PSYC1101 Lecture 5: Genes-environment
Document Summary
Offspring of one set of parents do not all inherit the same traits, or inherit blends of the parent"s traits, as darwin thought. Can"t use within group heritability to explain between group differences/heritability. Assuming environ makes no difference if a trait is heritable. Height changes over long period of time in a country same genes but better nutrition so all becoming taller. (environ change). Skinner (language acquisition) language though learning in response to selective reinforcement (ignored genetics) of trial and error. Able to learn the deep fundamental universal structure of languages. Hence need exposure to language to unlock this fundamental potential to learn language. Genes respond to specific external signals to produce proteins. Genotype is set but phenotype can be affected by other genes, epigenetic processes which turn genes on and off, and by the environment. Indicated if a gene is marked with a methyl chemical which influences whether that gene is expressed or not.
