Psychology Chapter 3 Quiz Questions

Human babies can seem downright annoying at times. They grab at whatever is in reach, they bang on tables and chairs, and they're fascinated by shaking rattles or squeaking toys. Why are these behaviors to be expected, and in fact why are they adaptive?

A desire to explore and manipulate objects is an innate human characteristic that contributes to mastering one's environment.

How does the study of adopted children (and their biological and adoptive parents) shed light on heritability?

Adopted children share genetics (but not environment) in common with their biological parents, but share environment (but not genetics) in common with their adoptive parents.

Joey, Janie, and Julie are members of the Tuff Darts, a local youth organization. Bobby, Betty, and Bernie are members of the Wild Bunch, a rival group. On average, the Tuff Darts are smarter than the Wild Bunch. However, Janie is smarter than Julie, and Bobby is smarter than either of them. It's therefore difficult to predict which group will excel at the upcoming Intellectual Decathlon. What general principle does this scenario illustrate?

Between-group differences and within-group differences both need to be taken into account when explaining behavior.

Epigenetics is an exciting new field of study that has vast implications for our understanding of how genetic information influences behavior. What is the process of epigenetics like?

Chemical molecules that regulate the activity of genes act like software that instructs genetic hardware to become active or inactive.

The study of sex differences in mating preferences and sexual behavior can be hampered by ______________ samples and perhaps enhanced by __________________ samples.

Convenience / representative

What evidence indicates that the kind of intellectual abilities measured on intelligence tests may be partly heritable?

Correlations among intelligence test scores of people who share varying degrees of genetic overlap form a clear pattern.

Chromosomes consist of threadlike strands of:

DNA molecules

Genetics and the environment interact to produce behavior, although

Determining the relative contributions of each source can sometimes be difficult

_________________ refers to a change in gene frequencies within a population, whereas ___________________ refers to a process by which some individuals with genetically influenced traits (that are adaptive to a particular environment) survive and reproduce in greater numbers.

Evolution / natural selection

A segment of DNA that varies across individuals, has a known location on a chromosome, and can function as a landmark for a gene implicated in a physical or mental condition is known as a:

Genetic Marker

Why would men report desiring a younger female mate, according to sociobiological and evolutionary explanations?

It is adaptive for males to want young and fertile females, and to inseminate as many females as possible.

Imagine that both Mick and Rusty each were born with 20 units of "genetic intelligence." Mick grows up in an environment full of books, stimulation, and parental attention. Rusty grows up in an environment full of monotony, malnutrition, and parental neglect. Despite their equivalence on "genetic intelligence," what would you predict about Mick and Rusty's intellectual development?

Mick is likely to show better performance on intelligence tests and other measures of mental ability than is Rusty.

In many societies men are expected to be promiscuous and aggressive, whereas women are thought to be choosy, chaste, and coy. How do these conceptions cloud our understanding of sex differences in dating and mating?

Stereotypes and expectations for behavior are not always the same as actual behavior.

What is an example of an innate reflex that infants are born with, and that contributes to survival?

Sucking

When behavioral geneticists compute heritability, what does it refer to?

The proportion of the total variance in a trait that is attributable to genetic variation within a group.