Psychology ch 4

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Psychology ch 4
2013-10-04 17:25:39

Ch 4
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  1. environment
  2. Nature refers to ___________ as nurture refers to _____________
    our genes, environments and outside influences
  3. behavior genetics
  4. chromosomes
    • threadlike (or coiled chain) structures made of DNA molecules which contain genes
    • 46 total - 23 from each parent
    • the funny x (w long legs) shaped molecules found in the nucleus of a cell
  5. DNA
    • deoxyribonucleic acid
    • a complex molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes
    • "de - oxy - rye - bo - new - clay - ick"
  6. genes
    • small segments of the giant DNA molecules
    • the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes
    • a segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein
    • can either be active (expressed) or inactive; environmental events "turn on" genes
    • are self-regulating, meaning they react and adapt
  7. monozygotic
    • single fertilized egg
    • what identical twins develop from
    • genetically identical (same sex)
  8. dizygotic
    • separate fertilized eggs
    • no more genetically similar than ordinary brothers and sisters
    • fraternal twins
  9. identical twins
    • same sex ONLY!
  10. virtual twins
    children of a similar age who are raised together, but have no genetic relationship
  11. faternal twins
  12. protein molecules
    the building blocks of physical development
  13. the environment shared by a family's children has...
    virtually no discernible impacts on their personalities
  14. temperament
    • a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity
    • an aspect of personality which is predisposes by heredity
  15. interaction
    • Ex: genes and experience are both important and react. Imagine 2 babies, 1 predisposed to be easy-going, sociable & attractive, the other not so much. First baby also elicits more affectionate and stimulating care than 2nd ~ 1st baby grows into more warmer & outgoing person. As they get older, more naturally outgoing child more often seeks activities & friends that encourage futher social confidence
  16. environments trigger:
    • gene activity. 
    • Neither heredity nor experiences dance alone
  17. evolutionary psychology
    • the study of the roots of behavior and mental processes, using the principles of natural selection
    • evolutionary psychologists focus mostly on what makes us so much alike as humans
  18. natural selection
  19. mutation
    a random error in gene replication that leads to a change
  20. fitness
    our ability to survive and reproduce
  21. genome
    a species common genetic profile
  22. second Darwinian revolution
    • the application of evolutionary principles to psychology
    • Darwin anticipated this revolution, foreseeing "open fields for far more important researches. Psychology will be based on a new foundation"
  23. gender
  24. The threadlike structures made largely of DNA molecules are
  25. When a mother's egg and the father's sperm unite, each contributes
    23 chromosomes
  26. Fraternal twins result when
    two eggs are fertilized by two sperm
  27. Adoption studies seek to understand genetic influences on personality.  They do this mainly by
    evaluating whether adopted children's personalities more closely resemble those of their adoptive parents or their biological parents
  28. Our biologically rooted temperament provides
    building blocks for our enduring personality
  29. Normal levels of stimulation are important during infancy and early childhood because during these years
    experience activates and preserves neural connections that might otherwise die from disuse
  30. Children and youth are particularly responsive to influences of their
  31. culture
  32. norm
    • an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. 
    • prescribe "normal" or "proper" behavior
  33. personal space
    the buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies
  34. individualism
    giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than groups identifications
  35. collectivism
    giving priority to group goals (often those of the extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly
  36. traits with individualism
    • Self: independent
    • Life task: discover and express one's uniqueness
    • What matters: Me-personal achievement and fulfillment; rights and liberties; self-esteem
    • Coping method: change reality
    • Mortality: defined by individuals (self-based)
    • Relationships: Many, often temp or casual; confrontation acceptable
    • Attributing behavior: behavior reflects one's personality and attitudes
  37. traits with collectivism
    • Self: interdependent (identity from belonging)
    • Life task: Maintain connections, fit in, perform role
    • What matters: Us-group goals and solidarity; social responsibilities and relationships;family duty
    • Coping method: accommodate to reality
    • Morality: defined by social networks (duty-based)
    • Relationships: few, close and enduring; harmony valued
    • Attributing behavior: behavior reflects social norms and roles
  38. family self
    a feeling that what shames the child shames the family, and what brings honor to the family brings honor to the self
  39. How many chromosomes do we have, and how many are unisex?
    46 total, 45 unisex
  40. aggression
    physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone
  41. gender differences in social connectedness
    • females tend to differ from males both in being less concerned with viewing themselves as separate individuals and in being more concerned with "making connections"
    • Therefore, females tend to be more interdependent than males
  42. X chromosome
    • the sex chromosome found in both men and women
    • females have 2 X chromosomes; males have one
    • An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child ( XX )
  43. Y chromosome
    • the sex chromosome found only in males ( XY )
    • when paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child
  44. testosterone
  45. Which chromosome determines sex
    • 23rd pair
    • Doesn't happen till 7 weeks after conception, before which you are anatomically indistinguishable
  46. Another key period (in the womb)  for sexual differentiation
    falls during the 4th and 5th prenatal months, when sex hormones bathe the fetal brain and influence its wiring
  47. gray matter vs. white matter in the brain
    • gray matter is the neural bodies
    • white matter are the axons and dendrites
  48. role
  49. gender role
    a set of expected behaviors for males or for females
  50. gender identity
    our sense of being male or female
  51. gender typing
    the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
  52. social learning theory
  53. schemas
    • concepts that help make sense of your world
    • Your gender schema becomes a lens through which you viewed your experiences.
    • social learning shapes gender schemas
  54. "bad faith"
    what philosopher-novelist Jean-Paul Sartre called when one attributed responsibility for one's fate to bad genes or bad influences
  55. Occam's razor
    the principle that we should prefer the simplest of competing explanations
  56. From studies of adopted families, it has been found that people who grow up together, whether biologically related or not...
    do not much resemble one another in personality
  57. Adoptees are more similar to their biological parents than to their caregiving adoptive parents in traits such as
    agreeableness and extraversion (which is characterized by sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and excitability.)
  58. The environment shared by a family's children has virtually no discernible impact on their
  59. A pair of adopted children or identical twins will, especially during adolescence, have more similar
    religious beliefs if reared together
  60. two individuals are most likely to differ in personality if they are
    fraternal twins raised apart
  61. According to research, the most emotionally intense preschoolers tend to be... (emotionally/behaviorally)
    emotionally reactive and impulsive 3 yr olds develop into somewhat more impulsive, aggressive and conflict-prone 21 yr olds
  62. Evolutionary psychologist attribute gender differences in sexuality to the fact that women have
    lower reproductive potential than men
  63. gender differences among men and women
    • Women enter puberty 2 yrs sooner, lives 5 yrs longer, immed. re-atoused after orgasm, smell fainter odors, express emotions freely, offer help more often. Move vulnerable to depression/anxiety & eating disorders
    • Men more likely to commit suicide or suffer alcohol dependence, more often diagnosed w autism, color blindness, ADHD, and antisocial personality disorder
  64. compared to the 1960 in the US, today there is more
    divorce, delinquency, and depression

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