Fiveable
Fiveable

or

Log in

Find what you need to study


Light

Find what you need to study

2.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment

5 min readdecember 20, 2022

Megan Revello

Megan Revello

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Haseung Jun

Haseung Jun

Megan Revello

Megan Revello

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Haseung Jun

Haseung Jun

Vocabulary

Basics of Biology

  • In this key topic, it is important to remember that the 🌳 is every external influence that exists. The often influence religion, politics, and our morals.

  • We all have 46 (23 pairs) in each cell. These are structures made up of 🧬 that contain our , which are studied in this chapter.

    • There are both expressed/active and inactive , which depends on your .

  • A is all of the that make up an organism.

Heredity and the Environment

An essential question that faces psychologists is the . Are we more influenced by our and heredity🧬 or by our experiences🧠?  Biological psychologists in particular are interested in studying the links between our biological (, neurons, etc.) processes and psychological processes. 

  • One group of behavioral psychologists, behavior geneticists, are interested in studying the power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. To do this we may look at , chromosome pairs, , , or even the entire human to see where minute differences can come into play. 

  • Another important way that psychologists can study the influence of nature vs. nurture is through . If we are able to study identical twins that were separated at birth, we can compare and contrast them. We would look for similarities and differences in their abilities, personalities, and traits to get an idea of what was more influential - nature or nurture. We can further make comparisons between fraternal twins and siblings raised in the same family to gain additional insights.  

    • develop from the same fertilized egg that eventually splits into two. Each twin has the same , but not the same number of copies of those . This may explain some small differences between the two twins or why one is more at risk for illnesses. Identical twins also share the same prenatal (placenta) but one may receive slightly better nourishment and care. A famous study conducted by found that the IQ of twins living separately after birth had a correlation of 0.69 while the IQ of twins living together had a correlation of 0.88. The scores found that had some effect on IQ scores, but it is still heavily influenced by genetics. The twins raised separately also showed similar physical characteristics, showing that , or causing others to treat the twins in similar ways, was a key player in deciding likeliness.

    • develop from different fertilized eggs.

  • We can also use to understand the variations that exist between individuals being studied. basically tells us how much of the variation that exists between a group of individuals is due to genetics. is NOT the amount or percent of a given trait that is inherited. It is instead an explanation of the differences that exist between us related to genetic factors.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2Fdownload-23.png?alt=media&token=6cbcb536-a51b-4a26-832e-ff4990b4bfde

Image Courtesy of Study

  • There are also molecular geneticists that study the and how they play a role on our behavior. They find that allow us to have traits such as , , and extraversion and attempt to find out which specific influence each of these behaviors.

  • When discussing the it is important to note that often both play an important role in our development and behavior. The of both factors is of particular relevance to those studying . Epigeneticists look at how the 🌲 influences how our are expressed without an actual change in .

    • Genetics give you a foundation of who you are but the shapes you into the person you are. The change between the foundation and who you really are is studied by epigeneticists.

      • These environmental changes explain why each child in a family is different, despite their same genetic background.

    • Life experiences lay down , which are that can block the expression of a gene. are an example of changes in without an actual change in 🧬.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-JcTWZ2rqF162.JPG?alt=media&token=dbaac4cc-1eec-4f79-b666-4d23abe38f4c

Image Courtesy of Myers' AP Psychology Textbook 2nd edition

"Life experiences beginning in the womb lay down epigenetic marks - often organic methyl molecules - that can block the expression of any gene in the associated DNA segment (from Champagne, 2010)."

  • are random errors that occur during gene replication that lead to a change.

Evolution

  • Evolutionary psychologists focus on the principles of to explain our behavior and the mind. This principle states that we are more likely to inherit and pass along traits that have been vital to our survival as a species.

    • has an large influence in this field of psychology.

The Biopsychosocial Approach

It is important to note that biological ()🧬, psychological (gene expression + beliefs)🧠, and social-cultural (peer influence)😊 influences all play a part in our individual development. Contrary to other approaches, psychologists who have a do not focus on specific influneces of thinking and behavior. Instead, they believe that rules we use to view the world affect our way of thinking and behaving. Moreover, biological and social influences are equally responsible for our decision.

An example of how might be explained:

  • genetic tendency 🧬

  • how the person was conditioned to be extroverted 🧠

  • social pressures (conformity) 😊

🎥Watch: AP Psychology - Body Systems, Brain, & Genetics

Key Terms to Review (33)

Behavior Genetics

: Behavior genetics is a field of study in psychology that examines the role of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Biological Psychology

: Biological psychology, also known as biopsychology or psychobiology, is a field in psychology that examines the physical basis for behaviors and mental states, looking specifically at the roles of genetics and the brain.

Biopsychosocial Approach

: An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis for understanding human behavior or health issues.

Body Weight

: Body weight refers to the mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is often used as a measure of overall health.

Charles Darwin

: A British naturalist who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution through natural selection; he proposed that species evolve over time by adapting to their environments.

Chromosomes

: Chromosomes are thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells. Each chromosome is made up of protein and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes which carry genes - units of heredity controlling specific traits.

DNA

: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living organisms.

Effective Psychological Environment

: The effective psychological environment refers to the unique personal experiences and influences that shape an individual's behavior, personality, and mental health.

Environment

: In psychology, environment refers to all external conditions and influences affecting the life and development of an organism.

Epigenetic Marks

: Epigenetic marks are chemical modifications to DNA that can turn genes on or off. They play a key role in development and heredity.

Epigenetics

: Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence. These changes may last through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell's life and may also last for multiple generations without any change in the underlying DNA sequence.

Evolutionary Psychology

: Evolutionary psychology is an approach in psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits as the functional products of natural selection. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations.

Extraversion Traits

: Extraversion traits are personality characteristics that involve being outgoing, social, talkative and energetic.

Extroversion

: Extroversion is a personality trait characterized by outgoingness, high energy, and sociability. People with this trait tend to enjoy being around others, are often quite talkative, and generally feel energized by social interaction.

Fraternal (Dizygotic) Twins

: Fraternal twins are siblings who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They share half their genes just like any other siblings but they share womb environment at the same time.

Gene Expression Blockage

: This refers to the process where a gene's information is prevented from being used to create proteins, effectively blocking the gene from functioning.

Genes

: Genes are the basic units of heredity that maintain their structural identity from one generation to another. They are made up of DNA and determine individual biological development.

Genome

: A genome is the complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell or organism. It's like the blueprint for an organism's design and function.

Heritability

: Heritability is the proportion of observed differences on a trait among individuals of a population that are due to genetic differences.

Identical (Monozygotic) Twins

: Identical twins are two offspring resulting from one zygote that, at an early stage of development, separated into two embryos. They share the same genetic material.

Interaction

: In psychology, interaction refers to the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (like heredity).

IQ Correlation

: IQ correlation refers to statistical relationships between two sets of IQ scores. It can be used to compare similarities in intelligence among related individuals such as siblings or parents and children.

Methyl Molecules

: Methyl molecules are compounds containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms (CH3). In biology, they play a crucial role in DNA methylation, an important process for normal development and associated with several key processes including genomic imprinting and X-chromosome inactivation.

Molecular Genetics

: Molecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. It primarily focuses on how genes are transferred from generation to generation.

Molecular Structure and Function of Genes

: The molecular structure refers to how genes are built at a molecular level including DNA sequences. The function refers to what these genes do – typically coding for proteins which carry out various functions within cells.

Mutations

: Mutations are changes in the genetic material of an organism. They can occur naturally or be induced by environmental factors.

Natural Selection

: Natural selection is a process in nature in which organisms possessing certain genotypic characteristics that make them better adjusted to an environment tend to survive, reproduce, increase in number or frequency, and therefore, are able to transmit and perpetuate their essential genotypic qualities to succeeding generations.

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

: The nature vs. nurture debate involves determining whether human behavior is determined by genetics (nature) or learned through interacting with the environment (nurture).

Physical Similarities

: Physical similarities refer to the observable traits or characteristics that are shared among individuals of the same species, such as hair color, eye color, height, etc.

Sexual Orientation

: Sexual orientation refers to the enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, both genders, neither gender, or another gender.

Thomas Bouchard

: Thomas Bouchard is a psychologist known for his research on twins, particularly the Minnesota Twin Study. He studied both identical and fraternal twins who were raised apart to understand the influence of genetics versus environment on individual development.

Twin and Adoption Studies

: Twin studies compare identical twins raised together versus those raised apart to determine genetic influence. Adoption studies compare biological relatives with adoptive relatives to understand both genetic and environmental influences.

Variations Between Individuals

: Variations between individuals refer to differences in physical and behavioral traits among members of a species due to genetic and environmental factors.

2.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment

5 min readdecember 20, 2022

Megan Revello

Megan Revello

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Haseung Jun

Haseung Jun

Megan Revello

Megan Revello

Dalia Savy

Dalia Savy

Haseung Jun

Haseung Jun

Vocabulary

Basics of Biology

  • In this key topic, it is important to remember that the 🌳 is every external influence that exists. The often influence religion, politics, and our morals.

  • We all have 46 (23 pairs) in each cell. These are structures made up of 🧬 that contain our , which are studied in this chapter.

    • There are both expressed/active and inactive , which depends on your .

  • A is all of the that make up an organism.

Heredity and the Environment

An essential question that faces psychologists is the . Are we more influenced by our and heredity🧬 or by our experiences🧠?  Biological psychologists in particular are interested in studying the links between our biological (, neurons, etc.) processes and psychological processes. 

  • One group of behavioral psychologists, behavior geneticists, are interested in studying the power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. To do this we may look at , chromosome pairs, , , or even the entire human to see where minute differences can come into play. 

  • Another important way that psychologists can study the influence of nature vs. nurture is through . If we are able to study identical twins that were separated at birth, we can compare and contrast them. We would look for similarities and differences in their abilities, personalities, and traits to get an idea of what was more influential - nature or nurture. We can further make comparisons between fraternal twins and siblings raised in the same family to gain additional insights.  

    • develop from the same fertilized egg that eventually splits into two. Each twin has the same , but not the same number of copies of those . This may explain some small differences between the two twins or why one is more at risk for illnesses. Identical twins also share the same prenatal (placenta) but one may receive slightly better nourishment and care. A famous study conducted by found that the IQ of twins living separately after birth had a correlation of 0.69 while the IQ of twins living together had a correlation of 0.88. The scores found that had some effect on IQ scores, but it is still heavily influenced by genetics. The twins raised separately also showed similar physical characteristics, showing that , or causing others to treat the twins in similar ways, was a key player in deciding likeliness.

    • develop from different fertilized eggs.

  • We can also use to understand the variations that exist between individuals being studied. basically tells us how much of the variation that exists between a group of individuals is due to genetics. is NOT the amount or percent of a given trait that is inherited. It is instead an explanation of the differences that exist between us related to genetic factors.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2Fdownload-23.png?alt=media&token=6cbcb536-a51b-4a26-832e-ff4990b4bfde

Image Courtesy of Study

  • There are also molecular geneticists that study the and how they play a role on our behavior. They find that allow us to have traits such as , , and extraversion and attempt to find out which specific influence each of these behaviors.

  • When discussing the it is important to note that often both play an important role in our development and behavior. The of both factors is of particular relevance to those studying . Epigeneticists look at how the 🌲 influences how our are expressed without an actual change in .

    • Genetics give you a foundation of who you are but the shapes you into the person you are. The change between the foundation and who you really are is studied by epigeneticists.

      • These environmental changes explain why each child in a family is different, despite their same genetic background.

    • Life experiences lay down , which are that can block the expression of a gene. are an example of changes in without an actual change in 🧬.

https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/fiveable-92889.appspot.com/o/images%2F-JcTWZ2rqF162.JPG?alt=media&token=dbaac4cc-1eec-4f79-b666-4d23abe38f4c

Image Courtesy of Myers' AP Psychology Textbook 2nd edition

"Life experiences beginning in the womb lay down epigenetic marks - often organic methyl molecules - that can block the expression of any gene in the associated DNA segment (from Champagne, 2010)."

  • are random errors that occur during gene replication that lead to a change.

Evolution

  • Evolutionary psychologists focus on the principles of to explain our behavior and the mind. This principle states that we are more likely to inherit and pass along traits that have been vital to our survival as a species.

    • has an large influence in this field of psychology.

The Biopsychosocial Approach

It is important to note that biological ()🧬, psychological (gene expression + beliefs)🧠, and social-cultural (peer influence)😊 influences all play a part in our individual development. Contrary to other approaches, psychologists who have a do not focus on specific influneces of thinking and behavior. Instead, they believe that rules we use to view the world affect our way of thinking and behaving. Moreover, biological and social influences are equally responsible for our decision.

An example of how might be explained:

  • genetic tendency 🧬

  • how the person was conditioned to be extroverted 🧠

  • social pressures (conformity) 😊

🎥Watch: AP Psychology - Body Systems, Brain, & Genetics

Key Terms to Review (33)

Behavior Genetics

: Behavior genetics is a field of study in psychology that examines the role of genetic and environmental influences on behavior.

Biological Psychology

: Biological psychology, also known as biopsychology or psychobiology, is a field in psychology that examines the physical basis for behaviors and mental states, looking specifically at the roles of genetics and the brain.

Biopsychosocial Approach

: An integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis for understanding human behavior or health issues.

Body Weight

: Body weight refers to the mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is often used as a measure of overall health.

Charles Darwin

: A British naturalist who revolutionized biology with his theory of evolution through natural selection; he proposed that species evolve over time by adapting to their environments.

Chromosomes

: Chromosomes are thread-like structures located inside the nucleus of animal and plant cells. Each chromosome is made up of protein and a single molecule of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes which carry genes - units of heredity controlling specific traits.

DNA

: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known living organisms.

Effective Psychological Environment

: The effective psychological environment refers to the unique personal experiences and influences that shape an individual's behavior, personality, and mental health.

Environment

: In psychology, environment refers to all external conditions and influences affecting the life and development of an organism.

Epigenetic Marks

: Epigenetic marks are chemical modifications to DNA that can turn genes on or off. They play a key role in development and heredity.

Epigenetics

: Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence. These changes may last through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell's life and may also last for multiple generations without any change in the underlying DNA sequence.

Evolutionary Psychology

: Evolutionary psychology is an approach in psychology that attempts to explain useful mental and psychological traits as the functional products of natural selection. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits are evolved adaptations.

Extraversion Traits

: Extraversion traits are personality characteristics that involve being outgoing, social, talkative and energetic.

Extroversion

: Extroversion is a personality trait characterized by outgoingness, high energy, and sociability. People with this trait tend to enjoy being around others, are often quite talkative, and generally feel energized by social interaction.

Fraternal (Dizygotic) Twins

: Fraternal twins are siblings who develop from separate fertilized eggs. They share half their genes just like any other siblings but they share womb environment at the same time.

Gene Expression Blockage

: This refers to the process where a gene's information is prevented from being used to create proteins, effectively blocking the gene from functioning.

Genes

: Genes are the basic units of heredity that maintain their structural identity from one generation to another. They are made up of DNA and determine individual biological development.

Genome

: A genome is the complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell or organism. It's like the blueprint for an organism's design and function.

Heritability

: Heritability is the proportion of observed differences on a trait among individuals of a population that are due to genetic differences.

Identical (Monozygotic) Twins

: Identical twins are two offspring resulting from one zygote that, at an early stage of development, separated into two embryos. They share the same genetic material.

Interaction

: In psychology, interaction refers to the interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (like heredity).

IQ Correlation

: IQ correlation refers to statistical relationships between two sets of IQ scores. It can be used to compare similarities in intelligence among related individuals such as siblings or parents and children.

Methyl Molecules

: Methyl molecules are compounds containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms (CH3). In biology, they play a crucial role in DNA methylation, an important process for normal development and associated with several key processes including genomic imprinting and X-chromosome inactivation.

Molecular Genetics

: Molecular genetics is the field of biology and genetics that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. It primarily focuses on how genes are transferred from generation to generation.

Molecular Structure and Function of Genes

: The molecular structure refers to how genes are built at a molecular level including DNA sequences. The function refers to what these genes do – typically coding for proteins which carry out various functions within cells.

Mutations

: Mutations are changes in the genetic material of an organism. They can occur naturally or be induced by environmental factors.

Natural Selection

: Natural selection is a process in nature in which organisms possessing certain genotypic characteristics that make them better adjusted to an environment tend to survive, reproduce, increase in number or frequency, and therefore, are able to transmit and perpetuate their essential genotypic qualities to succeeding generations.

Nature vs. Nurture Debate

: The nature vs. nurture debate involves determining whether human behavior is determined by genetics (nature) or learned through interacting with the environment (nurture).

Physical Similarities

: Physical similarities refer to the observable traits or characteristics that are shared among individuals of the same species, such as hair color, eye color, height, etc.

Sexual Orientation

: Sexual orientation refers to the enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, both genders, neither gender, or another gender.

Thomas Bouchard

: Thomas Bouchard is a psychologist known for his research on twins, particularly the Minnesota Twin Study. He studied both identical and fraternal twins who were raised apart to understand the influence of genetics versus environment on individual development.

Twin and Adoption Studies

: Twin studies compare identical twins raised together versus those raised apart to determine genetic influence. Adoption studies compare biological relatives with adoptive relatives to understand both genetic and environmental influences.

Variations Between Individuals

: Variations between individuals refer to differences in physical and behavioral traits among members of a species due to genetic and environmental factors.


© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.


© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.