Term
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Definition
• Constantly interacting with one another
• Constantly influencing one another
• Nature VIA Nurture |
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Term
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Definition
• DNA: contains
genetic instructions
– Found in the nucleus
of each cell
• Genes: basic units of
inheritance
– Delineated pieces of
DNA
– Total of about 25,000
genes in human body |
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Term
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Definition
• Genes work by directing the synthesis of
over 200,000 different proteins.
• Proteins are the molecules that control life.
• Protein synthesis is a complex process of
transcription of the message in the DNA,
processing of the genetic message, and
the ultimate production of proteins. |
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Term
Genes, Chromosomes, and Cell
Division |
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Definition
• When a cell divides, the DNA assembles into
chromosomes.
• Chromosomes are chains of genes that can be
observed directly.
• All cells except sperm and egg cells contain 23
pairs of chromosomes.
• First 22 are autosomes
• The 23rd pair are the sex chromosomes
• One’s chromosomal makeup can be visualized
in karotypes. |
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Term
| Cell Division and Reproduction |
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Definition
• Mitosis: autosomal cell division
– Creates two cells with identical sets of chromosomes
• Meiosis
– Produces ova and sperm, each containing half of the
full set of chromosomes The genotype refers to the
genes an individual inherits.
• Genes, like chromosomes, exist in pairs, each
half of which is an allele. |
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Term
| From Genotype to Phenotype |
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Definition
• Dominant vs. recessive
• Homozygous vs. heterozygous |
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Term
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Definition
Genetic Inheritance
• Nearly all human characteristics are polygenic,
meaning they are determined by more than one
gene pair.
• Some traits are sex-linked, usually passed on by
the X chromosome. Since men have only one
“X,” they are at risk for traits associated with the
X chromosome.
• Genetic mutations may occur during mitosis or
meiosis, when the DNA molecule is altered
during cell division.
• Mutations may be beneficial or detrimental. |
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Term
Genetic and Chromosomal
Disorders |
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Definition
• It is amazing that most babies are born healthy
and normal.
• But about 3% are born with congenital
anomalies, or birth defects.
• Genetic anomalies involve problems with the
instructional mechanism of the genetic process.
• Sex-linked disorders can occur when the
gametes do not replicate correctly or when
genetic information, even entire chromosomes,
are missing or duplicated. |
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Term
| Some Sex-Linked Disorders |
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Definition
• Genetic
– Color blindness, X-lined
• Chromosomal
– Fragile X syndrome
– Klinefelter syndrome (XXY, XXXY, XXXXY)
– Superfemale syndrome (XXX, XXXX, XXXXX)
– Supermale syndrome (XYY, XYYY, XYYYY)
– Turner Syndrome (OX) |
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Term
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Definition
• Genetic (recessive or dominant alleles)
– Angelman syndrome
– Cystic Fibrosis
– Huntington’s Disease
– PKU
– Sickle-cell trait
– Tay-Sachs
• Chromosomal (an extra chromosome)
– Down syndrome |
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Term
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Definition
• Uses recombinant DNA technology to
reconstruct cells and genes
• Gene therapies involve reinserting
genetically-altered cells into a person.
• Used to produce a variety of proteins,
such as insulin
• Insert new genes in order to correct “bad”
or deficient genes |
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Term
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Definition
• Behavior genetics tries to understand the
genetic origins of behaviors.
• Behavior may be predisposed by genes, but not
controlled by it.
• Looks at the statistical correlation, or
concordance, of similar characteristics with
genes.
– form the basis of estimates of heritability, the
proportion of a trait that is thought to result from
genetic factors. |
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Term
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Definition
• Adoption Studies
– Studies how adopted children resemble their
adoptive versus their biological parents
• Twin Studies
– Compares identical twins for traits thought to
be heritable
– Hard to interpret because no twin’s
environment is identical, even within same
home |
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Term
Environmental Influences and
Contexts |
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Definition
• Basic Processes that Affect Behavior
– Habituation
– Classical Conditioning
– Operant Conditioning
• Positive vs. negative
– Social Learning
• Observational learning |
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Term
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Definition
• Family systems are at the heart of human
behavior.
• Families pay a critical role in the development of
a child’s self-concept and in orienting him or her
to society and culture.
• We need to avoid ethnocentrism, the tendency
to assume that our own beliefs, customs, and
values are normal and others are abnormal. |
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Term
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Definition
• Cultural factors affect a cohort, a group of
individuals born during the same historical era.
• There different types of cultural influences seen
in cohorts:
– Normative age-graded: biological and social changes
– Normative history-graded: historical events, like wars,
depressions, and epidemics
– Non-normative: individual factors like divorce,
unemployment, illness, career changes |
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Term
| Development in a Broad Context |
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Definition
• Lifespan development is a complex interaction
among one’s biology, immediate environment,
and culture.
• Mediating factors—gender, ethnicity,
socioeconomic background—determine how
broader cultural-historical forces will be
experienced.
• The family will shape one’s experience in
important ways.
• Each person’s unique personal characteristics
will determine how they act in and adapt to the
broader context in which life unfolds. |
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Term
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Definition
• Genetic instructions are contained in the DNA molecules
found in the nucleus of each of our cells.
• The basic unit of inheritance is the gene; genes are units
of DNA molecules.
• The cells are arranged in chromosomes, and we have 23
pairs of chromosomes in each cell.
• Genotype refers to what our genes are, but phenotype
refers to what we actually express, or look like.
• Most human characteristics are caused by more than
one pair of genes.
• Some genes are dominant, some recessive. |
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Term
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Definition
• Genetic and chromosomal disorders may cause
birth defects and other problems, such as
spontaneous abortions.
• Genetic tests today allow prospective parents to
learn if their baby might have genetic defects.
Through genetic counseling they can assess the
risk of carrying the baby to term.
• Behavior genetics studies how genes impact
human behavior.
• But human behavior is never caused by genes
alone, rather there are complex interactions
between our genes and the environment. |
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Term
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Definition
• Environmental influences on our genes can be
very specific events in our individual lives, or
they can occur broadly across cultures.
• Learning is one of the primary environmental
factors that shape our development. Major forms
of learning include:
– Classical and operant conditioning
– Social learning
• All development takes place in the broader
context of family and culture.
• Thus, hereditary and environmental forces
continually interact as development unfolds. |
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