Nature & Nurture, Behavior Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture on Nature & Nurture, Behavior Genetics, and Evolutionary Psychology.

Nature/Nurture Debate

The question of whether genetics ('nature') or environmental components ('nurture') have more influence on our psychology; however, scientists acknowledge both are always at play.

Nature

Refers to genetics passed down from parents, influencing an individual's psychology.

Nurture

Refers to the components of an individual's environment that influence their psychology.

Genetic Predisposition

Possessing a gene that makes an individual susceptible to a certain condition (e.g., depression, skin cancer, alcoholism), which may or may not be triggered by environmental factors.

Identical Twins

Genetically identical individuals, sharing 100% of their genes, making them highly valuable for nature/nurture studies.

Fraternal Twins

Twins who share no more genetic material than regular siblings (typically 50% of genes).

Temperament

An individual's emotional reactivity or excitability, considered part of their basic, natural disposition and evident from infancy; it is genetically based.

Easy Babies

Infantscharacterized by predictable hunger and sleep times and cheerful reactions to new situations.

Slow-to-Warm-Up Babies

Infants who tend to resist or withdraw from new situations.

Difficult Babies

Infants characterized by irregular patterns and being generally irritable.

Evolutionary Psychology

A field that applies evolutionary theory to human psychology, focusing on how adaptive functions and behaviors evolved.

Adaptive Function

Features or behaviors that helped ancestors survive and reproduce in their environment.

Reproductive Success (Men)

Ensured by mating with many women and the fertility of mates (attractiveness, youth, chastity, and faithfulness).

Reproductive Success (Women)

Ensured by being highly selective in mate choice and the partner's ability to provide resources (money, status), due to massive investment in childbearing.

Socialization

The process by which individuals learn and internalize what is taught by society and culture, often contrasted with evolutionary adaptation.