PSY 1102 Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Review Class 2.docx

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 1102
• Professor: Christine Mountney

Document Summary

Chapter 4 review: nature, nurture, and human diversity. Chromosomes are coils of dna containing gene segments that, when turned on (expressed), code for the proteins that form our body"s building blocks. Most human traits are influenced by many genes acting together. Behavior geneticists seek to quantify genetic and environmental influences on our traits. Studies of identical twins, fraternal twins, and adoptive families help specify the influence of genetic nature and of environmental nurture, and the interaction between them (meaning that the effect of each depends on the other). The stability of temperament suggests a genetic predisposition. Heritability describes the extent to which variation among members of a group can be attributed to genes. Heritable individual differences in traits such as height or intelligence need not explain group differences. Genes mostly explain why some are taller than others, but not why people today are taller than a century ago. Molecular geneticists study the molecular structure and function of genes.