-
A branch of psychology that emphasizes the importance of adaptation, reproduction, and "survival of the fittest" in shaping behavior.
Evolutionary psychology
-
Behavior that promotes an organism's survival in the ntural habitat.
Adaptive behavior
-
Threadlike structures that come in 23 pairs, with one member of each pair coming from one parent. Contain DNA.
Chromosomes
-
A complex molecule that contains genetic information.
DNA
-
Units of hereditary informatio ncomposed of DNA. Genes direct cells to reproduce themselves and manufacture the proteins that maintain life.
Genes
-
Cellular reproduction in which the cell's nucleus duplicates itself with two new cells being formed, each containing the same DNA as the parent cell, arranged in the same 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Mitosis
-
A specialized form of cell division that forms eggs and sperm
Meiosis
-
A stage in reproduction whereby an egg and a sperm fuse to create a single cell, called a zygote.
Fertilization
-
A single cell formed through fertilization
Zygote
-
A person's genetic heritage; the actual genetic material
Genotype
-
The way an individual's genotype is expressed in observed and measurable characteristics.
Phenotype
-
Develop from a single zygote that splits into two genetically identical replicas.
Identical twins
-
Develop from separate eggs and separate eggs.
Fraternal twins
-
A permanently altered segnemt of DNA, which can be caused by radiation.
Mutated gene
-
One gene of a pair that always exerts its effects
Dominant gene
-
When a mutated gene is carried on the X chromosome.
X-linked inheritance
-
Used to describe studies that focus on the interdependence of two or more genes in influencing characterstics, behavior, diseases, and development.
Gene-gene interaction
-
A chromosomally transmitted form of mental retardation, caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.
Down syndrome
-
A chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome, making them XXY instead of XY
Klinefelter syndrome
-
A genetic disorder involving an abnormality in the X chromosome, which becomes constricted and often breaks.
Fragile X syndrome
-
A chromosome disorder in females in which either an X chromosome is missing, making hte person XO instead of XX, or the second X chromosome is partially deleted.
Turner syndrome
-
A chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra Y chromosome.
XYY syndrome.
-
A genetic disorder in which an individual cannot properly metabolize amino acid. Is now easily detected but, if left untreated, results in mental retardation and hyperactivity.
PKU
-
A genetic disorder that affects the red blood cells and occurs most often in people of African descent.
Sickle-cell anemia
-
A prenatal medical procedure in which a small sample of the placenta is removed.
Chorionic villus sampling
-
A prenatal medical procedure in which a sample of amniotic fluid is withdrawn by syringe and tested for chromosomal or metabolic disorders.
Amniocentesis
-
Identifies pregnancies that have an elevated risk for birth defects such as spina bifida and Down syndrome.
Maternal blood screening
-
Eggs and sperm are combined in a laboratory dish.
In vitro fertilization
-
The field that seeks to discover the influence of heredity and environment on individuals differences in human traits and development.
Behavior genetics
-
A study in which the behavioral similarity of identical twins is compared iwth the behavioral similarity of fraternal twins.
Twin study
-
A study in which investigators seek to dscover whether, in behavior and psychological characteristics, adopted children are more like their adoptive parents, who provided a home environment, or morel ike their biological parents, who contributed their heredity.
Adoption study
-
Correlations that exist when the natural parents, who are genetically related to the child, provide a rearing environment for the child.
Passive genotype-environment correlations
-
Correlations that exist when the child's genotype elicits certain types of physical and social environments.
Evocative genotype-environment correlations
-
Correlations that exist when children seek out environments they find compatible and stimulating.
Active genotype-environment correlations
-
Siblings' common environmental experiences, such as their parents' personalities and intellectual orientation, the family's socioeconomic status, and the neighborhood in which they live.
Shared environmental experiences
-
The child's own unique experiences, both within the family and outside the family, that are not shared by another sibling,
Nonshared environmental experiences
-
Emphasizes that development is the result of an ongoing, bidrectional interchange between heredity and environment.
Epigenetic view
-
The interaction of a specific measured variation in the DNA and a specific measured aspect of the environment.
Gene x Environment interaction
|
|
