AP Psychology Myers Chapter 4 (Nature/Nurture) Extra Study Material
life task in individualism
discover and express one's uniqueness
psychological influences on individual development
gene-environment interaction; neurological effect of early experiences; responses evoked by our own temperament, gender, etc.; beliefs, feelings, and expectations.
self-concept in individualism
independent, identify from individual traits
self-concept in collectivism
interdependent, identity from belonging
when gender difference peak
late adolescence
Peers are influential on
learning cooperation, finding road to popularity, inventing styles of interaction with same-aged peers.
life task in collectivism
maintain connections, fit in, perform role
gender that tends to be more physically aggressive
male
relationships in individualism
many, often temporary or casual; confrontation acceptable
male answer syndrome
men are more likely to hazard answers than admit they don't know something
As environments become more similar, heredity as a source of differences becomes
more important
cost of the benefits of individualism
more loneliness, higher divorce rates and homicide rates, more stress related disease
In human ancestral history, men sent their genes into the future by
pairing widely
In human ancestral history, women sent their genes into the future by
pairing wisely
Social-cultural influences on individual development
parental influences; peer influences; cultural individualism or collectivism; cultural gender norms
Important finding regarding family environment and personality
The environment shared by a family's children has virtually no discernible impact on their personalities.
environmental relatives
adoptive parents and siblings
Parents' environmental influence on their children comes in these areas:
attitudes, values, manners, faith, and politics
morality in individualism
defined by individuals (self-based)
morality in collectivism
defined by social networks (duty-based)
Genes and experiences, according to Joseph LeDoux, are just two ways of
wiring synapses
biological influences on individual development
shared human genome; individual genetic variations; prenatal environment; sex-related genes, hormones, and physiology
Genetic evolutionary legacy
similarities may be attributable to selection for traits that allow for reproduction and survival
what matters in individualism
Me - personal achievement and fulfillment; rights and liberties; self-esteem
How much credit/blame do parents deserve in how their children turn out?
Parenting matters in the extremes (e.g., abusive situations or close-knit immigrant/refugee families). Shared environmental influences from the womb onward typically account for less than 10% of children's differences. Parents are important in selecting environment (e.g., schools, neighborhood...), and in education, discipline, responsibility, orderliness, charitableness, attitudes toward authority figures.
Use of twin and adoption studies
Researchers (1) compare traits and behaviors of identical twins and fraternal twins; (2) compare adopted children with their adoptive and biological parents; (3) can compare twins raised together or separately; (4) can help determine how much variation among individuals is due to genetic makeup and how much to environmental factors
Evolutionary psychologists explain gender difference in sexuality by
Theorizing that women have inherited their ancestors' tendencies to be more cautious, sexually, because of the challenges associated with incubating and nurturing offspring. Men have inherited an inclination to be more casual about sex, because their act of fathering requires a smaller investment.
what matters in collectivism
Us - group goals and solidarity; social responsibilities and relationships; family duty
Experiment: Belyaev and Trut
Worked with foxes and mated the tamest 5% of males and 20% of females for 30 generations to develop a new "breed" of domesticated, docile foxes
coping method in collectivism
accommodate to reality
selection effect
adolescents and teens selecting out similar others and and sort themselves into like-minded groups
attributing behavior in individualism
behavior reflects one's personality and attitudes
attributing behavior in collectivism
behavior reflects social norms and roles
genetic relatives
biological parents and siblings
coping method in individualism
change reality
gender that is more interdependent
female
relationships in collectivism
few, close and enduring; harmony valued
men in competitive individualist cultures tend to
have more personal freedom, be less geographically bound to their families, enjoy more privacy, take more pride in personal achievement
Biologically rooted temperament helps form our enduring
personality
in collectivist cultures, group identification provides
sense of belonging, set of values, network of caring individuals, assurance of security (which leads to deeper, more stable attachments to their groups)
cultural neuroscience
studies how neurobiology and cultural traits influence each other
behavior genetics
study of the relative effects of our genes and our environment on our behavior
molecular genetics
study of the structure and function of specific genes