PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Twin, Twin Study

• School: University of Maryland
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Curtis

Document Summary

Researchers do different kinds of studies to see whether and to what extent a characteristic might be genetically transmitted. In family studies , researchers look at similarities among members of a family with respect to a particular trait. If the trait is genetically inherited, it should be similar in blood relatives. The closer the blood relationship, the more similar people should be. Family studies alone don"t reveal whether a trait is genetically inherited. A family shares genes, but they also share similar environments. When researchers find trait similarity in a family study, their findings may suggest that the trait is genetically inherited, but the study can"t prove it. Compared to family studies, twin studies give researchers more solid evidence about whether a trait is inherited. In twin studies, researchers compare pairs of identical twins to fraternal, or nonidentical, twins. When doing these studies, researchers assume that identical twin pairs share the same environment, just as fraternal twin pairs do.