PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Tabula Rasa, False Dilemma, Twin Study

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jill L Atkinson

Document Summary

The why question for certain behaviours arising, functionalism type focus. Proximal factors: immediate causes and mechanisms of behaviour. Nativism: philosophical view that we are born with knowledge already present. Empiricism: obtain all knowledge via observable facts and experiences. Argument false dichotomy, genes affect environment and environment affects genes i. e child born to alcoholic parents may have genes that increase susceptibility to alcoholism but if he is raised to never try alcohol he cannot be an alcoholic. Behavioural genetics: study of genetic influences on behaviour. Founded by john scott, john fuller and william r. thomson (taught at. Often studies observing genetic impacts on behaviour examine relationship between genetic similarity and similarity in some trait. Some material can be inactivated during development therefore not always exactly identicle, but pretty close. Comparing between mz and dz twins can show which genes are more important etc. Separated at birth: taking mz and dz twins that were separated and comparing there similarities.