Myers PSYCHOLOGY Seventh Edition in Modules

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Myers PSYCHOLOGY Seventh Edition in Modules

• Module 5
• Genetic Influences on Behavior
• James A. McCubbin, Ph.D.
• Clemson University
• Worth Publishers

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Genes Our Biological Blueprint

• Chromosomes
• threadlike structures made of DNA that contain
  the genes
• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
• complex molecule containing the genetic
  information that makes up the chromosomes
• has two strands-forming a double helix--held
  together by bonds between pairs of nucleotides

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Genes Our Biological Blueprint

• Genes
• biochemical units of heredity that make up the
  chromosomes
• a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a
  protein
• Genome
• the complete instructions for making an organism
• consisting of all the genetic material in its
  chromosomes

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Genes Their Location and Composition
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Evolutionary Psychology

• Natural Selection
• the principle that, among the range of inherited
  trait variations, those that lead to increased
  reproduction and survival will most likely be
  passed on to succeeding generations
• Mutation
• a random error in gene replication that leads to
  a change in the sequence of nucleotides
• the source of all genetic diversity

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Evolutionary Psychology
• the study of the evolution of behavior and the
  mind, using the principles of natural selection
• Gender
• in psychology, the characteristics, whether
  biologically or socially influenced, by which
  people define male and female

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Men preferred attractive physical features
  suggesting youth and health
• Women preferred resources and social status

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Behavior Genetics

• Behavior Genetics
• study of the relative power and limits of genetic
  and environmental influences on behavior
• Environment
• every nongenetic influence, from prenatal
  nutrition to the people and things around us

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Behavior Genetics

• Identical Twins
• develop from a single fertilized egg that splits
  in two, creating two genetically identical
  organisms
• Fraternal Twins
• develop from separate eggs
• genetically no closer than brothers and sisters,
  but they share the fetal environment

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Behavior Genetics

• Temperament
• a persons characteristic emotional reactivity
  and intensity
• Heritability
• the proportion of variation among individuals
  that we can attribute to genes
• may vary, depending on the range of populations
  and environments studied

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Behavior Genetics

• Interaction
• the dependence of the effect of one factor (such
  as environment) on another factor (such as
  heredity)
• Molecular Genetics
• the subfield of biology that studies the
  molecular structure and function of genes