Psych - Unit 1.1

Nature-Nurture Issue

The longstanding controversy over the relative contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Todays science views traits and behaviors as arising from the interaction of nature and nurture.

Natural Selection

The principle that the inherited traits enabling an organism to survive and reproduce in a particular environment will (in competition with other trait variations) most likely to be passed on to succeeding generations.

Evolutionary Psychology

The study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using principles of natural selection

Behavior Genetics

The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences of behavior.

Mutation

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change

environment

every nongenetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to our experiences of the people and things around us.

Heredity 

The genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.

genes

the biochemical units of heredity

genome

the complete instruction for making an organism

fraternal (dizygotic) twins 

individuals who developed from separate fertilized eggs. They are genetically no closer than ordinary siblings, but they share a prenatal environment.

interaction

The interplay that occurs when the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another factor (such as heredity).

epigenetics

“above” or “in addition to” genetics; the study of the molecular mechanisms by which environments can influence genetic expression.