Misbehaving Science

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Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics
First edition
AuthorAaron Panofsky
LanguageEnglish
SubjectBehavior genetics
GenreNonfiction
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
Publication date
July 2014
Pages320
Awards2015 President’s Book Award from the Social Science History Association
ISBN022605845X

Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics is a 2014 book about the history of behavior genetics. It was written by University of California, Los Angeles sociologist Aaron Panofsky, and was published by the University of Chicago Press. It won the 2015 President's Book Award from the Social Science History Association.[1]

Summary[edit]

In Misbehaving Science, Panofsky argues that eugenics was reinvented in the mid-20th century as behavior genetics, and that this was done in the hope of curing many social problems such as crime and homelessness.[2] He refers to behavior genetics as "misbehaving science" because, according to him, the standards of scientific inquiry in this field are vague enough to allow political and social ideologies to affect scientific conclusions. As he put it in the book: "If science is like a machine for resolving controversies, in misbehaving science that machine is broken."[3] Panofsky also contends that behavior geneticists have reacted to disappointing research results in molecular genetics by simply lowering their expectations.[4]

Reviews[edit]

Reviews of Misbehaving Science were published in the British Journal for the History of Science,[5] New Genetics and Society,[6] Medical Anthropology Quarterly,[7] the Journal of the History of Biology,[8] Science, Technology & Society,[9] and Developmental Psychobiology.[10]

New Scientist's Kate Douglas wrote that in Misbehaving Science, Panofsky tells the story of the development of behavior genetics "with wonderful insight".[2] Tal Arbel of Tel Aviv University wrote that the book "offers an original, sharply intelligent and timely analysis of the historical conditions, social mechanisms and cultural forces" that led to the development of behavior genetics.[5] Another favorable review appeared in New Genetics and Society, where Northwestern University sociologist Mariana Craciun described the book as "detailed and compelling".[6] In her review of the book, Nicole C. Nelson of the University of Wisconsin–Madison wrote that "The conclusions Panofsky reaches are specific to the field of behavior genetics, but his approach offers insights that are potentially applicable to many other fields. His exemplary handling of different levels of analysis would make this text especially useful for a graduate-level methods course."[7] In a review published in the Journal of the History of Biology, Hallam Stevens also praised the book, writing that Panofsky's "...empirically rich and provocative account of the history of behavior genetics gives us a compelling example of how a discipline can propel itself by courting controversy, drumming up attention, and rehashing old arguments."[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "President's Book Award". Social Science History Association. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  2. ^ a b Douglas, Kate (2014-07-09). "Reaping the whirlwind of Nazi eugenics". New Scientist.
  3. ^ Perrin, Andrew J. (2016-06-01). "Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics By Aaron Panofsky University of Chicago Press. 2014. 320 pp. $27.50 paper, $85 cloth". Social Forces. 94 (4): e111. doi:10.1093/sf/sou136. ISSN 0037-7732.
  4. ^ Leo, Jonathan (2016-02-05). "The Search for Schizophrenia Genes". Slate. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  5. ^ a b Arbel, Tal (July 2017). "Aaron Panofsky , Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2014. Pp. xi + 321. ISBN 978-0226-05845-0. £19.50 (paperback)". The British Journal for the History of Science. 50 (2): 376–377. doi:10.1017/S0007087417000577. ISSN 0007-0874.
  6. ^ a b Craciun, Mariana (2015-04-09). "Misbehaving science: controversy and the development of behavior genetics". New Genetics and Society. 36 (1): 91–93. doi:10.1080/14636778.2015.1032406. ISSN 1463-6778. S2CID 147393924.
  7. ^ a b Nelson, Nicole C. (2016-05-26). "Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics. Aaron Panofsky, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014, 320 pp". Medical Anthropology Quarterly. 30 (3): NA. doi:10.1111/maq.12303. ISSN 0745-5194.
  8. ^ a b Stevens, Hallam (2015-05-01). "Book Review". Journal of the History of Biology. 48 (2): 353–355. doi:10.1007/s10739-015-9404-9. ISSN 0022-5010. S2CID 247553402.
  9. ^ Rodríguez-Muñiz, Michael (2018-04-30). "Book review: Aaron Panofsky (2014), Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics". Science, Technology and Society. 23 (2): 346–348. doi:10.1177/0971721818762901. ISSN 0971-7218. S2CID 149709434.
  10. ^ Greenberg, Gary (2015-07-14). "The Case Against Behavior Genetics: Review of Panofsky, A. (2014). Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press". Developmental Psychobiology. 57 (7): 854–857. doi:10.1002/dev.21334. ISSN 0012-1630.

External links[edit]

  • Book description at the University of Chicago Press website
  • Greenberg, Gary (November 2015). "The Case Against Behavior Genetics: Review of Panofsky, A. (2014). Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press". Developmental Psychobiology. 57 (7): 854–857. doi:10.1002/dev.21334.
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