This book examines socialization science, which is the empirical effort to understand how children acquire traits from their families and cultures. This work proposes that one part of the family influence process--broad differences in family environments, except for those that are neglectful, abusive, or without opportunity--may exert little influence on personality development over the child's life course. The book holds that the environmental variables most often named in socialization science (social class, parental warmth, and one- versus two-parent households) may be devoid of causal influence on such child outcomes as intelligence, personality, and psychopathology. Following an introduction on the nature-nurture controversy and the problems of socialization science, the chapters of the book are: (1) "The Primacy of Child Rearing in Socialization Theory"; (2) "Separating Nature and Nurture"; (3) "As the Twig is Bent?: Families and Personality"; (4) "Limited Rearing Effects on Intelligence (IQ)"; (5) "Uniting Nature and Nurture: The Genetics of Environmental Measures"; (6) "Gender Differences"; and (7) "Why Families Have Little Influence." Each chapter contains references. (HTH)