Early Influences on Development – Nature vs. Nurture Flashcards
As described by Scarr (1992), niche-picking refers to which of the following genotype-environment correlations?
A. evocative
B. passive
C. active
D. reciprocal
Answer C is correct. Scarr distinguished between three types of genotype-environment correlations. The active type is also referred to as niche-picking and occurs when people actively seek experiences that “fit” their genetic predispositions.
Thelen and Smith (1994) found which of the following to be useful for understanding why the stepping reflex disappears when infants are about two months of age and then reappears around the time infants begin to walk?
A. evolutionary theory
B. ecological systems theory
C. epigenetic theory
D. dynamic systems theory
Answer D is correct. Thelen and Smith applied dynamic systems theory to the study of motor development and found that loss of the stepping reflex at two months of age occurs because the increased weight of babies’ legs at this age is not matched by an increase in strength. Consequently, babies stop being able to lift their legs when they’re in an upright position because they’re unable to overcome gravity. Thelen and Smith found that the stepping reflex returned when the effect of gravity was reduced by holding babies upright in a tub filled with water up to their hips with their feet touching the bottom of the tub. The stepping reflex also naturally returned when babies’ leg muscles became strong enough to overcome gravity.
A graduate student who is conducting research on Bronfenbrenner’s mesosystem is most interested in:
A. factors in children’s immediate environments that influence their development.
B. interactions between factors in children’s immediate environments that influence their development.
C. sociocultural factors that indirectly influence children’s development.
D. biological factors that directly influence children’s development.
Answer B is correct. As defined by Bronfenbrenner (2004), the mesosystem refers to interactions between elements of the child’s microsystem – for example, the influence of family relationships on a child’s relations with peers and teachers at school, and vice versa.
Research on the heritability of intelligence has found that:
A. shared environmental factors have a greater influence than genetics on intelligence throughout the lifespan.
B. non-shared environmental factors have a greater influence than genetics on intelligence throughout the lifespan.
C. the influence of genetics increases over the lifespan and, in adulthood, exceeds the influence of shared and non-shared environmental factors.
D. the influence of genetics decreases over the lifespan and, in adulthood, is exceeded by the influence of shared and non-shared environmental factors.
Answer C is correct. Knowing that heritability estimates are about .20 in infancy and .60 to .80 in middle to late adulthood would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question. These estimates indicate that the impact of genetics increases over the lifespan, and estimates of .60 to .80 indicate that genetics has a greater impact than environmental factors in middle to late adulthood.
Data collected by Bouchard and McGue (1981) indicate that the correlation coefficient for IQ is largest for which of the following?
A. biological parent and child living apart
B. biological siblings reared together
C. identical twins reared apart
D. half-siblings reared together
Answer C is correct. Unfortunately, you’re likely to encounter a couple of questions on the exam that, like this one, require you to have memorized very specific information. For this question, if you don’t recall the exact correlation coefficients (which few people would be able to do), the best strategy is to remember that individuals with the greatest genetic similarity are most likely to have the highest correlation coefficient for IQ. As noted in the content summary, the median correlation for identical twins reared apart is .67, which is the highest correlation for the individuals listed in the answers to this question.
Epigenetics is concerned with factors that modify the:
A. genetic code by altering the underlying DNA sequence.
B. genetic code without altering the underlying DNA sequence.
C. pattern of gene expression without altering the genetic code.
D. pattern of gene expression by altering the genetic code.
Answer C is correct. Epigenetics is concerned with changes in organisms that are due to modifications in gene expression (i.e., whether genes are turned on or off) rather than modifications in the genetic code (i.e., rather than modifications in DNA sequences).
Which of the following is true about the contribution of shared and non-shared environmental factors to personality?
A. Non-shared and shared factors have about the same degree of influence on personality.
B. Non-shared factors have a stronger influence than shared factors on personality.
C. Shared factors have a stronger influence than non-shared factors on personality.
D. Non-shared factors have a stronger influence than shared factors during childhood and adolescence, while the opposite is true for adulthood.
Answer B is correct. Contrary to what might be expected, the studies have confirmed that shared environmental factors have little or no influence on personality throughout the lifespan. In contrast, non-shared environmental factors have a substantial influence that increases with increasing age.
The tendency of genetic make-up to restrict the amount of influence the environment has on a particular characteristic is referred to as:
A. canalization.
B. maturation.
C. individuation.
D. adaptation.
Answer A is correct. The tendency for genetic make-up to restrict developmental outcomes regardless of environmental circumstances is referred to as canalization.
Research has confirmed that undernutrition during prenatal development alters the function and structure of organ systems, which predisposes offspring to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. This finding illustrates which of the following?
A. fetal programming
B. reaction range
C. dynamic systems theory
D. ecological theory
Answer A is correct. The research described in this question was conducted by Barker and his colleagues. It led to the development of Barker’s fetal origins hypothesis which is also known as fetal programming.
A person’s phenotype is determined by:
A. his/her genetic inheritance.
B. environmental factors.
C. his/her genetic inheritance and environmental factors.
D. neither his/her genetic inheritance nor environmental factors.
Answer C is correct. Phenotype refers to a person’s observed characteristics, which are due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
