PSYCH 2410 Lecture Notes - Twin Study, Heritability, Twin
Document Summary
23 pairs (46 total: half from mom, half from dad (via meiosis) Leads to similarities: mutations lead to differences. Why are people different from one another: because all traits are heritable, and all traits develop within an environment. Behavioral genetics: traits of most interest (sociability, mood, aggression) typically are, polygenic & multifactorial. Individuals who are reared together should be more similar than those reared apart. Twin studies: compares correlation between identical twins (monozygotic) and same-sex fraternal twins (dizygotic, identical twins share 100% of genes, fraternal twins share 50% of genes. Same as non-twin siblings: assume environment is equal for both types of twins. Same womb, age, family, community, etc: minnesota twin study, collected personality and interests scores with over 8,000 twin pairs and family members. Mz twins reared apart are just as similar in personality, interests, and attitudes as those reared together (strong genetic component)
