twin and adoption studies

Question 1

whats a twin study a01

Answer 1

-find a set of twins where at least one has a specific characteristic like sz
-MZ(identical) and DZ(not identical ) twins are both used too see how l;ikelily it is if one twin has the disorder so will the other one
-concordance rates(how many times the second twin has the trait) are compared to see if it gives evidence that the amount of genetic material shared indicates the likelihood of both suffering sz
-researchers will use a variety of strategies to ensure allocation to mz or dz is accurate e.g dna testing
-whilst twins reared tg share same environment only identical share genes
-e.g brendgen

Question 2

strengths of twin study

Answer 2

-determine whether a behaviour is due to nature or nurture=useful to understand why a behaviour occurs
-use dna testing to find out if twin is mz or dz =valid
-often use triangulation

Question 3

weakness of twin study

Answer 3

-twins are rare in the population so results aren’t generalisable

Question 4

what is an adoption study a01

Answer 4

-we find an adopted parent or child with a specific trait and look at how many of their biological and adoptive family members share the same trait
-researchers look at frequeny with which a trait occurs in children living with a parent who shares the same trait
-they also look at rates for children with the trait who have been adopted into families without the trait
-e.g kety

Question 5

strengths of adoption

Answer 5

-help determine whether behaviour is due to nature or nurture
-considered ethical as adoption is naturally occurring event

Question 6

weaknesses of adoption studies

Answer 6

-recruitment may take a long time to find children who meet criteria and match families=time consuming
-may be difficult to establish what is due to nature or nurture as prenatal environment may be different also hard to determine due to adopted children being adopted into a culturally similar family to their biological one so may still have a shared environment