Unit 3-C (A):
Behavior Genetics
Mr. McCormick
A.P. Psychology
Do-Now
Place your
3-D Brain Model & Key
on your desk
to be collected.
Do-Now
(In Journal)
 List
10 physical, mental, and/or
emotional characteristics that you
share with your biological family
members.
 Identify
which family members you
share each trait with.
Demonstration: Genetics

Fold your hands together
(interlocking your fingers).

Do you place your left or right
thumb on top of the other?

Switch the position of your
fingers, such that your opposite
thumb is now on top.

How does this feel?
Behavior Genetics

Behavior Genetics:


The study of the relative power and limits of our
genetic and environmental influences on behavior
Environment:

Every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition
to the people and things around us
Behavior Genetics
What is the purpose of
Behavior Genetics
in Psychology?
Genes: Our Codes for Life

Chromosomes:


Threadlike structures made of DNA molecules that
contain genes
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid):

A complex molecule containing the genetic
information that makes up the chromosomes
Human DNA
Shared with Other Organisms

Humans share much of their DNA with other organisms:

Identical Twins:



Parents/Children:
 99.5%
Other Humans:


98%
Fruit Fly:


99%
Chimpanzees:


100%
60%
Banana:

50%
Genes: Our Codes for Life

Genes:
The biochemical units of heredity that make up the
chromosomes
 Segments of DNA capable of synthesizing a protein


Genome:
The complete instructions for making an organism
 Consists of all the genetic material in that organism’s
chromosomes

The Human Cell & Genetics
Genes: Our Codes for Life

“Your DNA and mine are 99.9% the same.. At
the DNA level, we are clearly all part of one big
worldwide family.”


Francis Collins, Human Genome Project director, 2007
“We share half our genes with the banana.”

Evolutionary biologist, Robert May, president of Britain’s
Royal Society, 2001
Review
 What
is Behavior Genetics? What is
its significance in Psychology?
 Differentiate
between the following:
 Chromosomes
 DNA
(Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
 Genes
Homework

Chapter 4 Outline: “Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity”

Research Study Response #3: “Are You a ‘Natural?’”(Pgs. 19-27)

Chapter 4 Quiz: “Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity”

Unit 3 Test: “Biological Bases of Behavior”

Chapter 6 Outline: “Sensation and Perception”

Unit 3 Project: “3-D Brain Model”