Chapter 3: Evolution, Genes, Environment And Behavior Flashcards
Gregor Mendel
The father of modern genetics
Pea plant breeder
Understanding the fundamentals of genetic inheritance
Dominant
The characteristic that it controls will be displayed
Recessive
The characteristic will not show up unless the partner gene inherited from the other parent is also recessive
Allele
Alternative forms of a gene that produce different characteristics
Homozygous
Organisms that possess the same alleles for a trait, either two dominant or two recessive
Heterozygous
Organisms that produce different types of allele for a trait, one dominant and one recessive
Genotype
The specific and complete genetic make-up of the individual
Phenotype
The individuals outward observable characteristics
Adaptations
Physical or behavioral changes that allow organisms to meet recurring environmental challenges to their survival, thereby increasing their reproductive ability
Genes
Functional segments of the long molecule DNA, that code for proteins
Chromosome
A single or double stranded structure comprising proteins and DNA
Somatic (cells)
Any cell forming the body of an organism; they do not contain reproductive cells
Diploid
The number of chromosomes carried by a cell with two complete sets of chromosomes (one from each parents) is called the diploid number of chromosomes
Gametes
Sex cells 😳😏 (eggs and sperm)
Haploid
The number of chromosomes carried by a gamete cell (23), which is half the number of chromosomes carried in a typical cell, is called the haploid number of chromosomes
Zygote
A fertilized egg containing 46 pairs of chromosomes
Nucleotides
Nitrogenous base, phosphate and sugar groups
Polygenic transmission
When a number of gene pairs combine their influences to create a single phenotypic trait
Inherited behavioral adaptations
Traits that organisms are born with that help promote their chances of survival and reproductive success
Fixed action pattern (.. FAP)
An unlearned response automatically triggered by a particular stimulus
Releasing stimuli
External stimuli that trigger fixed action patterns
Superstimulus
An exaggerated version of a releasing stimulus that triggers a stronger response than the naturalistic model
Behavioral genetics
Examines how heredity and environmental factors influence psychological characteristics
Degree of relatedness
The number of genes we share with others by direct common descent
Concordance
Co-occurrence
Shared environment
The environmental factors which certain individuals (e.g., twins) share in common (e.g., the same parents or physical home environment)
Non-shared environment
The environmental factors that certain individuals (e.g., twins) do not share with each other (e.g., specific friend group, or unique individual experiences)
Adoption study
People who were adopted early in life are compared on some characteristic both with their biological parents, with whom they share genetic endowment, and with their adoptive parents, with whom they share no genes
Twin studies
Compare trait similarities in identical and fraternal twins
Concordance rates
Statistical expression of the probability that two individuals with shared genes will share a particular trait to the same degree
Heritability coefficient
Estimates the extent to which the differences, or variation, in a specific phenotypic characteristic within a group of people can be attributed to their differing genes
Reaction range
The range of possibilities - the upper and lower limits - that the genetic code allows
Passive gene-environment correlation
An association between the child’s genetic inheritance and the environment in which they are raised
Evocative gene-environment correlation
Where a child’s genetically influenced behaviors evoke certain responses from others in their environment, which in turn reaffirms this behavior
Active gene-environment correlation
An association between genotype and the environments which that genotype leads someone to seek out
(e.g., a problematic child will seek out problematic environments and friend groups, which will affect their development)
Knock-out procedure (in genetic manipulation)
Removing or eliminating the function of a gene
Knock-in procedure (in genetic manipulation)
Where a new gene is inserted into an animal at embryonic stage
Evolutionary psychology
A growing discipline that seeks to explain how evolution shaped modern human behavior
Kin selection
An evolutionary strategy in which behaviors are selected that favor the reproductive success of an organisms relatives even if that is at a cost of the organisms own survival and reproduction
Reciprocal altruism
A behavior in an organism that reduces its fitness to survive and reproduce while increasing another organisms fitness, undertaken with the expectation that the favor will be returned later (I’ll scratch your back now, you’ll scratch my back later)
Evolutionary personality theory
Looks for the origin of presumably universal personality traits in the adaptive demands of our species’ evolutionary history (where did our personality traits come from?)
Strategic pluralism
The idea that multiple, even contradictory, behavioral strategies might be adaptive in certain environments and would therefore be maintained through natural selection
People from different places find different things hot so that’s why we haven’t all developed the same traits and behaviors
