PSY 301 1st Edition Lecture 8Outline of Last Lecture I. MonoaminesII. NeuromodulatorsIII. Corpus CallosumIV. Behavior GeneticsOutline of Current LectureI. Twin StudiesII. Adoption StudiesIII. Effects of genes/environmentCurrent LectureTwin Studies:- Twin studies help us understand what characteristics are determined by our genes and what is influenced by our environment- Identical twins (monozygotic) help us better understand our genetic influenceo Share 100% of their genes- Fraternal twins (dizygotic) help us understand how our environment impacts uso Share 50% of their geneso Share the same amount of genes as any brother or sister wouldo Only difference between fraternal twins and siblings is the age differenceo Fraternal twins help us understand the difference in age between siblings and how this affects our characteristics and upbringing- If a characteristic is very influenced by genetics, then monozygotic twins should be more similar in that characteristic than dizygotic twins- If a characteristic is very influenced by the environment, then monozygotic twins should be no more similar in that characteristic than dizygotic twins- If a characteristic is very influenced by the environment, then dizygotic twins should be more similar in that characteristic than non-twin siblingsAdoption Studies:- Used to compare adopted children to their biological and adoptive familieso Example: When a poor family gives up a child for adoption and that child is adopted by a more affluent family, that adopted child tends to show more potential than his/her biological siblings because the affluent family is able to provide more to this child (nutrition, education, etc)- If a characteristic is very influenced by genetics, then adopted children should be more like their biological parents than their adoptive parents in that characteristic- If a characteristic is very influenced by the environment, then adopted children should be more like their adoptive parents than their biological parents in that characteristicEffects of Genes and the Environment Interact:- Genes and environment are part of a single system influencing behavior- Genes can influence traits which affect responses, and environment can affect gene activitya. Passive interaction: what a child passively receives from genes and environmentb. Evocative / reactive interaction: reactions of the world to a person based on that person’s characteristicsc. Active interaction: when a person chooses aspects of their environment based on their characteristics- Reaction range: the inherited range for a characteristic - Set point: the final value of the characteristic which is set by the
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