Chapter 4 Full UofA Posted

Behaviour

An organism's actions in response to some stimulus.

Evolution

Change in heritable traits in a population over time.

Natural Selection

The process by which evolution occurs, often described as 'survival of the fittest'.

Gene

Basic unit of heredity that determines how traits are passed from parent to offspring.

DNA

Chemical substance made up of nucleotides that contains genetic information.

Genome

Complete set of genetic material for an organism.

Genotype

Specific genetic makeup of an individual.

Phenotype

Observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the genotype.

Heredity

Passage of characteristics from parents to offspring via genes.

Heritability

The extent to which variation in a characteristic within a population can be attributed to genetic differences.

Concordance Rate

Rate of co-occurrence of a characteristic among individuals.

Adoption Studies

Research comparing characteristics of adopted individuals with those of their biological and adoptive parents.

Polygenic Transmission

When multiple gene pairs combine to create a single phenotypic trait.

Epigenetics

Lasting changes in gene function that are not due to the genes themselves, often influenced by environmental factors.

Altruism

Behavior that involves one individual helping another at a cost to themselves.

Kin Selection Theory

Theory suggesting that individuals are more likely to help relatives to increase the likelihood of shared genes surviving.

Aggression

Behavior that may have evolved to protect one's mate, young, territory, and/or resources.

Reaction Range

The range of possibilities that genetic code allows for potential expression, influenced by environmental factors.

Mating Systems

Patterns of mating behavior that vary based on parental investment and competition.

The Big Five

Five major personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.

Punnett Square

A tool used to predict the genotype and phenotype distribution of offspring from a genetic cross.

Heterozygous

Having two different alleles for a specific gene.

Homozygous

Having two identical alleles for a specific gene.

Dominant allele

An allele that is expressed in the phenotype even if only one copy is present.

Recessive allele

An allele that is expressed in the phenotype only when two copies are present.