Why “nature plus nurture” is sometimes the wrong way to think

April 28, 2021

People who sit here and then chat with someone might get happier…but whether they sit here in the first place probably also depends on their personality and their baseline mood. Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash.

It's common to try to explain things as either due to nature OR nurture. Or, at best, we say: some percentage of the variation in outcome is due to genes, and some percentage is due to the environment. It's important to remember, though, that outcomes can be a complex interaction between the two. Consider this: Our genetically-influenced traits impact what environments we seek out and find ourselves in. For instance, risk-taking seems to have moderate heritability, and it in...

Who perpetrates sexual harassment and sexual assault, and who are the victims?

October 22, 2017

This piece was first written in 2017, and first appeared on my website on April 30, 2026. This essay is the second in a series examining sexual harassment and assault. The first essay can be read here, which also includes more information about the study participants. Sexual harassment and assault occur far too often. In this post, I explore what the predictors are of being a perpetrator and being a victim. In particular, I use linear regression to predict whether each person is a ...