Week 3 Flashcards
A portion of DNA located at a particular site on a chromosome that codes for a specific protein
gene
the study of the influences of genetics and environment on traits and abilities
human behaviour genetics
a statistical estimate of to what extent genetic variation accounts for a particular trait or ability
heritability coefficient
What is the old equation of genetics and social development?
total variance in population = variance attributed to genetics + variance attributed to environment
What is the original equation of genetics and social development incorrect?
underestimate the role of gene and environment interactions
the particular set of genes a person inherits from his or her parents
genotype
the visible expression of a person’s genetic information
phenotype
the changing of genes depending on environmental information
methylation
What is an example of methylation?
when children are removed from an abusive environment, they grow to around the average hight of a child their age
Why are adoption studies conducted?
to see how much genetics and environment contribute to behaviour or trait emergence
What are the limitations of twin studies?
MZ twins share a placenta, being a twin has a social effect that is not applicable to other children, and DZ twins are treated differently then MZ twins
A genetic component of DNA that is inherited from one parent
allele
Alleles for a particular trait in which the parents both have the same one
homozygous
alleles for which the parents differ on the same trait
heterozygous
Interactions between genes that influence presented traits
epistasis
a gene or genes that exert indirect influence by modifying the expression of another gene
modifier genes
The range of possible developmental outcomes established by a person’s genotype in reaction to the environment
reaction range
when the reaction range of a trait is extremely narrow and more intense environmental experience is required to change it
canalization
When the environment created by parents encourages the same trait presentation as the parents
passive gene-environment correlations
people’s inherited tendencies evoke certain environmental responses
evocative gene-environment correlations
people’s genes encourage them to seek out experiences compatible with the genes
active or niche picking
people in the environment are affected depending on their make-up
G X E models
When certain genes make children more vulnerable to negative environments
dual risk or diathesis stress model
when certain genes make children more sensitive to both good and bad environments
differential susceptibility
the study of heritable changes in the way that gene expression is activated or silenced with out altering the genetics
epigenetics
During the embryonic period when neurons are rapidly developing
neuron proliferaiton
When neural connections are made beginning in the prenatal stage
synaptogenesis
By age 2 how many synaps does a child have?
15, 000
The movement of neurons to areas within the brain that require more neural connections to work. Without neural stimulation some parts of the brain will have less neurons
neural migration
the brain’s removal of neural connections that are not often used beginning at age 2
synaptic pruning
brain processes that are universal
experience-expectant plasticity
brain processes that are unique to the individual or culture
experience-dependent process
How does neural development connect to our ability to socialize?
as our brain is capable of doing more things, we can be more active in our social development
a nerve cell that fires when a person acts and when a person observes the same action in another person
mirror neuron
When children and primary caregiver matches their biological rhythms to be more sensitive to the needs of the child
biobehavioural synchrony
how are mother and child in sync?
heart rhythms, co-regulation,cortisol and oxytocin levels, empathy and amygdala response
When a baby pays more attention to certain parts of the face that communicate emotion and information, we call this?
visual preparation
when a baby listens more to shorter sentences and slower talking to be attuned to their native language.
auditory preparedness
