James Jay Joseph (born April 13, 1959) is an American clinical psychologist and author. He practices psychology in the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
.
He is known for his criticisms of
behavior genetics
Behavioural genetics, also referred to as behaviour genetics, is a field of scientific research that uses genetic methods to investigate the nature and origins of individual differences in behaviour. While the name "behavioural genetics" c ...
and
twin studies
Twin studies are studies conducted on Identical twin, identical or Fraternal twin, fraternal twins. They aim to reveal the importance of environmental and genetics, genetic influences for traits, phenotypes, and disorders. Twin research is consid ...
in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
and
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior.
...
.
[ His view, as he articulated in his 2003 book '' The Gene Illusion'', is that such research is so flawed as to render all of its results completely meaningless.
]
Biography
Joseph received his undergraduate education from the University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. He went on to receive his master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
from the New College of California
New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008.
New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...
in 1994 and his Psy.D from the California School of Professional Psychology
The California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) was founded in 1969 by the California Psychological Association. It is part of the for-profit Alliant International University where each campus's Clinical Psychology Psy.D. and Ph.D. pr ...
in 2000. He received his license to practice psychology in California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
in 2003.[ In 2014 he published ''The Trouble with Twin Studies'', which argued that research based on twin studies was highly flawed and could not be used to prove heritability of traits, as they fail to adequately control for environmental factors, as well as accusations of ethics violations in research practices. The book was negatively reviewed by one psychologist, ]Eric Turkheimer
Eric Nathan Turkheimer is an American psychologist and the Hugh Scott Hamilton Professor of psychology at the University of Virginia.
Early life and education
Turkheimer is the son of Nathan Turkheimer, the former board chairman of the public rel ...
, who argued that twin study research was valid.[Turkheimer, Eric. "Arsonists at the Cathedral." PsycCRITIQUES 60, no. 40.]
Books
*'' The Gene Illusion'' (Algora, 2004)
*''The Missing Gene'' (Algora, 2006)
*''The Trouble with Twin Studies'' (Routledge
Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, 2015)
*''Schizophrenia and Genetics'' (Routledge, 2023)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
1959 births
Living people
American clinical psychologists
University of California, Berkeley alumni
New College of California alumni
California School of Professional Psychology alumni
21st-century American male writers
American psychology writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male non-fiction writers
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