Unit 1 Flashcards
Nature
genetics
genetic components that influence us
Example: babies babble in all different languages
Nurture
Everything else
Who we are is our environment, conditioning, learning, and everything else
Example: training a random kid to do whatever it is you want them to specialize in
Epigenetics
the study of how behaviors and the environment can affect how genes work, without altering the actual DNA sequence
Identical twins
Identical genetics
Have to be the same biological sex
One egg (monozygotic)
Fraternal twins
Different DNA
No more genetically similar than non-twin siblings
May be same or opposite sex
Two eggs (dizygotic)
Heritability
The amount of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genetics
Minnesota twin study
Told us that twins reared apart have many similarities
Natural selection
a mechanism of evolution that explains how organisms with traits that are better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce
Evolutionary perspective
based on Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. So, an individual’s thoughts and behaviors are based on what would give them the best chance of survival; subsequently, the behaviors that give the best chance of survival are passed on to further generations.
Behavior genetics
the study of our differences and the relative effects of heredity and environment.
Mutations
any change in the genetic makeup of an organism
Environment
all external factors and influences that impact an individual’s development and behavior, including physical surroundings, social interactions, cultural norms, and life experiences, essentially encompassing everything outside of a person’s biological makeup that shapes their psychology.
Heredity
the passing down of traits from parents to offspring through genetic information
Genes
the basic units of heredity, made up of DNA, that determine individual biological development by passing genetic information from one generation to the next, essentially coding for specific traits within an organism.
Genome
the complete set of genetic material (DNA) present in an organism
Eugenics
the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits.
Maturation
the natural process of physical and mental development that occurs as a person ages, largely driven by genetics and unfolding according to a predetermined sequence, rather than primarily by learning or experience
