PSY 230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Twin Study, Psychopathology, Twin

• School: Stony Brook University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 230
• Professor: Apajita Mohanty

Document Summary

Evaluates the genetic components of behaviors and traits. But adverse life events can overwhelm genetic influences. For ps(cid:455)(cid:272)hologi(cid:272)al disorders, resear(cid:272)hers ha(cid:448)e (cid:374)ot (cid:455)et fou(cid:374)d a (cid:862)depressio(cid:374) ge(cid:374)e(cid:863) or (cid:862)s(cid:272)hizophre(cid:374)ia ge(cid:374)e(cid:863) Twin studies help determine the heritability of traits and disorders. Heritability is measured on a scale from 0 to 1. Help separate the impact of genes & impact of environment. Genetics alone is only part of the cause. People agree that iq is about 60% inherited. Ll allele carriers cope better with stress. Certain genes increase likelihood of stressful experiences. E. g. personality traits can make it more or less likely for people to have certain experiences. Message is that genes = predisposition, not disorder. Mi(cid:272)hael mea(cid:374)e(cid:455)"s resear(cid:272)h o(cid:374) rat (cid:373)others a(cid:374)d (cid:271)a(cid:271)ies a(cid:374)d ge(cid:374)es has sho(cid:449)(cid:374): Maternal care has an impact on how genes are expressed. Changes in epigenetics can be passed down to the next generation.