GENETICS AND EVOLUTION Flashcards
Nature-Nurture Question
Whether behaviour originated in our genetic makeup or our own hard work
Behavioural Genetics
Interdisciplinary field concerned with how genes and the environment influence individual behaviour and traits including brain function
Adoption study
When children are put up for adoption the parents who give birth to them are no longer the parents who raise them
Monozygotic twins
Identical twins who share the same DNA
Dizygotic twins
Fraternal twins who share 50% of the same DNA
Quantitative genetics
The scientific discipline in which similarities among individuals are analyzed based on how biologically related they are
Heritability coefficient
Can range from zero to one, and is meant to provide a single measure of genetics’ influence on a trait
Gene-environment interaction
For many traits, genetic differences affect behaviour under some environmental circumstances but not others
Gene-selection theory
Occurs through the desire for gene replication
Sexual strategies theory
Describes the psychology of human mating strategies and the ways in which women and men differ in those strategies
Error management theory
Describes the evolution of biases in the way we think about everything - predicts that whenever uncertain situations present us with a safer versus more dangerous decision, we will psychologically adapt to prefer choices that minimize the cost of errors
Evolution
Certain traits and behaviours developing over time because they are advantages to our survival
Natural selection
Reproductive success not survival success
Adaptations
Traits and behaviours that evolved over time to increase our reproductive success
Survival adaptations
Mechanisms that helped our ancestors handle the “hostile forces of nature” like to survive hot temperatures we developed sweat glands to cool ourselves
Reproduction adaptations
Help us compete for mates, based on sexual selection theory
Intrasexual competition
Occurs when members of one sex compete against each other and the winner gets to mate with a member of the opposite sex. This is passed on with greater frequency due to their association with greater mating success
Intersexual selection
Members of one sex are attracted to certain qualities in mates - those desired qualities get passed on in greater numbers, simply because their precessors mate more often
Genes
The basic units of heredity or the information that is passed along in DNA that tells the cells and molecules how to build the organism and how that organism should behave.
Fitness
Genes can influence the odds for survival and reproduction of the organism they are in. One way of boosting genes’ replicative success
Inclusive fitness
Genes can influence the organism to help other organisms who also likely contain those genes. Another way of boosting gene’s replicative success
Psychological adaptations
Mechanisms of the mind that have evolved to solve specific problems of survival or reproduction
Physiological adaptations
Adaptations that occur in the body as a consequence of one’s environment
Interactionist framework
A theory that takes into account multiple factors when determining the outcome
Sexual Strategies Theory
A psychological theory that proposes that we have evolved a list of different mating strategies both short-term and long-term, that vary depending on culture, social context, parental influence and personal mate value - differences in parental investment have an enormous impact on sexual strategies
Cost asymmetrics
Low cost but great reward / low reward but high cost
Visual descent illusion
People will overestimate the distance when looking down from a height (compared to up)
Auditory looming bias
People overestimate how close objects are when the sound is moving toward them compared to when it is moving away from them
Acetylation
Increased gene expression
Deacetylation
Decreased gene expression
Epigentics
The study of changes in gene expression and how the environment affects expression of our genes, but not the underlying genes themselves
Behavioural genomics
The study of how DNA and specific genes are related to behaviour
Genotype
Refers to genetics and the gene
Phenotype
Refers to the expression of that gene
Dominant traits
If you have one copy of this version, you will have the trait (B,b) or (B,B)
Recessive traits
You need both copies of this version to have the trait (b,b)
DNA methylation
Changes that generally reduce expression of a gene
Histone modification
Changes that can either increase or decrease expression of a gene
Heritability
How much of the variation in a particular trait is attributable to variation in genetics
Molecular genetics
The study of which genes are associated with which personality traits
Physiological adaptations
Broad and generally increase ability to deal with environment
Psychological adaptations
Specific and solve specific problems
Ekman’s Basic Emotions
Nearly universally recognized - anger, fear, disgust, shock, happiness, sadness
Kin selection
Altruism because it would increase the survival of relatives - only help them because we’re related
Reciprocal altruism
If I do you a favour, maybe they’ll help me back eventually
