Behavior Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology - Lecture Notes | PSYC 1101, Study notes of Psychology

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1

Behavior Genetics and

Evolutionary

Psychology

Modules 5 & 6

Behavior Genetics and Evolutionary

Psychology 2

Behavior Genetics: Predicting Individual Differences  (^) Genes: Our Codes for Life  (^) Twin and Adoption Studies  (^) Temperament and Heredity  (^) Nature and Nurture  (^) Gene-Environment Interaction

Behavior Genetics: Predicting

Individual Differences 4

Behavior Geneticists study our differences and weigh the relative effects of heredity and environment.

Genes: Our Codes for Life 5 Chromosomes containing DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid ) are situated in the nucleus of a cell.

Genome 7 Genome is the set of complete instructions for making an organism, containing all the genes in that organism. Thus, the human genome makes us human, and the genome for drosophila makes it a common house fly.

Twin and Adoption Studies 8 Studying the effects of heredity and environment on two sets of twins, identical and fraternal, has come in handy.

Separated Twins 10 Critics of separated twin studies note that such similarities can be found between strangers. Researchers point out that differences between fraternal twins are greater than identical twins. Bob Sacha

Biological Versus Adoptive Relatives 11 Adoption studies, as opposed to twin studies, suggest that adoptees (who may be biologically unrelated) tend to be different from their adoptive parents and siblings.

Parenting 13 Parenting Influences Children’s Attitudes, Values Manners, Beliefs Faith, Politics Parenting does have an effect on biologically related and unrelated children.

Temperament and Heredity 14 Temperament refers to a person’s stable emotional reactivity and intensity. Identical twins express similar temperaments, suggesting heredity predisposes temperament.

Gene-Environment Interaction 16 Genes can influence traits which affect responses, and environment can affect gene activity. A genetic predisposition that makes a child restless and hyperactive evokes an angry response from his parents. A stressful environment can trigger genes to manufacture neurotransmitters leading to depression.

Evolutionary Psychology:

Understanding Human Nature

17 Evolutionary psychology studies why we as humans are alike. In particular, it studies the evolution of behavior and mind using principles of natural selection.

Artificial Selection 19 Biologists like Belyaev and Trut (1999) were able to artificially rear and domesticate wild foxes, selecting them for friendly traits. Any trait that is favored naturally or artificially spreads to future generations. L.N. Trur, (^) American Scientist (^) (1999) 87: 160-

Human Traits 20 A number of human traits have been identified as a result of pressures afforded by natural selection. Why do infants fear strangers when they become mobile? Why do people fear spiders and snakes and not electricity and guns? How are men and women alike? How and why do men’s and women’s sexuality differ?