General Objectives:How broad a genetic influence is;A.Understanding different types or methodsB.What is the nature of human nature? •What are people like at birth? •Some questions raised by genetics-psychology:John Locke : Tabula Rasa (blank slate)A.Immediately at birth, the human being doesn't have any tendencies at all. It's just a bundle of electrical-chemical activity, and it's waiting for the environment to work on it in many ways. •At the moment of birth, we are all exactly the same. This has a manifestation in the contemporary school of psychology known as behaviorism. •Father of behaviorism: John Watson: •Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for many thousands of years. [p. 82] [12]From <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Watson> Rene Descarte: Nativism:B.Society has developed mechanisms to constrain our natural, selfish impulses. •Mechanisms by which society achieves this: Parents (parents spend an enormous amount of time teaching children the difference between right and wrong, what they should do, shouldn't do…), religious institutions (e.g. churches - teach us general values that we can apply to any situation that we find ourselves in; "treat other people, like you would like them to treat you"; "forgive")•Society has norms: Unwritten rules of behavior determined by the culture; a person that violates a norm is punished.•Jean Jacque Rousseau: Noble Savage:C.The human baby immediately after birth is a pure, playful, creature (made in God's image). Nothing is so gentle as man in his primitive state. Then, society comes and corrupts it. Philosophical models that attempt answer such questions:Genetic Influences:GeneralNormalSpecificAbnormalIntelligenceHelpingIntroversion/ExtroversionAggressionTemperamentEmpathyCortical arousalSchizophreniaPerceptual SpeedMoodinessVisual spatial abilityDepression/ManiaEmotionalityJob satisfactionStutteringCriminal activityImpulsivenessSexual BehaviorDyslexiaAlcoholismOptimismReading disabilitiesBehavior Genetic Methods:Inbred strains 2 groups of animals: different genotypes, identical environments. Observe. Any difference you observe must be due to genetics; it cannot be due to environment, since the env. has been held constant from birth. Such studies are often conducted on mice. Over a period of time (over generations) inbreeding can occur, so that genetic architecture converges. " Hoarding behavior". ○Selective breeding○Animal studies: 1.Family Studies2.Twin Studies3.Adoption Studies4.Biological/Genetic MarkersThursday, September 19, 20132:06 PM Week 4.5 Psych 100 Page 1Week 4.5 Psych 100 Page