AP Psychology / Unit 1: Biological Bases of Behavior
1.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment
Notes
Behavior comes from nature (genes) and nurture (environment) working together.
- Twin studies and adoption studies separate genetic and environmental effects.
- Heritability is the proportion of variation in a trait in a group explained by genes (not in one person).
- Epigenetics: environment can change how genes are expressed.
Practice
Identical twins raised apart are similar on a trait. This suggests:
Different environments, same genes.
Heritability describes:
A population statistic.
Epigenetics studies:
Genes switched on or off.
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