Twin and Adoption Studies

Question 1

What are adoption studies?

Answer 1

They are carried out because the environment of adopted children is not the same as their biological families yet they have the same genes in common

Question 2

What does an adoption study show?

Answer 2

Similarities with their biological families will indicate a behaviour is down to nature, differences indicate nurture

Question 3

Strengths of adoption studies?

Answer 3

• A way of seperatng genes from the environment, similarities indicate nature
• Developmental trends can be studied as studies can be longitudinal

Question 4

Weaknesses of adoption studies?

Answer 4

• Likely that there is a certain type of family who are accepted as adoptees of children
• Children tend to be placed in families like their own so their birth environment and adopted may be similar

Question 5

What is a twin study?

Answer 5

Where monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins are compared for concordance of certain characteristics. Looking for 100% concordance in MZ twins as they share genes.

Question 6

Strength of twin studies?

Answer 6

• More twins in society, can have large sample sizes and replicate studies
• Can tell us whether you can inherit behaviours
• Twins are a naturally occurring variable

Question 7

Weakness of twin studies?

Answer 7

• Lack generalisability

- Confounding variables like different social groups etc