Empiricism

o It emphasizes the role of experience.

o They believe that experience and environment are of primary

importance in determining personality and behaviour.

 Behavioural Genetics

o It attempts to tease apart the relative contributions of heredity and

environment.

 Chromosomes

o These are rod-shaped paired structure made of DNA that are located

in the nucleus o f the cell.

 Frequency of genes in a population

o Mutation

o Crossover of genetic material

o Copying errors

 Which of the following is not an innate human characteristic?

o The ability to walk on two legs

o A sucking reflex

o Basic computational skills

o An interest in novelty

 “The Event”

o It refers to the publication of Chomsky’s ideas about language.

o Linguists thought the Chomsky’s ideas were so important that their

publication was referred to as “The Event.”

 Sociobiologists predict that, compared to males, females are more likely to be

monogamous.
o Heritability
o It is an estimate of the proportion of the total variance in a trait that is
o attributed to genetics.
o Advantage of genetic testing:
o Knowing that a child’s disorder is genetic can keep a parent from
o experiencing unnecessary guilt.
o Nativism
o It emphasizes the role of our genetic nature.
o Evolutionary psychology
o It emphasizes the evolutionary mechanisms that might help explain
o similarities in behaviour.
o Genes
o These are the functional units of heredity that code for the structure
o of proteins.
o Evolutionary psychologists view the mind as a collection of specialized
o mental modules.
o Which of the following does not support the existence of an innate language
o acquisition device?
o Children in different cultures go through similar stages of linguistic
o development.
o Children not exposed to adult language do not develop language
o skills.
o Adults do not consistently correct their children’s syntax.
o Children combine words in ways that adults never would.
o Edward O. Wilson is the founder of the field of sociobiology.
o Sociobiologists predict that, compared to females, males are more likely to be
o promiscuous.
o Heritability can help explain differences within groups.
o Estimates of the heritability of intelligence increase with age.
o Which of the following is not associated with reduced mental ability?
o Poor prenatal care
o Malnutrition
o Stressful family circumstance
o Having a mentally ill sibling
o Where Do Differences Come From?
o Previously two perspectives:
 Nativists: emphasized genes & inborn characteristics (nature).
 Empiricists: focused on learning & experience (nurture).
o Now studied broadly, including evolutionary psychology and behavioural
o genetics.
o Evolutionary Psychology
o It emphasize the evolutionary mechanisms that might help explain
o commonalities in language learning, attention, perception, memory,
o sexual behaviour, emotion, reasoning, and many other aspect of
o human psychology.
o Behavioural genetics
o It attempts to tease apart the relative contributions of hereditary and
o environment to explain individual differences in personality,
o behaviour, mental ability, and other characteristics.
o Unlocking the Secrets of Genes
o Genes are the basic units of heredity that are composed of DNA and located
o on chromosomes.
 Chromosomes: rod-shaped structures found in the nucleus of every
o cell (23 pairs).
 DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): chromosomal molecule that transfers
o genetic characteristics by way of coded instructions for the structure
o of proteins.
o Within genes, four chemical elements of DNA “code” for protein synthesis.
 Adenine (A) Cytosine (C)
 Thymine (T) Guanine (G)
o Genome
 Full set of genes in each cell of an organism (except sperm & egg cells).
o Linkage studies
 Studies that look for patterns of inheritance of genetic markers in
o large families in which a particular condition is common.
o Genetic marker
 Segment of DNA that varies among individuals, has a known location
o on a chromosome, and can function as a genetic landmark for a gene.
 They then look for patterns of inheritance of these markers in large
o families in which a condition – say, depression of impulsive violence –
o is common.
 If a marker tend to exist only in family members who have the
o condition, then it can be used as a genetic landmark: The gene
o involved in the condition is apt to be located nearby on the
o chromosome, so the researchers have some idea where to search it
o for.
o Even when researchers locate a gene on a chromosome, they do not
o automatically know its role in physical or psychological functioning.
o Most human traits are influenced by more than one gene pair (polygenic) –
o simple to complex traits.
o Recite and Review
o What does it mean to say that the gene-environment interaction works in
o both directions?
o Genes affect the environments we experience, and environmental
o factors affect the activity of genes over a person’s lifetime.
o The basic unit of hereditary is called gene.
o What does the code within a gene encode for?
o The synthesis of a particular protein.
o True or False: Most human genetic traits depend on a single gene.
o The Genetics of Similarity
o Evolution is a change in gene frequencies within a population over many
o generations.
o Changes may result from:
 Mutations (errors in copying of DNA sequences during division of
o cells that produce sperm & eggs).
 During formation of sperm or eggs small segments of DNA can cross
o over to another chromosome pair.
o Evolution and Natural Selection
o Natural Selection
o Evolutionary process formulated by Darwin.
o Individuals with genetically influenced traits that are adaptive in
o particular environments tend to survive & reproduce in greater
o numbers (“survival of the fittest”) – Fundamental idea behind natural
o selection.
o As a result, traits become more common in the population.
o Sexual Selection
o Darwin also proposed that genes were determined by sexual
o selection.
o  Intersexual selection: a member of one sex chooses a mate from
o the other sex on the basis of certain characteristics.
o  Intrasexual selection: members of the same sex compete for a
o partner of the other sex.
o Charles Darwin – On the Origin of Species
o The fate of these genetic variations depends on the environment.
o The Descent of Man
o Another type of selection: sexual selection.
o  In natural selection, nature determines which genes survive
o and reproduce, and which genes disappear from the planet.
o  In sexual selection, the members of either the other sex or the
o same sex, with which one is competing, determine a gene’s
o fate.
o Intersexual Selection
o  For males, the choice appears to be most influenced by
o physical factors such as attractiveness and youth.
o  For females, the choice is similarly influenced by physical
o factor, such as height and muscularity, but the resources that
o the male has access to also come into play.
o Intrasexual Selection
o  Males might compete with each other by becoming more
o muscular or acquiring and displaying resources (wealth).
o  Females might compete by enhancing their appearance and
o youthful look through such techniques as hair colouring or
o using make up.
o Geoffrey Miller
o “The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human
o Nature”
o  A number of behaviours, such as artistic innovation, music, and
o humour, are the result of sexually selected psychological traits
o dating back to the Pleistocene epoch.
o One required considerable intelligence and creativity.
o Trait and Preferences
o Evolutionary biologists
o Start with an observation about a characteristic and try to account for
o it in evolutionary terms.
o Evolutionary psychologists
o Ask what sorts of challenges humans might have faced in their
o prehistoric past and infer what behavioural tendencies may have been
o selected to overcome these challenges and enhance their reproductive
o fitness.
o Mental Modules
o One perspective is that mind reflects mental modules shaped through
o evolution.
 Mental modules: a collection of specialized and independent sections
o of the brain, developed to handle specific survival problems (e.g.,
o location of food, finding a mate).
o Critics point out that not all traits are adaptive but may be by-products of
o other traits (not isolated).
o To understand our evolutionary legacy, de Waal argues, we must consider
o not just individual traits in isolation but also the whole package of traits that
o characterized the species.
o Innate Human Characteristics
o Evolution has shaped human development through innate characteristics
o such as:
o Infant reflexes
o  Babies are born with a number of reflexes.
o An interest in novelty
o  Human babies reveal a surprising interest in looking at and
o listening to unfamiliar things.
o A desire to explore & manipulate objects
o  Human babies shake rattles, bang pots, and grasp whatever is
o put into their tiny hands.
o An impulse to play & fool around
o  Play and exploration
o Basic cognitive skills
o  Evolutionary psychologists believe that people are with
o abilities that make it easy to learn to interpret the expressions
o and gestures of others, identify faces, figure out what others
o are thinking or feelings, etc.
o Recite and Review
o What two processes during the formation of sperm and eggs help explain
o genetic changes within a population?
o Spontaneous genetic mutations and crossover of genetic material
o between members of a chromosome pair, which occurs before the final
o cell division.
o Which is the best statement of the principle of natural selection?
o Over time, the environment naturally selects some traits over others.
o Genetic variations become more common over time if they affect
o traits that are adaptive in particular environment.
o A species constantly improves as parents pass along their best traits
o to their offspring.
o Many evolutionary psychologists believe that human mind evolved as:
o A collection of specialized modules to handle specific survival
o problems.
o A blank state
o A collection of specific instincts for every human activity or capacity.
o Which of the following is not part of our biological heritage?
o A sucking reflex at birth
o A motive to explore and manipulate objects
o A lack of interest in novel objects
o A love of play
o Our Human Heritage: Language
o Language
 A system that combines meaningless elements such as sounds or
o gestures to form structured utterances that convey meaning.
 Surface structure: the way a sentence is spoken.
 Deep structure: how a sentence is to be understood.
o Innate Capacity for Language
o Chomsky argued that we are born with a language acquisition device that
o guides the development of language with proper exposure.
 To transform surface into deep structures, children must use syntax
o (which is not taught).
 Reflects a universal grammar where brains are sensitive to core
o features common to all languages (e.g., nouns & verbs).
o Evidence Supporting Chomsky
o Children in different cultures go through similar stages of linguistic
o development.
o Children combine words in ways that adults never would.
o Adults do not consistently correct their children’s syntax, yet children learn
o to speak correctly anyway.
o Children not exposed to adult language might invent a language of their own.
o Infants as young as 7 months can derive simple linguistic rules from a string
o of sounds.
o Learning and Language
o Other scholars argue environment plays larger role in language (not all
o innate).
 Computer neural networks: mathematical models of the brain that can
o “learn” some aspects of language.
 Other arguments: major differences in acquisition, parents recast
o sentences rather than corrections, and children imitate recasts &
o expansions.
o Our Human Heritage: Courtship and Mating
o Sociobiology
 Interdisciplinary field that emphasizes evolutionary explanations of
o social behaviour in animals & humans.
 We have a tendency to act in ways that maximize chances of passing
o on genes as well as helping close biological relatives do the same.
o Evolution ad Sexual Strategies
o Differences in survival & mating problems have led to differences in
o aggression, dominance, & sexual strategies between sexes.
 Males compete with other males to access females, inseminate as
o many as possible.
 Females have larger biological investment in pregnancy so choose
o dominant males with resources & status.
o Evolution and Preferences
o Cross-cultural studies have found consistent differences between males and
o females.
 Mating preferences such as in age predict status & dominance in men
o and fertility in women.
o The Genetic Leash
o Criticisms of evolutionary explanations of sex differences:
 Stereotypes versus actual behaviour
 Convenience versus representative samples
 What people say versus what people do
 The Fred Flintstone problem
o The Genetic Differences
o The genetic and environmental contributions to intelligence.
o The Meaning of Heritability
o The meaning of heritability:
 A statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some
o trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals
o within a group.
 Expressed as proportion (e.g., .60 or 60/100), with maximum value of
o 1.0.
 High heritability means greater genetic contribution to trait.
o Facts about Heritability:
 Estimates of heritability apply only to a particular group living in a
o particular environment.
o Heritability may be high in one group and low in another.
o These children’s intellectual differences could be due to their
o environmental differences, and if that is so, the heritability of
o intelligence for this group will be low.
o In impoverished families, 60% of the variance in IQ was
o accounted for by environmental factors shared by family
o members, and the contribution of genes was close to zero.
o In affluent families, the result was nearly exactly the reverse:
o Heritability was extremely high, and shared environment
o contributed hardly at all.
 Heritability estimates do not apply to individuals, only to variations
o within a group.
o You inherited half of your genes from your mother and half
o from your father, but your combination of genes has never
o been seen before and will never be seen again (unless you have
o an identical twin).
 The environment can modify even highly heritable traits.
o Malnourished children may not grow to be as tall as they
o would with sufficient food, and children who eat an extremely
o nutritious diet may grow taller than anyone though they could.
o Computing Heritability
o Infer heritability by studying people whose genetic similarity is known.
o Separate role of genetics & environment by studying adopted children.
o Such children share half their genes with each birth parent, but they grow up
o in a different environment, apart from their birth parents.
o On the other hand, they share environment with their adoptive parents and
o siblings but not their genes.
o Identical (monozygotic) twins – develop when a fertilized egg (zygote) divides
o into two parts that then develop as two separate embryos
o Because the twins come form the same fertilized egg, they share all
o their genes.
o Fraternal (dizygotic) twins – are womb mates, but they are no ore alike
o genetically than any other two siblings (they share, on average, only half of
o their genes), and may be of different sexes.
o Our Human Diversity: The Case of Intelligence
o Genes and Individual Differences
o Intellectual functioning usually measured by an intelligence quotient (IQ)
o score.
 Originally computed by dividing a person’s mental age by chronological
o age and multiplying by 100. Now derived from norms on standardized
o IQ tests.
 Kind of intelligence that produces high IQ scores highly heritable:
o Children & adolescents (.40-.50); adults (.60-.80)
o Twin, Adoption, and Intelligence
o IQ scores of identical twins more highly correlated than those of fraternal
o twins.
o Also, scores of adopted children are highly correlated with their biological
o parents.
o The Question of Group Differences
o If genes influence individual differences, can they account for differences
o between groups?
 Differences have been used to justify differential treatment of groups
o (e.g., ethnicity, gender)
 o Example: Differences in IQ scores between African Americans
o and Caucasian Americans.
o Explaining Group Differences
o Genetic explanations have a fatal flaw.
 Heritability estimates rely on Caucasian samples to estimate role of
o heredity between groups.
o Studies that overcome methodological flaws fail to reveal genetic differences in
o IQ scores as a function of ethnicity. (E.g., Eyferth, 1961; Fagan, 1992)
o Downloaded by Hashim (hashimharoon8907@gmail.com)
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 Differences within groups may have a genetic basis but that does not
o mean differences between groups are genetic.
o Environmental conditions influence IQ scores.
 Blacks and whites grow up in different environments.
 Due to racial discrimination and segregation, minority children often
o receive fewer nutrients.
o Food, education, and societal encouragement
 Negative stereotypes cause members of minority groups to doubt
o their own abilities.
o The Environment and Intelligence
o Environmental influences associated with reduced mental ability:
 Poor prenatal care
 Malnutrition
 Exposure to toxins
 Stressful family circumstances
o Environmental influences associated with enhanced mental abilities:
 Good health care & nutrition
 Mental enrichment in home, child care, school
 Parental interaction, discussion, & encouragement of mental
o processing
o Genes and environment interact.
o IQ in developing countries climbing too rapidly to be genetic evolution.
 Effect seen in developing countries as well.
o Beyond Nature versus Nurture
o Genes-environment interaction very complex.
o New technology has raised new questions
 What is a gene?
o Can be fragmented or intertwined with other genes.
 DNA is sometimes found outside of genes (“junk DNA”).
o Mutations of this may be associated with common diseases.
 o Heredity and environment always interact to produce the unique mixture of
o qualities that make a human.
 Gene expression varies due to biochemical processes within bodily
o cells (“noise”).
o Epigenetics – a new specialty area studying changes in gene expression due
o to mechanisms other than structural changes in the DNA.
o Some things to keep in mind with genetic testing:
 Genes are not destiny.
 Knowing about a genetic disposition can create a premature diagnosis
o or a self-fulfilling prophecy.
 Genes do not absolve you of responsibility.
 Genetic information could be used to discriminate against individuals.
 Knowing your genetic risk does not tell you what to do about it.
 Genetic testing can be liberating or stigmatizing.