PSC 142 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Monoamine Oxidase A, Heritability, Novelty Seeking
Biological influences
● Biological influences on social & personality development
○ Evolutionary biology
○ Developmental behavioral genetics
○ Molecular genetics
● What attracts us to infants, kittens, & the young of almost any species ?
● Evolutionary psychology: the application of evolutionary principles to understand
psychological functioning
● Natural selection
○ Individuals with characteristics that promote adaptation to the environment will
survive, reproduce, & pass on these adaptive characteristics to their offspring
● How is this relevant to social development?
○ Play
○ Peer relationships as a forum for the development of social skills
○ Emotions, especially basic emotions
○ Empathy ( and altruism? )
○ Preference for novelty
○ Slow pace of human development
● And to parent - child relationships?
○ Infant - parent attachment
○ Adult responses to infant cries
○ Adult responses to “babyishness”
● How significant is heredity to individual differences in intelligence, personality, & mental
health?
○ Developmental behavioral genetics: the use of twin & adoption studies to
understand the significance of heredity, environment, & their interaction in
development
○ Hereditary differences are strongly influential in a variety of developing
characteristics, including differences in intelligence, emotionality, sociability, &
mental health. But gene expression is always in the context of environmental
influences
● Heritability (H)
○ A statistical estimation of how much of the variability in a trait can be attributed to
genetic differences among individuals in that group
○ Only applies to a particular group living in a particular environment
○ Does NOT apply to specific people
○ Highly heritable traits can be modified
○ Passive gene - environment correlation
■ Parents create a home environment for children that is influenced by the
genetic characteristics they & their children share
○ Evocative gene - environment correlation
Document Summary
Biological influences on social & personality development. Evolutionary psychology: the application of evolutionary principles to understand psychological functioning. Individuals with characteristics that promote adaptation to the environment will survive, reproduce, & pass on these adaptive characteristics to their offspring. Peer relationships as a forum for the development of social skills. Developmental behavioral genetics: the use of twin & adoption studies to understand the significance of heredity, environment, & their interaction in development. Hereditary differences are strongly influential in a variety of developing characteristics, including differences in intelligence, emotionality, sociability, & mental health. But gene expression is always in the context of environmental influences. A statistical estimation of how much of the variability in a trait can be attributed to genetic differences among individuals in that group. Only applies to a particular group living in a particular environment. Parents create a home environment for children that is influenced by the genetic characteristics they & their children share.
