From Gene to Brain to Experience to Behavior

ENVIRONMENT
Humans share 93%
of their genes with
the rhesus
macaque monkey
and about 99%
with rats but
what about the
rest?
Discuss the extent to which genetics influence
behaviour. Try and work out how much of a certain
behaviour is inherited and how much is
environmental.

?
?
Intelligence
Depression
Risk-taking behaviour
Homosexuality
Problem solving skills
Agoraphobia
Which of
the
following
do you
think
might be
inherited?
Why?
Physical: height, mass, obesity, voice tone,
blood pressure, tooth decay, athletic ability,
age of death

Intellectual: memory, age of language
acquisition, reading difficulties

Emotional/disorders: shyness, extroversion,
emotionality, neuroticism, schizophrenia,
anxiety, alcoholism
Genetics
(inherited)
Environment
(experienced)
Behaviour
Is used to explain the origin of depression
This model argues that depression may be a
result of the interaction of a genetic
vulnerability and traumatic environmental
stimuli in early childhood.
Not everyone who experiences a traumatic
childhood or has someone in the family who
becomes depressed, will be depressed,
therefore there in no single cause-and-
effect relationship between genes and
behaviour
Are in large extent based
on correlational studies
twin studies, family
studies and adoption
studies.
Twin
studies
MZ twins
DZ twins
Family
studies
(Grand)parents
Siblings
Adoption
studies
Adopted family
Biological
family
Comparing Monozygotic twins
(MZ) with Dyzygotic twins
(DZ). Since MZ twins have
identical DNA, there should be
a higher concordance rate .
Comparing MZ twins reared
together vs. MZ twins reared
apart. Why might this be better
than the first technique?
Using correlational research to establish a
genetic argument for the origin of human
behaviour
Twin
studies

Monozygotic
(identical)
Dizygotic
(fraternal)
Concordant trait
Both members of a
twin pair share a
trait
Discordant trait
A twin pair does
not share a trait
Is to a large extent based on correlational
studies
What is that?

Correlations show the relationship
between two variables. There is no
manipulation of an IV, so cause and
effect are not established.
A correlation of +1.0 means as x
increases, y increases. -1.0 means that
x increases, y decreases.
In twin research, we expect to find a
higher correlational than when
comparing a child to someone outside
of the family.
Twin studies have produced a great deal of data
in support of biological roots of disorders; this
has helped psychologists to stress prevention
for those who are vulnerable to such disorders.
There is a high cross-cultural reliability of
concordance levels.
MZ twins are rarely separated at birth and
raised in a totally different environment, yet
this is really necessary to substantiate claims.
MZ twins reared together share many of the
same experiences. DZ twins reared together
may not share the same experiences due to
levels of attractiveness or temperament.
Adoption studies tend to compare the
adopted child with the biological
mother and the adoptive mother to
determine which has the higher
concordance rate for a given behaviour.
Why might adoption studies at times be
preferrable to twin studies?
Adoption studies allow researchers to isolate
variables. If a biological mother has no contact
since birth and still matches for a specific trait -
for example, the adopted childs IQ is better than
the adoptive mother and in concordance with the
birth mother - this is strong evidence that genes
play a significant role in the development of this
trait.
Selective placement is a problem. Babies
tend to placed with families similar in
background to the natural parents.
Adopted children as well as twins - are not
representative of all children.
The act of being given up for adoption may
affect the childs behaviour.
A more representative sample of the general
population.
A child inherits half of its genes from the
father and half from the mother
Sibling will share 50% with each other
Grandparents will share 25% with their
grandparents
First cousins will share 12,5% with each other
These different degrees of genetic
relatedness are compared with behaviour.
For example: if one study intelligence and
believe that IQ has a lot to do with the
genes, there should be a strong correlation in
IQ between children and their mother and
fathers, but a weak
correlation in IQ with
their second cousins
and if any with strangers
SO, what did you get on your SATs? Jane said
she got a 2350that means shes really smart,
right?
Does it?
Is it the ability to use reason and logic?
Is it the ability to write and speak clearly?
Is it limited to ones performance in school?
Is it behavior in social situations?
How about knowing when youre wrong?






Not that simple, right?

There are many psychological theories about
intelligence

Beginning of 20th century a
great interest in the role of
genetics and behaviour
Alfred Binnet developed first
intelligence test in order to
improve the French education
system
Is intelligence inherited or is it
the result of environmental
stimuli?
Central argument is that human
intelligence is substantially
Influenced by both inherited
and environmental factors and
is a better predictor of many
Personal dynamics, including
financial income, job
performance, chance of
unwanted pregnancy, and
involvement in crime than are
an individual's parental
socioeconomic status,
or education level.
Give me a dozen healthy infants, and my own specified
world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any
one at random and train him to become any type of
specialist I might select doctor, lawyer, artist,
merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies,
abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.
John B. Watson
What is it?
How can it be measured?
Charles Spearman theorized that there is a
general intelligence factor, which he called
the g factor.
Modern intelligence testing attempts to
assess this g
But the question is: where does g come
from?

Spearman defined g as: the innate ability to
perceive relationships and educe co-
relationships

Dont test facts and subject knowledge
Test spatial ability,
reasoning, divergent thinking,
and verbal fluency


Tests do discriminate.
But some argue that there sole purpose is to
discriminate.
We have to look at the type of discrimination.
No other topic in psychology is so passionately
followed as the one that asks the question, Is
intelligence due to genetics or environment?
Bouchard and McGue (1981) reviewed 111
studies of IQ correlations between siblings
It was META-ANALYSIS (statistical synthesis of
the data from a set of comparable studies)
Results: the closer the kinship, the higher the
correlation for IQ

Aim of the study: researchers seek to identify the genetic and
environmental influences on the development of psychological
traits.
Longitudinal study of 11-17 year-old twins, started in 1979.
Involved a week-long of medical and psychological assessment of
identical and fraternal twins separated in early life.
This is the most cross-cultural stydy with participants from all over
the world.
Medical Assessment:
- Psychiatric interview
- Medical life history
- Standard blood test
- Detailed dental & periodontal exams
Psychological Assessment:
-Academic ability
-Personality & Interests
-Family & Social relationships
-Mental & Physical health
-Psychological Measurements



Same person tested twice 87%
Identical tins reared together 86%
Identical twins reared apart 76%
Fraternal twins reared together 55%
Biological siblings reared together 47%
Researchers determined a heritability estimate of
70% - that is 70% intelligence can be attributed to
genetic inheritance
Separated as infants, twins Gerald (Jerry Levey) and Mark Newman grew up to
share characteristics ranging from their firefighting avocation to taste in beer.
Neither of them knew of the others existence
When they first met, they saw their reflection in the other
person.
Grew same mustache, wore the same glasses.
Both worked in supermarkets for a while.
Both volunteer fire fighters.
Both men are bachelors and are attracted to the same kind of women.
Both brought up in the Jewish faith but neither is particularly religious.
Both men drink only Budweiser Beer. ( They even hold the can in the same
way
Quote - we kept making the same remarks at the same time and using the
same gestures. It was spooky...He is he and I am I, and we are one.

Pros:
Mean age was 41 years old (most twin studies are
about adolescents)
Most cross-cultural study to date
Cons:
Ethical concerns in reunited twins
Equal environment assumption (just because twins
lived together doesnt mean they had the same
experiences growing up)
Used media coverage to recruit participants
Frequency of contact between twins prior to study
could not be controlled
The Bouchard study suffers from the equal
environment fallacy

a parent preferred one twin over the other,
they were in different classes in school,
they have different peer groups based on
extracurricular interests.

Twin research is flawed, provocative, and
fascinating, and it topples some of our most
cherished notionssuch as our beliefs that
parenting styles make an irrevocable difference,
that we can mould our children, that we are
free agents piecing together our destinies.

From Roderick Angles Natures Clone in Psychology
today, July 1, 1997
Although the original longitudinal study is now
finished, the Minnesota Center for Twin &
Family Research is still conducting studies.
See https://mctfr.psych.umn.edu/aboutus/index.html for
updates.
Wahlstein (1997) well- controlled adoption
studies in France
He found that transfering an infant from a family
with low socio economic status to a home
where parents have a high socio economic
status improved childhood IQ
scores by 12-16 points
Scarr and Weinberg (1977) & Horn et al. (1979)
Studied parents with both biological and adopted
children
So same environment any differences should be
due to what?

Same upbringing and environment, but different biology
Parents were white and middle class
Children were from lower-class with low-IQ biological
parents
No significant difference in IQ correlations

Studies of twins, family members, and adopted
children together support the idea that there is a
significant genetic contribution to intelligence.
Plomin and Petrill (1997)
Correlations between parents and child IQs
change over time
It is possible that our genetic disposition
pushes us towards environments that
accentuate that disposition, thus leading to
increased heritability throughout the lifespan
Socio-economic class is an important
environmental factor (i.e. poverty)
PET Scan
Individuals with high IQ had a lower metabolic
rate when solving a reasoning problem
No change in metabolic rate with a data recall
problem
Higher IQs use less energy to think
Called the less effort hypothesis

In the past 60 years, intelligence scores have risen
steadily by an average of 27 points. This
phenomenon is known as the Flynn effect.
Better at cracking the test?
Real increase in intelligence?
Better nutrition, schooling, childhoods,
technology?

Evolutionary explanation of behaviour
Is determined on one idea that as genes
mutate, those that are advantageous are
passed down through a process of natural
selection.
Natural selection cannot select for a
behaviour.
-can only select mechanisms that produce
behaviour
Theory of natural
selection

Animals-evolution
Primates- insight into
human behaviour

Mate selection
Love of mother
Self-preservation
Study challenges the belief of many people,
including a number of scientists, that "humans
are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive
functions," said researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of
Kyoto University.
Video:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/200
7/12/071204-chimps-video-ap.html
One memory test included three five-year-
old chimps who were taught the order of
Arabic numerals 1 through 9, and a dozen
human volunteers.
Study of emotions
Dan Fessler (USC)
Disgust
-enabled ancestors to survive long enough to
produce offspring, who in turn passed the
same sensitivities to us.
Nausea experienced by pregnant women (1
st

trimester)4c xz


Fessler hypothesized that the nausea
response helps to compensate for the
suppressed immune system.
Fessler gathered 496 healthy pregnant
women(ages 18-50) to rank how disgusting
they found 32 disgusting scenarios
Walking barefoot and stepping on
earthworm
Sticking fish hook through their finger
Maggots on a piece of meant in an outdoor
waste bin
Fessler asked questions to help determine
whether they were experiencing morning
sickness.
First trimester scored the highest

More effective when involving food
Food-borne
The sensitivity lowers the risk of disease and
infection decreases in consistent with the view
of disgust as a form of protection against
disease.
Patterns in disgust responses
Online survey; 20 images
Level of disgust?
7 pairs in which one was infectious or
potentially harmful to the immune system vs.
non-infectuous
77,000 participants from 165 countries
Findings affirmed that most disgusted when
could affect us
Supports idea that disgust is a key to successful
reproduction
The original survey can be found at
www.bbc.co.uk/sciencehurnanbody/mind/surveys/
disgust


Difificult to test empirically some evolution-
based therefore researchers may be forced to
be bias when making affirmations.
Little is known about the behaviour of early
Homo sapiens, so statements about humans
used to be are hypothetical
Evolutionary arguments often underestimate the
role of cultural influences in shaping behaviour
One may not like to share about their past
Affected to find out things they didnt want
to know about their ancestors
Confidentiality and privacy
Not exactly!!

It allows us to trace back our actions and
their motives.

Genes can take the blame ;)

Selective placement: adoption agencies try and place
children in families that are similar to their own. Therefore
the environment for a twin raised in an adoptive family and a
twin raised in the biological family may be very similar. This is
the same with adopted children, when compared with their
biological and adoptive parents the environmental factor is
difficult to determine. (See p 28-29 of the Psychology e-text)
Twin studies: even if raised apart, identical twins have
common age, common sex, similar appearance, similar
socioeconomic and cultural environment (usually, see above),
and a common prenatal environment.
Increasing heritability: correlations between parent and
child IQs change over time, becoming stronger as the child
ages. (See Plomin and Petrill, 1997, p 56 in your Course
Companion). What could this mean?
In the Course Companion it is stated that poverty - not
genetic inferiority is key to understanding differences in
intelligence (p56). What could this mean?
Here are 3 links to online IQ tests. Try and take
all 3 tests in the same day. Ignore the results,
except to compare them. If they are different,
how do you explain this? Have you become
more/less intelligent in just one day? If they are
the same, is this sufficient to say that you have
this IQ?
http://www.free-iqtest.net/
www.learnmyself.com
http://www.iqleague.com
(Note that these are all free. The second asks for your
email address, but you can make one up).