chapter 9- exam 2

Question 1

eipigentics

Answer 1

• nongenetic influences on a gene’s expression (stress, nutrition)

Question 2

behavioral genetics

Answer 2

• explains how personality traits are passed from parent to child and shared biological relative
• examines how genes influence broad patterns of behavior or persoanlity

Question 3

calculating heritabilities

Answer 3

• examine how phenotypes may be attributed to variations in genotypes
• compares similarity in personality between people who are and are not related and people who are related to different degrees
• the assumption is that traits and behaviors influenced by genes should be more similar among more closely related people
• heritability coefficient is the degree to which genes account for something
• from non twin relative studies is approximately .20

Question 4

What does heritability tell you?

Answer 4

• genes matter: not all of personality comes from experience
• etiology or origin of disorders
• disorders with very low heritabilities are likely to be due to environmental factos

Question 5

how genes affect personality

Answer 5

• genes are not causal, they only provide the design
• create propensities to behave in certain ways
• examine gene-environment interaction

Question 6

mate selection

Answer 6

• heterosexual
• men place higher value on physical attraction and prefer younger mate
• women place higher value on economic security and prefer older mate
• both want the highest likelihood of healthy offspring who will survive and reproduce
• complications
• beauty standards today; liking someone; women also want hot men; homosexuality and asexuality

Question 7

mating strategies

Answer 7

• differences in mating strategies between men and women
• desired number of sexual partners, faithfulness to partner, selectivity of partners
• jealousy
• women = emotional infedility
• men = sexual infedelity
• sexy son hypothesis
• they will have very attractive son, so then the son will be able to easily pass genes

Question 8

sociosexuality

Answer 8

willingness to engage in sexual relations in the absence of a serious relationship

Question 9

evolutionary psychology

Answer 9

why are we so similar?

Question 10

gene environment ineraction

Answer 10

• choice of environment tends to be consistent with genetic tendencies
• the same environment can affect people differently
• environments can determine how or whether a gene is expressed
• environments can affect heritability
• ex: nutrition and height

Question 11

evolution and behavior

Answer 11

• current behaviors are present because these behaviors were helpful or necessary for survival
• people with these behavior survived and were able to pass on their genes to future generations
• identify common behavior patterns and then determine how the behavior was adaptive
• aggression and alturism
• to increase protection
• self esteem
• depression
• pain signals something is wrong and must be fixed
• crying may be a way to get social support

Question 12

Sociometer

Answer 12

Reflection of degree of acceptance by others

Question 13

individual differences

Answer 13

• focus has been general human nature
• evolutionary reasons for individual differences
• diversity is necessary for viability
• behavioral patterns evolved as reactions to particular environment experiences
• several possible behavioral strategies envolved
• some behaviors may be frequency dependent
• human nature is flexible

Question 14

biological reductionism

Answer 14

• everything about the mind can be reduced to biology
• we do not known enough about biology
• biology leaves out most of psychology and does not ask many important psychological questions