Genetic and environmental influences on behaviour –
The Nature / Nurture debate
Genes
Genotype
Environment
nature
phenotype
diet
nurture
families
Lesson 1 Introduction – why is this a controversial issue?
------------- refers to influences on behaviour which are genetic and -------------refers to influences which are environmental. Our genetic make up is called
our -----------------------. When this interacts with the environment the outcome
is called our --------------------------------------. We can be influenced by a range of
factors in the environment such as ----------- or our ---------------------. It is now
widely accepted that -------------- and ------------------ interact with each other.
1. Psychologists widely accept that genes and environment interact with each
other and therefore both influence behaviour. So, what is it that they
debate in psychology today?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Suggest one consequence of knowing whether a behaviour is entirely
genetic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. What do you think might be a difficulty with investigating this issue
scientifically?-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson 2 - Genetic Influences on behaviour
4. What is a heritability estimate and how is it measured?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Which psychological approach would look for these?--------------------------6. What three pieces of evidence have we seen for the genetic influences of
human behaviour?
1.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. For each one give some opposing evidence.
1.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. Suggest a reason why MZ twins do not always show 100% concordance.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson 3 - Environmental influences on behaviour
9. Which Psychological approach would be most likely to look for
environmental influences on behaviour?--------------------------------------------10.Describe three pieces of evidence for environmental influences on
behaviour-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11. For each one give an evaluation point on the methods or ethics or a piece
of opposing evidence.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12.Explain the meaning of the term neural plasticity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson 4 – Conclusion - The interaction of genes and environment
microenvironment
identical twins
niche pick
epigenetics
Reactive influence
genes
environment
passive
Environmental factors can switch on certain genes which are then passed on to
the next generation. This explains why --------------- --------- reared apart can be
very different and is known as --------------------------.
This suggests that our environments have an influence on our--------------.
There is also evidence to suggest that our genes can influence our
-------------------------. --------------- ----------------- is when our genetic factors like
temperament affect how others treat us, creating a
---------------------------------------. When a mental disorder of a parent leads to an
environment which triggers the disorder in a child the is called
-------------- influence. Active influence is when a genetic tendency leads a child
to ---------- -------- thereby directly affecting their own environment.
Essay Plan
Intro – What is the difference between nature and nurture? Which approaches favours
nature and which nurture? Why is this a controversy in psychology?
Describe evidence for genetic influences.
Evaluations
Describe evidence for environmental influences
Evaluations
What conclusion can we draw from the evidence? Describe how both genes and
environment interact with each other with examples
.