Quantitative analysis in the study of heredity and in social sciences more generally could be transformed through attention to the possible heterogeneity of factors that underlie observed traits. It is understood in the sociology of science that ideas do not realize their transformative potential simply by being correct; rather, changes in the social structure of the field are needed if the inevitable resistance from the mainstream is to be overcome. Moreover, alternative research programs have to be opened up before many researchers begin to shift; critique is not sufficient for a dominant paradigm to be abandoned. What role can studies of science and society (S&S) have in such change? This Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) proposal identifies a number of angles through which the PI and other S&S scholars might bring attention in research and policy to the implications of heterogeneity. Modest support would allow the PI to pursue two tracks through which novel ideas can "gestate" long enough to command attention, if not acceptance, by a wider audience. The first track would investigate four issues in S&S that extend the PI's recent work on heritability and heterogeneity, and it would subject these investigations at an early, work-in-progress stage to the scrutiny of appropriate audiences and workshops with a view to stimulating specialists to delve deeper into these issues, and mobilizing collaborations and associations to support one other in such emergent research. The second track would explore, through intensive week-long training and discussion visits, a number of scientific approaches that may contribute to developing empirically validated models of developmental pathways whose components are heterogeneous and differ among individuals at any one time and over generations. The combination of S&S investigations and engagement with scientists is designed to promote positive critique of heritability discourse, and to allow the PI to identify the place and direction of most leverage for the PI's unusual combination of interests and skills, which lie not only in S&S but also in quantitative analyses in the life sciences. The PI anticipates submission of a major research proposal on the basis of the SGER-supported work. The intellectual merit of the work lies in the development of ideas that have been overlooked or not well appreciated in the science and S&S studies of "genes and environment," despite the long and politically charged history of scientific and policy debates about the heritability of IQ test scores and genetic explanations of the differences between the mean scores for racial groups. The broader impact will be to move popular discussion beyond problematic ideas about the relative contribution of genes and environment to human traits, shed critical light on the persistent interest in explaining differences among the averages for groups defined on racial grounds, and stimulate scientific and S&S research on developmental pathways in ways that accommodate heterogeneity.
