evolution, genes, environment and behaviour Flashcards
what is behavioural genetics?
a field of psychological science dedicated to investigating how genes and the environmental factors interact during the course of development so as to affect behaviour
what is evolutionary psychology?
a field of psychological science that investigates the evolutionary origins of various psychological traits
what is evolution?
the gradual changed over time in organic life from one form into another
what is natural selection?
characteristics that increase the likelihood of survival and reproduction within a particular environment will be preserved in the population and therefore become more frequent over time
what are the three factors that natural selection is based off?
- biological variation
- high reproduction rates and the fact that not all members of the population survive
- competition over limited resources
what are mutations?
random events and accidents in gene reproduction during the division of cells
what is a dominant gene?
a particular characteristic that it controls will be displayed
what is a recessive gene?
the characteristic will not show up unless the partner gene inherited from the other parent is also recessive
what plant did Mendel use to study genetics?
the pea plant
what is an allele?
alternative forms of a gene that produce a different characteristic
what is homozygous?
organisms that possess the same type of allele for a trait, either two dominant or two recessive
what is heterozygous?
organisms that possess different alleles for a trait, one dominant and one recessive
what is a genotype?
the specific and complete genetic make-up of the individual
what is a phenotype?
the individuals outward observable characteristics
what are genes?
functional segments of the long molecule DNA that code for specific proteins
what is a chromosome?
a single or double stranded structure comprised of proteins and DNA
what is a somatic cell?
any cell forming the body of an organism. they do not contain reproductive cells
what is a diploid cell?
a cell consisting of two sets of chromosomes (2N)
what is a gamete?
sex cells (egg and sperm)
what is a haploid cell?
a cell with half the number of chromosomes (found in a gamete)
what is a zygote?
a fertilised egg containing 46 chromosomes
how many amino acids are there? and thus, how many types of protein are there?
20
20^100
what are the four nitrogenous bases in DNA?
adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine
what are the base pairing rules in DNA?
A-T C-G
what is a codon?
a non-overlapping triplet sequence of nucleotides that each code for one amino acid
what is a nucleotide?
a nitrogenous base, a phosphate and a sugar (ribose)
what is polygenic transmission?
when a number of gene pairs combine their influences to create a single phenotypic trait
what are inherited behavioural adaptations?
traits that organisms are born with that help to promote their chances of survival and reproductive success
what is a fixed action pattern?
an unlearned response triggered automatically to a particular stimulus
what is a releasing stimuli?
external stimuli that trigger fixed action patterns
what is a superstimulus?
an exaggerated version of a releasing stimulus that triggers a stronger response than the naturalistic model
what is a shared environment?
the people who read in these experience have many of their features in common
what is an unshared environment?
experiences that are unique to us
what is the degree of relatedness?
the number of genes we share with others by direct common descent
what is concordance?
rates of co-occurence
what is an adoption study?
people who are adopted early in life are compared on some characteristics both with their biological parents with whom they share their genetics and with their adoptive parents, with whom they share no genes
what is a twin study?
comparing of a trait between identical and fraternal twins
what are concordance rates?
statistical expression of the probability that two individuals with shared genes will share a particular trait to the same degree
what is a 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
it is a number between 0 and 1
what is the reaction range?
the range of possibilities, the upper and lower limits, that the genetic code allows
what is an evocative influence?
a Childs genetically influenced behaviours may evoke certain responses from others
what are epigenetics?
study of changes in gene expression due to environmental factors and independent of the DNA
what is knock-out procedure?
where a function of a gene is removed, or eliminated
what is knock-in procedure?
where a new gene is inserted into an animal at embryonic stage
what are adaptations?
physical or behavioural changes that allow organisms to meet recurring environmental challenges to their survival, thereby increasing their reproductive ability
what is kin selection?
an evolutionary strategy in which behaviours are selected which favour the reproductive success of an organisms relative even if hat is at a cost to that organisms own survival and reproduction
what is reciprocal altruism?
a behaviour in which an organism reduces its fitness to survive and reproduce while increasing another organisms fitness, undertaken with the expectation that the favour will later be returned
what is the sexual strategies theory of mate preferences?
mating strategies and preferences reflect inherited tendencies, shaped over the ages in response to different types of adaptive problems that men and women have faced
what is social structure theory?
men and women display different mating preferences not because nature impels them to do so, but because society guides them into different social roles
what is evolutionary personality theory?
looks for the origin of presumably universal personality traits in the adaptive demands of our species’ evolutionary history
what is strategic pluralism?
the idea that multiple, even contradictory, behavioural strategies might be adaptive in certain environments and would therefore be maintained through natural selection
as it is hard to say that genes are a determinant of behaviour. what are genes most likely to provide?
a predisposition towards a behaviour
what are the two ways in which the environment shapes behaviour?
personal adaptation = results from our past interactions with our immediate environment
species adaptation = influence of the environment through natural selection
what are the three ways that genotype can influence environment?
1) influence aspects of parent-produced environment = parents effect the environment you’re raised in
2) influence responses evoked from others
3) influence self-selection of compatible environments
what is evolutionary noise?
some characteristics that have no survival advantage randomly evolve over time
what are the weaknesses of evolutionary psychology?
- circular reasoning
- survival of the fittest not the strongest
- does evolution really have a plan
- genetic determinism
