CHAPTER 03: NATURE, NURTURE, AND HUMAN DIVERSITY General Psychology (PSY2200 MBAC)

Similarities Questionnaire

Another Reciprocal Relationship

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE: GROWING UP APART Video

Genetics If it were possible, would you want to take a genetic test telling you which diseases you are likely to suffer from later in life?  Free genetics test for treatable disease (56%)  Free genetics test for untreatable disease (26%) If you or your spouse were pregnant, would you want the unborn child tested for genetic defects? Do you think it should be legal for employers to use genetic tests in deciding whom to hire? Should altering a newly-conceived person to improve normal qualities (innate intelligence, appearance, strength) be allowed? (Courtesy Nova)

THE ROLE OF GENETICS Evolutionary Psychology

Fact or Falsehood? 1. People everywhere reciprocate favors.  True 2. Even complex human traits are determined by a single gene.  False 3. Adoptees’ traits bear more similarities to their adoptive parents than to their biological parents.  False 4. Two children in the same family are on average as different from one another as pairs of children selected randomly from the population.  True 5. If after another worldwide catastrophe only Icelanders or Kenyans survived, the human species would suffer a huge reduction in its genetic diversity.  False

Fact or Falsehood? [Continued] 6. In many places around the world, females are more likely than males to initiate sexual activity.  False 7. A child who hears English spoke with one accent at home and another in the neighborhood and at school invariably adopts the accent of his or her peers, not the parents.  True 8. Compared with Westerners, people in Japanese culture exhibit greater concern for social harmony and loyalty.  True 9. Seven weeks after conception, males and females remain anatomically indistinguishable.  True 10. Even when families discourage traditional gender-typing, children still organize themselves into “boy worlds” and “girl worlds,” each guided by rules for what boys and girls do.  True

The Influence of Genetics on Psychological Characteristics Heritability: the extent to which variation among individuals can be attributed to their differing genes Personality: studied using the Big Five (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) or Big Three (positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and constraint)  40 – 50% (no gender differences) Mental Ability: changes with age – early on (age 5), heritability of 22%; by old age (75+ years), heritability is 54 – 62% Psychiatric Illnesses:  Schizophrenia – 80%  Major Depression – 40%  Anxiety Disorders – 20 to 40 %  Alcoholism – 50 to 60%  Antisocial Personality Disorder – 41 to 46%

Common Misconceptions Regarding Evolutionary Theory Genetic Determinism: the idea that genes control all behavior – variability is implicit in evolution (gives something to be selected) Behavior cannot be changed: behavior can be resistant to change, but behavioral flexibility is a survivable characteristic (how long would I survive if my behavior was pre-determined at birth) Organisms can compute complex mathematical formulas: calculating reproductive likelihood at all times (a spider’s web is incredibly complex, but it doesn’t need to know geometry to build it) Humans are optimally designed: adaptation is constant and ongoing (conditions change) Organisms have a conscious or unconscious goal to maximize gene reproduction: it is not gene-referent (more behavior referrent – survive, avoid predators, stay warm, help kin, have sex)

OPENNESS TO CASUAL SEX Video

Heterosexual Gender Attraction Cross-Cultural Research Male preferences (childbearing and fertility)  Youthfulness  Healthy, fertile-appeared women  Proportions: waist 1/3 narrower than hips Female preferences (support and protection)  Healthy  Mature  Dominant  Bold  Affluent

THE ART OF LISTENING: MALES VERSUS FEMALES Video

Values Clarification A 16-year-old girl of questionable IQ, a high school dropout, pregnant. A policeman with a gun (which cannot be taken from him, –he was recently thrown off the force recently for brutality). A clergyman, 75. A woman physician, 36, known to be a confirmed racist. A male violinist, 46, who served seven years for pushing narcotics. A 20-year-old Black militant, no special skills. A former prostitute, female, 39. An architect, a male homosexual. A 26-year-old law student. The law student's 25-year-old wife who spent the last nine months in a mental hospital, still heavily sedated. They refuse to be separated.