Ch 2. Biological Beginnings

Question 1

Evolutionary Psychology

Answer 1

Emphasizes the importance of adaptation, reproduction, and “survival of the fittest” in shaping behavior.

Question 2

Chromosomes

Answer 2

Threadlike structures that come in 23 pairs, with one member of each pair coming from each parent. Chromosomes contain the genetic substance DNA.

Question 3

DNA

Answer 3

A complex molecule that contains genetic information.

Question 4

Genes

Answer 4

Units of hereditary information composed of DNA. Genes help cells to reproduce themselves and help manufacture the proteins that maintain life.

Question 5

Mitosis

Answer 5

Cellular reproduction in which the cell’s nucleus duplicates itself with two new cells being formed, each containing the same DNA as the parent cell, arranged in the same 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Question 6

Meiosis

Answer 6

A specialized form of cell division that occurs to form eggs and sperm (also known as gametes).

Question 7

Fertilization

Answer 7

A stage in reproduction when an egg and a sperm fuse to create a single cell, called a zygote.

Question 8

Zygote

Answer 8

A single cell formed through fertilization.

Question 9

Genotype

Answer 9

A person’s genetic heritage; the actual genetic material.

Question 10

Phenotype

Answer 10

The way an individual’s genotype is expressed in observed and measurable characteristics.

Question 11

Down Syndrome

Answer 11

A form of intellectual disability that is caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Question 12

Klinefelter syndrome

Answer 12

a chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome, making them XXY instead of XY. Males with this disorder have undeveloped testes, and they usually have enlarged breasts and become tall.

Question 13

Fragile X Syndrome

Answer 13

A genetic disorder involving an abnormality in the X chromosome, which becomes constricted and often breaks.

Question 14

Turner Syndrome

Answer 14

A chromosome disorder in females in which either an X chromosome is missing, making the person XO instead of XX, or the second X chromosome is partially deleted.

Question 15

XYY Syndrome

Answer 15

A chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra Y chromosome.

Question 16

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

Answer 16

A genetic disorder in which an individual cannot properly metabolize an amino acid called phenylalanine. PKU is now easily detected but, if left untreated, results in intellectual disability and hyperactivity.

Question 17

Sickle-Cell Anemia

Answer 17

A genetic disorder that affects the red blood cells and occurs most often in people of African descent.

Question 18

Behavior Genetics

Answer 18

The field that seeks to discover the influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human traits and development.

Question 19

Twin Study

Answer 19

A study in which the behavioral similarity of identical twins is compared with the behavioral similarity of fraternal twins.

Question 20

Adoption Study

Answer 20

A study in which investigators seek to discover whether, in behavior and psychological characteristics, adopted children are more like their adoptive parents, who provided a home environment, or more like their biological parents, who contributed their heredity. Another form of the adoption study compares adoptive and biological siblings.

Question 21

Passive genotype-environment correlations

Answer 21

Correlations that exist when the natural parents, who are genetically related to the child, provide a rearing environment for the child.

Question 22

Evocative genotype-environment correlations

Answer 22

Correlations that exist when the child’s genetically influenced characteristics elicit certain types of environments.

Question 23

Active (niche-picking) genotype-environment correlations

Answer 23

Correlations that exist when children seek out environments they find compatible and stimulating.

Question 24

Shared Environmental Experiences

Answer 24

Siblings’ common environmental experiences, such as their parents’ personalities and intellectual orientation, the family’s socioeconomic status, and the neighborhood in which they live.

Question 25

Nonshared Environmental Experiences

Answer 25

The child’s own unique experiences, both within the family and outside the family, that are not shared with another sibling. Thus, experiences occurring within the family can be part of the “nonshared environment.”

Question 26

Epigenetic View

Answer 26

Emphasizes that development is the result of an ongoing, bidirectional interchange between heredity and environment.

Question 27

Gene × Environment (G × E) interaction

Answer 27

The interaction of a specific measured variation in the DNA and a specific measured aspect of the environment.