Scientism and Values.pdf - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Growth} in Biology and' in Education 195
He next describes growth ages briefly and then presents a graph
in which the organismic .age curves of three groups of boys are
compared to their reading curves. The boys were s,eparated into
three groups on the basis of their reading scores at age eleven:
fast, intermediate, and slow readers. The organismic age curve
and the reading age curve of the fast readers are above the other
curves from age six to eleven. Except for ages seven to eight the
two curves for the intermediate readers are between the curves for
slow readers and fast readers. Both curves for the slow readers
are below the others except at age six, where the slow readers
are slightly better ,at reading than the intermediate. On the basis
of the graph Olson argues in support of equation 5 above.
From this he moves to a model which consists of three approximately
parallel lines extending diagonally across a growth agechronological
age plot. The curves represent rapid, average, and
slow growth "according to the equation Maturation X Nurture
= Development." Concerning this model Olson says:
We can now set up a series of concepts involving known facts surrounding
the model. These are of varying degrees of generalization,
and each should be preceded by the qualification "other things being
equal." The model is based on the assumption that the growth represented
by the curves represents a composite according to the equation
Maturation X Nurture = Development. Viewed alone it appears as
a relatively static model with much stability and continuity. Injected
into a social field, however, the children represented become dynamic
in the sense of relationship to other individuals and to meeting the
requirements of each situation.
What general theory can be built around the model in the illustration?
Principles of Human Development
Concepts that will stand the test of universality, of experiment, and
of prediction are hard to come by in afield governed by multiple
causation. When stated, such concepts are limited in the sense that
other postulates may in part account for the phenomenon. There is
always something of an indeterminant character when variable individuals
experience variable nurture.