Biological Influences on Behavior

PART III GENETICS, EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY, AND BEHAVIOR

Genes: Our Codes for Life

Every cell nucleus in your body contains the genetic

master code for your entire body The plans of your own book of life run to 46 chapters- 23 from mom, 23 from dad Each of these 46 chapters called chromosomes, is composed of a coiled chain of the molecule DNA Genes-small segments of the giant DNA molecule

Genes
30,000 or so genes

Can be either active (expressed) or inactive

Environmental events turn on genes When turned on, genes provide the code for creating protein molecules, the building blocks of physical development Our genetic predispositions, our genetically

influenced traits, help explain our shared human nature and our human diversity

Genetics
Works the same in all species

Whose Baby is it?

Class activity

Twin and Adoption Studies

Although identical twins have the same genes, they

dont always have the same number of copies of those genes Most identical twin share a placenta during prenatal development, but one of every three sets has two separate placentas. One twins placenta may provide slightly better nourishment, which may contribute to identical twin differences.

Identical vs Fraternal
Identical Monozygotic

One zygote that split during early pregnancy 2 different eggs produced during the same menstrual cycle that were fertilized at the same time

Dizygotic

Identical twins
Share 100% of the same genes

Same genotype
Can have different phenotypes Mirror images of each other Different personalities and interests

Heritability of a trait doesnt mean it will occur even in 2 people who share the same genes

Separated Identical Twins

Separated identical twins had somewhat less

identical personalities than those reared together, still they were more alike if genetically identical than if fraternal Genes influence personality

Separated Fraternal Twins

Did not exhibit similarities comparable to those of

separated identical twins

Biological Vs. Adoptive Relatives

People who grow up together, whether biologically

related or not, do not much resemble one another in personality In traits such as extraversion and agreeableness, adoptees are more similar to their biological parents than to their caregiving adoptive parents The environment shared by a familys children has virtually no discernible impact on their personalities

Parenting does matter though!!!

Parents do influence their childrens attitudes,

values, manners, faith, and politics A pair of adopted children or identical twin will, especially during adolescence, have more similar religious beliefs if reared together

Heredity
Refers to the extent to which differences among

people are attributable to genes As environments become more similar, heredity as a source of difference necessarily becomes more important

Confused??
Herit A part of the more familiar word, inherit.

We inherit our traits and qualities from our parents

-ability Suffix that means, capable of

If a trait is passed on from one generation to the next, then it is capable of showing up in the children of people who posses that quality

A heritable trait is one that is capable of being passed

down from parent to child

To clarify
Just because a trait is heritable does NOT mean it

will affect an individual or that it will be a defining trait of a group. Heritability only demonstrates the extend to which a trait is explainable by genetics, but not the extend to which the trait will affect behavior or an individual or group outside of environmental influences

One last note

Genetics alone does not guarantee that a person will

develop a condition, only that it will be more likely to occur if the right environmental influences interact with those genes

Nature and Nurture

Among our similarities, the most important- the

behavioral hallmark of our species- is our enormous adaptive capacity Genes and Environment

Nature and nurture Work together like two hands clapping

Genes not only code for particular proteins, they

respond to the environment

Nature and Nurture

Genes are self-regulating Rather than acting like blueprints that lead to the same result no matter the context, genes react Human differences result from both genetic and

environmental influences

Anything we can do about your genetics?

Molecular Genetics the New Frontier! The goal of molecular behavior genetics is to find some of the many genes that influence normal human traits, such as body weight, sexual orientation, and extraversion, and also to explore the mechanisms that control gene expression Are we looking at possibility of being able to special order our babies?

Ethical or not?

Evolutionary Psychology
Understanding Human Nature

How do evolutionary psychologist use natural

selection to explain behavior tendencies?

Evolutionary Psychologists
Focus mostly on what makes us so much alike as

humans They use C. Darwins principle of natural selection to understand roots of behavior and mental processes

Darwins idea
Organisms varied offspring compete for survival

Certain biological and behavioral variations increase

organisms reproductive and survival chances in their particular environment Offspring that survive are more likely to pass their genes to ensuing generations Thus, over time, population characteristics may change Our adaptive flexibility in responding to different environments contributes to our fitness- our ability to survive and reproduce

Evolutionary Psychology is NOT

Not about how one species evolves into another

species over time It is about how genetics and environment interact, leading to changes in genetics to fit the environment It is about how traits that lead to survival are more likely to be passed down

Human similarities
Emotional drives and reasoning have a common

logic across cultures Our shared human traits were shaped by natural selection acting over the course of human evolution Our behavioral and biological similarities arise from our shared human genome. No more than 5%of the genetic differences among humans arise from population group differences. 95% of genetic variation exists within populations

 As genes contributing to success continues to be

selected, behavioral tendencies and thinking and learning capacities emerged that prepared our Stone Age ancestors to survive, reproduce, and send their genes into the future

Some misunderstandings about evolutionary theory

Evolution does not imply genetic determinism

Behavior can be changed

Evolutionary theory does not assume that organisms

can compute complex mathematical formulas Current adaptive mechanisms in humans are not optimally designed Organisms do not have a conscious or unconscious goal of maximizing gene reproduction

Long standing debates over nature vs. nurture

Plato and Aristotle argued about whether people

already knew the great truths of life (idealism) or whether great truths are learned through experience (Empiricism) John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued over whether an individual is born as a tabula rasa or with unfulfilled potential Freud and Watson argued over whether people were born with innate, unchecked tendencies (the id) or as balls of putty ready to be shaped by experience

Biopsychosocial Model is fundamental to an understanding of modern psychology

Biological Influence Psychological Influence

SocialCultural Influence

Individual Development

Biological Influence
Shared human genome

Individual genetic variations

Prenatal environment Sex-related genes, hormones, and physiology

Psychological influences
Gene-environment interaction

Neurological effect of early experiences

Responses evoked by our own personality, gender,

etc Beliefs, feelings, and expectations

Social-cultural influences
Parental influences

Peer influences
Cultural attitudes and norms

Random mutations in genetics

Events that seem random are not all that rare

Just because an event is random does not mean it is

unlikely

The last century has been amazing for psychology and biology
Unfathomable to people in 1909 Neurons fire using an ion-exchange system Machines can see the brain at work in real time Language is processed mainly in the left hemisphere Humans share 99.9% of the genetic code with chimpanzees