavioural, and cognitive similarities. (Robert Plomin, 1997). According to Social Issues Referencing, 2007, whereas Identical twins are formed from a single (mono) zygote and are genetic “carbon copies”, fraternal twins develop from two (di) separate zygotes, as a result of two eggs being fertilized by two sperms independently. (Social Issues Referencing, 2007, para. 8)

One of the most extensive investigation of twins raised in separate homes is the Minnesota Study of Twins reared apart, which over the past 20 years has studied hundreds of twin pairs who were separated early in life (Bouchard, 1994; Finkel et al., 1995). This study, like others of its kind, has consistently found such striking psychological and behavioral similarities between monozygotic twins that the important role of genes in personality development can no longer be denied.

It would be a lot of fun to have twin. She could do activities with me. My twin would probably like to do the same games or sports as I do. After school, she could help me with my homework. If we weren’t sure about our homework, we could compare or check our answers together. Next, I would have someone to talk to. She could tell me things she knew, but I didn’t. A twin would also understand me. She would help me out if she knew something was wrong. Being a twin would be wonderful.

“Having a twin is both fun and annoying,” freshman Kayla Peirson said. “On one hand you have someone to help with school and boyfriends and what not but on the other hand, you’re always confused for the other and people ask you questions like, ‘Can you read eachother’s minds.’”

Throughout history, across all cultures, people have been fascinated with twins. In addition to interest in the close emotional ties and biological similarities that twins may share, reports of special twin languages and twin extrasensory perception (ESP) help people to explore ideas of what it means to be human. How similar or different are they to each other? How important are genes and environment for development? Because identical twins share all of their genes, it is the environment—rather than genetics—that accounts for any differences between them.

Many twins seem to have these feelings about each other sensing them to believe they have ESP, like the Corsican brothers who are twins that were once conjoined brothers who were separated at birth and even as adults they continued to share not only mental thoughts but also physical sensations. One of the twins have even said “However far apart we are now we will still have one and the same body, so that whatever impression, physical or mental, one of us perceives has its after-effects on the other one.” As i said before there are many more twin telepathy stories, whether they are minor ones or very intresting and strange ones. One of the biggest reasons people do not believe in twin telepathy is because there is no scientific evidence that supports the existence of twin telepathy. Dr.Nancy L. Segal explains that there is no empirical proof that twins have extrasensory perception (ESP), which is the perception occurring independently of sight, hearing, or other sensory processes. Dr.Nancy L. Segal also states that it can not be substantiated in a scientific

Both fraternal and identical twins have a strong bond, a stronger bond than that of normal siblings. From the time of conception to the time they die twins share a unique bond. That bond begins in the womb. Some mothers report having ultrasounds in which their twins were holding hands in the womb. There isn’t much scientific evidence that the twins are aware they are holding hands or that it really signifies anything, but the act itself hints toward a bond even in the womb. Spending nine months together in such tight quarters who wouldn’t form a close bond?