Lesson no 10:Physical Development and Nature Nurture Issue: Short Question
What is developmental psychology? Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that studies growth and physiological, psychological, and social changes that take place over the life span.
What does “nature” refer to in the nature-nurture debate? “Nature” refers to hereditary influences and genetic inheritance.
What is a zygote? A zygote is the one-celled product of the union of a sperm and an ovum, containing the complete genetic package.
How many chromosomes does a typical human zygote have? A typical human zygote has 46 chromosomes (23 pairs).
What are genes? Genes are the parts of chromosomes that are the transmitters of inheritance, made up of DNA.
What combination of sex chromosomes results in a male? An XY combination of sex chromosomes results in a male.
What is the difference between genotype and phenotype? Genotype is a person’s genetic composition, while phenotype is the observable characteristics of a person.
What is the name of the study that investigates traits in as many blood relatives as possible? Consanguinity Studies investigate traits in as many blood relatives as possible.
Explain the interactionist perspective on the nature-nurture debate. The interactionist perspective holds that both heredity and environment are essential and mutually influential; heredity influences how we respond to the environment, and the environment influences how hereditary characteristics develop and are expressed.
How do twin studies help researchers understand the influence of heredity and environment? By comparing identical twins (who share 100% of genes) reared together versus apart, and fraternal twins (who share 50% of genes), researchers can estimate the relative contributions of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) to a trait.
What is the significance of the concept of “critical periods” in development? Critical periods are specific, often early, time frames in development when an organism is particularly sensitive to certain environmental stimuli, and during which certain capacities must develop or they may not develop normally.
How can a dominant gene affect the expression of a trait? If a person inherits a dominant gene for a trait, that trait will be expressed in the phenotype, even if the other gene in the pair is recessive.
Why is it difficult to draw definitive conclusions from selective breeding studies in animals when applied to humans? Because humans are far more complex, and ethical considerations prevent the controlled breeding and environmental manipulation that is possible with animals, limiting the generalizability of the findings.
Explain how multi-factorial inheritance differs from autosomal dominant inheritance. Multi-factorial inheritance involves a combination of several genes or an interaction between genes and environmental factors, whereas autosomal dominant inheritance involves a single dominant gene that will express the trait if inherited.
How does the prenatal environment influence development? The prenatal environment can be influenced by the mother’s nutrition, emotional state, drug use, and illnesses, all of which can affect the physical and psychological development of the fetus.
What does the continuity versus discontinuity debate in development involve? The continuity debate involves whether development is a gradual, continuous process of change, or a series of distinct, qualitatively unique stages (discontinuity).
How might a child’s innate temperament (nature) influence their environment (nurture)? A child with a difficult temperament might elicit more negative or stressed responses from parents, thus shaping a more stressful family environment, which in turn affects the child’s development.
A child has brown eyes, but carries a gene for blue eyes. The brown eye gene is ________. Dominant.
If a trait requires two recessive genes to be expressed (one from each parent), what pattern of inheritance is this? This is Autosomal Recessive Inheritance.
A study finds that identical twins reared apart have very similar levels of extraversion. What does this suggest about the trait of extraversion? This suggests that extraversion has a strong genetic component.
A child born with a genetic predisposition for high intellectual potential is raised in a stimulating, educational environment and becomes a gifted scholar. This illustrates what about nature and nurture? This illustrates the interaction between nature (genetic potential) and nurture (stimulating environment) in producing an outcome.
A person is homozygous for a trait. What does this mean? It means they have inherited two identical alleles for that particular trait.
A baby is born with Tay-Sachs disease. What pattern of inheritance is typically associated with this condition? Tay-Sachs disease is inherited through an Autosomal Recessive pattern.
Height and weight are believed to be influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors like nutrition. What pattern of inheritance is this? This is Multi-Factorial Inheritance.
A researcher compares the IQ scores of adopted children with those of their biological and adoptive parents. What type of study is this? This is an Adoption Study.
