Advanced nature and nurture studies

Question 1

Do genes and environment contribute independently to a specific trait?

Answer 1

They both have an influence by interplaying with each other

Question 2

Are environments heritable traits?

Answer 2

Yes, many measures of the environment that are important for the child development are under genetic influence (15-40%):
family environment
parental discipline and warmth
peer relationships
controllable life events and exposure to trauma

Question 3

When events aren’t heritable?

Answer 3

Uncontrollable life events - death of a parent

Question 4

What do humans do?

Answer 4

Select, modify and create environments in life with their genetic propensities

Question 5

What does nature via nature mean?

Answer 5

Gene environment correlation - when individuals with a genetic propensity for a trait are in environments, they choose or create environments which support expression of the trait

Question 6

What does R refer too?

Answer 6

Gene-environment correlation

Question 7

What are the three sources of gene environment correlation?

Answer 7

Passive
Evocative
Active

all differ in the source of the correlation

Question 8

What is a passive correlation?

Answer 8

Parental genes influence parental behaviours that play a role in determining the kind of environment that they provide

Question 9

What is an evocative correlation?

Answer 9

Child genes influence child behaviours that play a role in evoking different types of responses in people

Question 10

What is an active correlation?

Answer 10

Child genes influence child behaviours that play a role in determining how children shape and select their environments

Question 11

Do genes influence the environment directly?

Answer 11

No they influence the way that children behave, which creates different responses/environments

Question 12

What are examples of passive correlation?

Answer 12

Parents of high IQ provide genes and enriched rearing environments

children with genetic vulnerability to anti-social behaviour is due to exposure to family maltreatment

Question 13

Evidence for the passive correlation

Answer 13

Adoptive families vs non adoptive families - compare parent-child correlations
if similarity between adopted, can only be due to the environment
Results: biological families = r = .50, adoptive families = .20 - when no genetic influences, still a correlation which is due to just environment

Question 14

What are examples of evocative correlation?

Answer 14

Children with genetic risk for behavioural problems evoke a negative type of parenting or negative reaction from peers

children with positive personality evoke more positive responses from parents/peers

Question 15

Evidence for the evocative correlation

Answer 15

Adoptive families: genetic risk of child is due to behaviour of biological parents

looked at negative parenting at 5 time points of the Childs life

Adopted children at genetic risk based on biological traits - experienced higher level of negative control

adopted children with no genetic risk - less negative control

Question 16

Examples of active correlation

Answer 16

Athletic individual seeks out athletic endeavours

anti social person seeks out anti social peers

Question 17

Evidence for the active correlation

Answer 17

64% of the variance in adolescents exposure to friends who smoke and drink could be explained by genetic influences, no shared environment

genetic factors can influence the formation of friendships with substance using peers

Question 18

Gene environment correlation across development

Answer 18

The influence of the passive rGE declines from infancy to adolescence

The importance of the active rGE increases over the same period

The degree to which experience is influenced by genetic factors increases with development, as they select they own experiences

Question 19

What is nature by nurture?

Answer 19

The gene environment interaction

Question 20

What is the gene environment interaction?

Answer 20

Genetically influenced sensitivity to specific environment. Genetic influences on a trait depend on the environment

Specific environments and genetic propensities to these environments predict a trait

Question 21

Gene environment interaction

Answer 21

Effects of physical maltreatment on risk for conduct problems for children who were at high risk for these problems

Effect of maltreatment on risk for conduct problems was strongest for those at high genetic risk - 24% increase in a conduct disorder

Children at low genetic risk for a conduct disorder - 2% increase in the probability of getting a conduct disorder

Question 22

What are the two types of gene environment interplay?

Answer 22

Gene environment correlation - the role of genes in exposure to environment

Gene environment interaction - genetic sensitivity or susceptibility to the environment

Question 23

How does the environment get under the skin?

Answer 23

Through epigenetics

Question 24

What is epigenetics?

Answer 24

Determines whether genes become active or not, how much proteins are made and where and when, depending on the environment

our environment doesn’t change our DNA, but changes if genes are active or not

Question 25

What do genetics determine?

Answer 25

What proteins are synthesized

Question 26

Maternal lick and offspring behaviour

Answer 26

2 groups, high nurturing and low nurturing
high nurturing raise low anxious offspring and less stressed
low nurturing raise high anxious offspring
The nurturing behaviour of a mother rat during the first week of life shapes her pups epigenomes: in offspring of low nurturing, hypermethylation of glucocorticoid receptor gene leads to lower expression of GR and higher levels of stress and anxiety

pattern stays put, even after pup becomes adults