NEWS, VIEWS AND COMMENTS Remembering David T. Lykken; Research: The Bogdanov Affair, Maternal Height and Twinning Tendencies; Insights, Anecdotes and Visions Nancy L. Segal Department of Psychology, California State University, United States of America Remembering David T. Lykken September 21, 2006 brought the fol- lowing e-mail message from Dr. Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr.: Sad news. David died over the weekend . I have attached the New York Times story. We are all getting older, aren’t we? I have thought a lot about David Lykken since that day because of the important part he played during my time in Minnesota (1982–1991), working on the study of twins reared apart. Nearly 2 half-days (one for each twin) were reserved for twin assessments Drs Len Heston (left), David T. Lykken, Niels Juel-Nielsen and Elke D. Eckert at the University in his psychophysiology laboratory. of Minnesota. (Photograph by Dr. Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., University of Minnesota.) Dr Lykken’s contributions to twin research were stellar. His studies of EEG spectra, mate selection, mental abilities, personality, attitudes and twins were involved. Some information Minnesota. He earned a BA degree in interests are widely cited. David also and excerpts from that piece form part psychology, philosophy and mathemat- coined the term ‘emergenesis’ to of the life history that follows. I also ics in 1949. As a psychology graduate describe genetically-based traits that do provide my own recollections of David student he held positions as an assistant not run in families—traits that are during my nine years as a postdoctoral in teaching (1949) and in research influenced by complex gene configura- fellow and research associate with the (1951), while earning an MA degree in tions that show high resemblance in Minnesota Study of Twins Reared psychology and statistics (1952). Next, monozygotic (MZ) twins, but weak Apart. David is shown below with he earned a PhD degree in clinical psy- resemblance in dizygotic (DZ) twins. A some other members of the reared apart chology, and neuropsychiatry (1955). list of David’s publications is appended research team and with visitor, Dr Niels His doctoral work, which examined to this article. (Interestingly, he did not Juel-Nielsen. individual differences in convicted include his publications in his CV.) He David T. Lykken was born on June criminals, found greater impulsivity and reduced fear in psychopaths, com- left quite a legacy. 18, 1928, in Minneapolis. He and his pared with other convicts or The New York Times acknowledged wife, Harriet, had three sons: Jesse, noncriminals. Aside from several acade- David’s life and death in a respectful Joseph and Matthew. Two of his sons mic residences in other institutions and informative obituary in its are attorneys and one is a physicist, September 20, 2006 issue (see Carey, exemplifying David’s view that talents 2006). I received several copies from have a partial genetic basis. David’s research career spanned Address for correspondence: Nancy L. friends and colleagues, some of whom Segal, Department of Psychology, California had no idea that I knew David, but more than 50 years and almost all of it State University, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA. assumed I would be interested because took place at the University of E-mail: [email protected] Twin Research and Human Genetics Volume 10 Number 1 pp. 225–230 225 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.202.226, on 25 Sep 2021 at 06:43:24, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1375/twin.10.1.225 Nancy L. Segal (e.g., 1954–1955: NSF Fellow at the concepts without remembering David I think this table illustrates both Maudsley Hospital, in London; Lykken … the virtues and the limitations of 1959–1960: Fellow at the Center for Production memory refers to the using these single item ratings. Advanced Study at Stanford University; people, places and objects that we expect The ‘abstract intelligence’ item does wonderfully well, but 1968-1969: NIMH Senior Fellow at the to see in certain locations, contexts and people have had a lot of experi- University of London), David’s research settings. We become keenly aware of ence in assessing their own took place at the University of them when they are absent. I have not intelligence against that of others. Minnesota, Departments of Psychology been back to Minneapolis since 1996, so But the ‘contentment’ item, one and Psychiatry. I have not experienced David’s absence would have thought, should Over the years, David held a directly — but I have experienced it behave like the MPQ-Well Being number of editorial and consulting posi- indirectly in a recent ‘virtual tour’ of his (WB) score — but it doesn’t. For WB, the disattenuated MZ corre- tions. He was Editor for the Personality laboratory. Mostly, I remember the lation would have been <.95 and Research Monograph Series striking black and white photographs of the DZ correlation .10. So, I con- (1965–1985), Associate Editor of the twins on the walls. There was a picture clude that people can’t really Journal of Personality Research displaying rows of twins’ eyes and judge how they compare on con- (1968–1974), Psychophysiology another displaying rows of their ears. tentment with people in general. (1968–1974) and Physiological These physical features are highly herita- And I think the same applies to Psychology (1981–1986) and ble and it was fascinating to examine the ‘Capacity for Misery’ and Consulting Editor for The Archives of similarities and differences. There was ‘Capacity for Happiness’ — these single-item measures are good General Psychiatry, Behavior Genetics, also a photograph of identical male Science, and other journals. He con- enough to suggest what goes with triplets, positioned so that the first what, but not good enough to sulted for private and governmental triplet’s face appeared to be above the provide valid estimates of heri- agencies, including Honeywell, Inc., the second’s — and the second’s face tability. (Lykken, 1999). U.S. Air Force, NIMH, NSF and the appeared to be above the third’s. One of Elsewhere in the book David pro- Department of Defense Polygraphic the triplets was left-handed and his vides practical counsel for people who Institute. He is famous for taking a smiling mouth tilted slightly to the side strong stand against the use of the poly- want to raise their happiness levels, at opposite that of his two brothers. I least for the moment. He suggests graph, which he believed was a ‘flawed think David once pointed this out. instrument and often implicated inno- focusing on small things that one really One of my fondest memories of enjoys doing, noting that just the cent people’. David was his response to two published David’s signature line was a tribute process of getting to a particular goal student reviews of his book, Happiness: can be particularly pleasurable. He to the scientific insights that can be What Twin Studies Show Us About gained from comparative studies of MZ admits to a personal fondness for Nature, Nurture, and the Happiness Set baking beer bread and lemon meringue and DZ twins. As quoted in the New Point (1999). In 2000, I offered pie, and even provides the recipes. One York Times, ‘Any research one might California State University graduate stu- of my students put them to good use think of doing with human subjects is dents a final assignment option of and arrived in class one day with the likely to be more interesting if you do it reviewing a book we read in class; I sub- baked goods in hand. I took pictures of with twins’. I would add not just more mitted the best papers for publication in them and sent them to David. He was interesting, but more informative. a professional society newsletter. That quite touched. When I glanced again David did not just say this, he acted on year two reviews were published, both in through portions of his book, I learned it. He used twins creatively to show that the ASCAP (Across Species Comparison that the last name ‘Lykken’ means ‘the mate selection may have a random basis. of Psychopathology) Newsletter. David happiness’ in Norwegian. He used twins to show that shared envi- wrote back (edited slightly): A symposium, ‘It’s Always Better ronments have little effect on With Twins: Remembering the Life and Nancy, thanks for sending me the personality traits. He also used twins to Research of David T. Lykken’, will take nice reviews! The only two pub- show that each of us has a characteristic place at the 2007 meeting of the lished reviews of that book ‘happiness set point’, estimated to be International Society for Twin Studies, 80% heritable. It is difficult to imagine originated in Fullerton! But ASCAP? Is that the American in Ghent, Belgium. Society members how such findings could be demon- Society of Composers, Authors, will have an opportunity to comment strated so persuasively without twins. and Publishers? (Lykken, 2000). on David’s life and work at that session. Today, the ‘happiness set point’ has become part of the psychological jargon David was generous with his time David T. Lykken — as has ‘emergenesis’ (mentioned when I taught that class. I sent him an Journal Publications above). David’s also coined the ‘Rule of e-mail indicating that the class was won- David Lyken’s paper, ‘A more accurate Two-Thirds’ — the finding that most dering what his explanation might be estimate of heritability’ was accepted volunteer twin samples are comprised of for the relatively lower heritability of the for publication in this issue (pp.