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3 Cards in this Set
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Genes
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- The basic unit of heredity
- Made up of sequences of "building blocks" called amino acids - Humans have around 30,000 genes, each regulating production of various proteins - Genes function in pairs - Variants of genes are called alleles - Alleles can be either dominant or recessive - Genes influence behavior indirectly : influence the production of proteins that effect anatomy and physiology of body. |
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Correlational studies on the influence of genes on behavior:
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-Caspi et. al. (2003):
Aim: To investigate relationship between 5-HTT gene and depression. Participants: 847 Caucasian New Zealanders Experiment: Had participants give self reports on depression. Results: People with short allele for this gene correlated with more vulnerability to depression. Conclusion: Certain diseases based on behavior are cause by genes. - Bouchard et. al. (1990) Aim: To investigate relationship between heredity and weight gain Participants: Twelve pairs of male identical twins Experiment; Participants stayed in a dormitory for 100 days to gain weight (ate 4 large meals per day) Results: Twins gained the same amount of weight in the same places in the body. Conclusion: Gaining weight, a factor which is related to behavior, can be related to genetics. |
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Evaluation of research studies on genetic influence on behavior:
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Strengths: Useful for understanding psychological phenomena, empirical support.
Limitations: Correlation studies show relationship but cannot claim that genes cause behavior, underestimation of cognitive, sociocultural and environmental influences on behavior, methodological problems with research: Problems of self report, researcher expectancies, problems with generalization, validity problems, etc. |
