C4. P1-2

Question 1

What does genetics refer to?

Answer 1

Genetics refers to the study of heredity and variation in how characteristics are inherited and passed down from generation to generation in living organisms

Question 2

What does behavioral genetics focus on?

Answer 2

How genes contribute to differences among people

Question 3

What is evolution psychology?

Answer 3

Subfield of psychology that seeks to apply theoretical principles from evolution theory to understand and explain how mental and psychological characteristics, capacity, traits, and propensities for behaviors and conditions are the result of adaptation

Question 4

Define natural selection.

Answer 4

Evolutionary principle that traits which help organisms survive, mate, or both, within a particular environment are, over time, more likely to be passed down to successive generations

Question 5

Who is David Buss?

Answer 5

A man who is instrumental in fostering collaboration between biological psychology, evolutionary theory, and psychology at large

Question 6

What is the first criticism of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 6

We are unable to know for sure what those prior environments were truly like

Question 7

What is the second criticism of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 7

Observations made in evolutionary psychology studies can be explained in several different ways

Question 8

What is the third criticism of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 8

Evolutionary psychology simply puts a “story” to data without providing a way to test if the story fits the actual data

Question 9

What is the weakest criticism of evolutionary psychology?

Answer 9

Evolutionary psychology inherently implies genetic determinism

Question 10

Who are evolutionary psychologists?

Answer 10

Psychological scientists that do research in evolutionary psychology and often teach

Question 11

Who are behavioral geneticists?

Answer 11

Psychological scientists that study this field and typically work in academic, hospital, or pharmaceutical settings

Question 12

How many genes do humans have?

Answer 12

21,000-25,000

Question 13

Is Huntington’s disease dominant or recessive?

Answer 13

Dominant

Question 14

Is Tay-Sachs disease dominant or recessive?

Answer 14

Recessive

Question 15

Which blood types are dominant an recessive?

Answer 15

A and B are dominant, O is recessive

Question 16

What is a discrete trait?

Answer 16

Expression resulting in one pair of genes

Question 17

How much DNA does first-degree siblings and dizygotic twins share on average?

Answer 17

50%

Question 18

How much DNA do half-siblings share on average?

Answer 18

25%

Question 19

What is a basic twin study?

Answer 19

The degree of similarity for a trait or characteristic is examined using pairs of monozygotic twins and pairs of dizygotic twins or siblings

Question 20

What is the twin personality study?

Answer 20

Comparing genes and environment with monozygotic and dizygotic twins

Question 21

What are separated twin studies?

Answer 21

Identifying pairs of monozygotic and dizygotic twins who were separated early in life

Question 22

What is the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart (MISTRA)?

Answer 22

Researchers identified 137 pairs of twins who had been reared apart. Of these pairs, 81 were monozygotic and 56 were dizygotic, compared genetics of twins who were separated and lived together