PSY101 LO3 Key Terms Flashcards
Evolutionary psychology
A field of psychology emphasizing evolutionary mechanisms that may help explain human commonalities in cognition, development, emotion, social practices, and other areas of behavior.
Chromosomes
Within every cell, rod-shaped structures that carry the genes.
Natural selection
The evolutionary process in which individuals with genetically influenced traits that are adaptive in a particular environment tend to survive and to reproduce in greater numbers than do other individuals; as a result, their traits become more common in the population.
Universal grammar
Children’s brains are sensitive to features of language, such as nouns, verbs, and negatives.
Empiricists
Those who focus on learning and experience, nurture.
Sociobiology
Emphasizes evolutionary explanations of social behavior in human beings and animals.
Heritability
A statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group.
Evolution
A change in gene frequencies within a population over many generations; a mechanism by which genetically influenced characteristics of a population may change.
Psycholinguists
Researchers who study the psychology of language.
Language acquisition device
According to many psycholinguists, an innate mental module that allows young children to develop language if they are exposed to an adequate sampling of conversation.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
The chromosomal molecule that transfers genetic characteristics by way of coded instructions for the structure of proteins.
Genes
The basic units of heredity that are composed of DNA.
Nativists
Those who emphasize genes and inborn characteristics, nature.
Social Darwinism
The notion that the wealthy and successful are more reproductively fit than other people.
Language
A system that combines meaningless elements such as sounds or gestures to form structured utterances that convey meaning.
