Chapter 3: Evolution, Genes, Environment And Behavior

Question 1

Gregor Mendel

Answer 1

The father of modern genetics
Pea plant breeder
Understanding the fundamentals of genetic inheritance

Question 2

Dominant

Answer 2

The characteristic that it controls will be displayed

Question 3

Recessive

Answer 3

The characteristic will not show up unless the partner gene inherited from the other parent is also recessive

Question 4

Allele

Answer 4

Alternative forms of a gene that produce different characteristics

Question 5

Homozygous

Answer 5

Organisms that possess the same alleles for a trait, either two dominant or two recessive

Question 6

Heterozygous

Answer 6

Organisms that produce different types of allele for a trait, one dominant and one recessive

Question 7

Genotype

Answer 7

The specific and complete genetic make-up of the individual

Question 8

Phenotype

Answer 8

The individuals outward observable characteristics

Question 9

Adaptations

Answer 9

Physical or behavioral changes that allow organisms to meet recurring environmental challenges to their survival, thereby increasing their reproductive ability

Question 10

Genes

Answer 10

Functional segments of the long molecule DNA, that code for proteins

Question 11

Chromosome

Answer 11

A single or double stranded structure comprising proteins and DNA

Question 12

Somatic (cells)

Answer 12

Any cell forming the body of an organism; they do not contain reproductive cells

Question 13

Diploid

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Gametes

Answer 14

Sex cells 😳😏 (eggs and sperm)

Question 15

Haploid

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Zygote

Answer 16

A fertilized egg containing 46 pairs of chromosomes

Question 17

Nucleotides

Answer 17

Nitrogenous base, phosphate and sugar groups

Question 18

Polygenic transmission

Answer 18

When a number of gene pairs combine their influences to create a single phenotypic trait

Question 19

Inherited behavioral adaptations

Answer 19

Traits that organisms are born with that help promote their chances of survival and reproductive success

Question 20

Fixed action pattern (.. FAP)

Answer 20

An unlearned response automatically triggered by a particular stimulus

Question 21

Releasing stimuli

Answer 21

External stimuli that trigger fixed action patterns

Question 22

Superstimulus

Answer 22

An exaggerated version of a releasing stimulus that triggers a stronger response than the naturalistic model

Question 23

Behavioral genetics

Answer 23

Examines how heredity and environmental factors influence psychological characteristics

Question 24

Degree of relatedness

Answer 24

The number of genes we share with others by direct common descent

Question 25

Concordance

Answer 25

Co-occurrence

Question 26

Shared environment

Answer 26

The environmental factors which certain individuals (e.g., twins) share in common (e.g., the same parents or physical home environment)

Question 27

Non-shared environment

Answer 27

The environmental factors that certain individuals (e.g., twins) do not share with each other (e.g., specific friend group, or unique individual experiences)

Question 28

Adoption study

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Twin studies

Answer 29

Compare trait similarities in identical and fraternal twins

Question 30

Concordance rates

Answer 30

Statistical expression of the probability that two individuals with shared genes will share a particular trait to the same degree

Question 31

Heritability coefficient

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Reaction range

Answer 32

The range of possibilities - the upper and lower limits - that the genetic code allows

Question 33

Passive gene-environment correlation

Answer 33

An association between the child’s genetic inheritance and the environment in which they are raised

Question 34

Evocative gene-environment correlation

Answer 34

Where a child’s genetically influenced behaviors evoke certain responses from others in their environment, which in turn reaffirms this behavior

Question 35

Active gene-environment correlation

Answer 35

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)

Question 36

Knock-out procedure (in genetic manipulation)

Answer 36

Removing or eliminating the function of a gene

Question 37

Knock-in procedure (in genetic manipulation)

Answer 37

Where a new gene is inserted into an animal at embryonic stage

Question 38

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 38

A growing discipline that seeks to explain how evolution shaped modern human behavior

Question 39

Kin selection

Answer 39

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

Question 40

Reciprocal altruism

Answer 40

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)

Question 41

Evolutionary personality theory

Answer 41

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?)

Question 42

Strategic pluralism

Answer 42

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