PSYC - Notes from lecture F-5a.docx

MOM'S GENOTYPE E Br Br P ' T A O Bl Br Bl Br Bl D E G Bl Br Bl Br Bl MOM'S GENOTYPE E Br Bl ' Y D T Bl Br Bl Bl Bl A N D E G Bl Br Bl Bl Bl MOM'S GENOTYPE Br Bl P ' Y D O Br Br Br Bl Br D N E G Bl Br Bl Bl Bl MOM'S GENOTYPE E A B P ' T A O C A C B C D E G D A D B D • Genotype: what is in a person's genetic makeup • Phenotype: the ways a person's genetic makeup is manifested in observable characteristics • Homozygous: when two genes in a pair are the same • Heterozygous: when two genes in a pair are different • Dominant gene: the one that is expressed when paired genes are different • Recessive gene: the one that is masked when two genes are different • Allele: one member of a pair that is located at a specific position on a specific chromosome • Genetic mutation: errors in "copying" the DNA, which leads to variations in the new DNA Chapter 3 notes on Genetics: • Chromosomes: strands of DNA (deoxuribonucleic acid) molecules that carry genetic information • Zygote: a single cell formed by the union of a sperm and an egg • Genes: DNA segments that serve as the key functional units in hereditary transmission • Polygenic traits: characteristics that are influenced by more than one pair of genes • Twin studies: researchers assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance of identical twins and fraternal twins with respect to a trait (there are no genes for behaviour) • Identical twins (monozygotic): one egg and one sperm that split up in to two clusters of cells (100% of the same genetic material) • Fraternal twins (dizygotic): two eggs and two sperms that shared an environment (like regular brothers and sisters, just in the same environment, born at the same time - only 50% of the same genetic material) • Concordance research: taking a pair of monozygotic twins and examining the degree of similarity of some trait (height, intelligence, extraversion, etc..) to see if there is high concordance and comparing them to a pair of dizygotic twins to see if the traits are influenced by genetics (meaning the concordance rates would be stronger for identical twins than for fraternal twins) - if the trait is not influenced by genetics, then they are by environment • Adoption: because twin studies don't get around the issue of shared environment, we look at adoption studies to measure parents, children on the qualities we are interested in (height, neuroticism, etc...) - if the trait is not influenced by genetics, then they are by environment • D4DR gene: a gene that codes for a "dopamine receptor" located on chromosome 11 that will respond to dopamine in the brain; Zuckherman and Kuhlman - Risky Business (sensation seeking) Testing looking at people with "long repeat" version of the D4DR gene (thrill seekers, risk seekers, who are unresponsive to dopamine levels, and brain is not getting enough dopamine), whereas "short repeat" version means there is enough dopamine [this is one way we can connect individual differences in behaviour and connect that to differences in our genes] • Evolutionary Psychology: early functionalist approach, looking at the minds and asking what influenced behavioural mental processes - and asking what adaptive behaviour helped our ancestors and were passed along as a result • Ultimate causes of behaviour: behaviour that is said to be rooted in our genetic makeup, or determined by cultural forces that have developed and been transmitted over time (across successive generations) - meme • Proximate causes of behaviour: behaviour that is attributed to our immediate environment or personal history • Darwin's 4 insights: 1) species are not static, but change over time, 2) evolution is a branching process, implying that all species might have descended from a single common ancestor, 3) evolution is continuous, with gradual changes and 4) evolution is based on natural selection, sexual selection (peacock having plumage for reproductive success) - intersexual (peacock - choosing based on a special characteristic), and intrasexual (members of the same sex compete with each other for the same female(s)) • Genetic variation: genotypical variation and phenotypical variation • Organisms compete for scarce resources, and those who compete successfully survive long enough to reproduce (we are all just "gene replication machines" as per Dawkins) • Males and females face a different evolutionary challenges (challenges in ability to successfully reproduce), therefore developing different coping mechanisms; study by Shackelford, Buss, and Bennett - women become more distressed over a partner's emotional infidelity versus men becoming more distressed over sexual infidelity... men risk wasting resources in other's genes, more likely to invest in children that are their own, but women risk wasting 9 months on a child dependent on you, but your partner is emotionally interested in another (these are ultimate causes for behaviour) • Clark and Hatfield study - men and females have different strategies for increasing reproductive success (females are more selective because of the hassle of reproducing, whereas men have an easier time to "spread the seed" and hope that of your 100 offspring, at least 50 will survive) • Different mating strategies: Date (F: 55%/M:50%)/Apartment (F: 6%/M: 69%)/Sex (F: 0%/M: 75%)- issue with safety. in order to get past safety-issue, the participant is a friend who is called, and is told about someone interested in them; Date (F: 91%/M:96%)/Sex (F: 5%/M: 50%)- Chapter 4 notes: • Sensation: detection of simple properties of stimuli (without making "sense" of them - no perception of interpretation) • Distal stimulus: the stimulation in the environment (Chris is a distal stimulus to us) • Proximal stimulus: the stimulus as it is stimulating our sense receptors (the image of Chris that is being projected onto the back of our retina, and the sound waves that are vibrating) • Perception: the detection of more complex properties of stimuli (i.e. its meaning) - this involves learning; it is a rapid, automatic, unconscious process where we recognize what is represented by the information provided by our sense organs • Bottom-up processing: examining each of the components of the environmental stimulus first, and then synthesizing the whole (ex: taking some pieces of a puzzle, not really knowing the full picture) ... top down is when it clicks and we see the whole picture and recog