Behavioral Genetics

Question 1

environment

Answer 1

every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us.

Question 2

behavior genetics

Answer 2

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Question 3

chromosomes

Answer 3

threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that contain the genes.

Question 4

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Answer 4

a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes.

Question 5

genes

Answer 5

the biochemical units of hereditary that make up the chromosomes; a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein.

Question 6

genome

Answer 6

the complex instructions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in the organism’s chromosomes.

Question 7

identical twins

Answer 7

twins who develop from a single fertilized egg that splits in two, creating two genetically identical organisms.

Question 8

fraternal twins

Answer 8

twins who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than brothers and sisters, bu they share a fetal environment.

Question 9

temperament

Answer 9

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

Question 10

heritability

Answer 10

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. In other words, the more similar the environment, the higher the percentage of differences of similarities being caused by genes.

Question 11

interaction

Answer 11

the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).

Question 12

molecular genetics

Answer 12

the subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes.