ap psych ch. 3 – Flashcards
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If chromosomes are the "books" of heredity, the "words" are the ________ and the "letters" are the ________.
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genes; nucleotides
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Chromosomes are composed of small segments of ________ called ________.
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DNA; genes
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Each cell of the human body has a total of:
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46 chromosomes.
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Genes direct our physical development by synthesizing:
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proteins.
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I am part of an "alphabet" that consists of only four letters, the sequence of which is nearly identical in all humans. What am I?
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a nucleotide
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The human genome is best defined as:
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the complete instructions for making an organism.
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The sequence of the four nucleotide letters:
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is virtually the same in all humans.
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Which of the following most accurately summarizes the findings of the 40-year fox-breeding study described in the text?
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By selecting and mating the tamest males and females, the researchers have produced affectionate, unaggressive offspring.
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Most human traits are:
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influenced by many genes acting together.
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Mutations are random errors in ________ replication that lead to a change in the sequence of ________.
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gene; nucleotides
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Responding to the argument that gender differences are often by-products of a culture's social and family structures, an evolutionary psychologist is most likely to point to:
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our great human capacity for learning.
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When evolutionary psychologists use the word "fitness," they are specifically referring to:
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our ability to survive and reproduce.
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An evolutionary psychologist would be most interested in studying:
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why most parents are so passionately devoted to their children.
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Of the relatively few genetic differences among humans ________ are differences among races.
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less than 10 percent
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A psychologist working from the evolutionary perspective is likely to suggest that people are biologically predisposed to:
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protect their offspring, fear of heights, to be attracted to fertile-appearing members of the opposite sex
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Dr. Ross believes that principles of natural selection help explain why infants come to fear strangers about the time they become mobile. Dr. Ross is most likely a(n):
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evolutionary psychologist.
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Through natural selection, the traits that are most likely to be passed on to succeeding generations are those that contribute to:
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reproduction & survival
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Gender refers to:
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the biological and social definitions of male and female
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Which of the following is not true regarding gender and sexuality?
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Gender differences in sexuality are noticeably absent among gay men and lesbian women.
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Compared to men, women are more likely to:
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be less accepting of casual sex.
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Casual hit-and-run sex is most frequent among:
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males with traditional masculine attitudes
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Evolutionary psychologists attribute gender differences in sexuality to the fact that women have:
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lower reproductive potential than do men
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According to evolutionary psychology, men are drawn sexually to women who seem ________, while women are attracted to men who seem ________.
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youthful and fertile; mature and affluent
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Evolutionary explanations of gender differences in sexuality have been criticized because:
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they offer "after-the-fact" explanations, standards of attractiveness vary with time and place, they underestimate cultural influences on sexuality.
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Unlike ________ twins, who develop from a single fertilized egg, ________ twins develop from separate fertilized eggs.
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identical; fraternal
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If a fraternal twin becomes schizophrenic, the likelihood of the other twin developing serious mental illness is much lower than with identical twins. This suggests that:
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schizophrenia is influenced by genes
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After comparing divorce rates among identical and fraternal twins, Dr. Alexander has concluded that genes do play a role. Dr. Alexander is most likely a(n):
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behavior geneticist.
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My sibling and I developed from a single fertilized egg. Who are we?
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same-sex identical twins.
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A person whose twin has Alzheimer's disease has ________ risk of sharing the disease if they are identical twins than if they are fraternal twins.
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much greater
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Of the following, the best way to separate the effects of genes and environment in research is to study:
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identical twins raised in different environments.
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One of the best ways to distinguish how much genetic and environmental factors affect behavior is to compare children who have:
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the same genes but different environments
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Several studies of long-separated identical twins have found that these twins:
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have many similarities, in everything from medical histories to personalities
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Adoption studies show that the personalities of adopted children:
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bear more similarities to their biological parents than to their adoptive parents.
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A pair of adopted children or identical twins reared in the same home are most likely to have similar:
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religious beliefs
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Three-year-old Jack is inhibited and shy. As an adult, Jack is likely to be:
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cautious and unassertive
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Temperament refers to a person's characteristic:
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emotional reactivity and intensity
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In a hypothetical world where all schools are of uniform quality, all families equally loving, and all neighborhoods equally healthy, the heritability of person-to-person differences would be:
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large.
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To say that the heritability of a trait is approximately 50 percent means that:
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of the variation in the trait within a group of people, 50 percent can be attributed to genes.
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The heritability of a trait will be largest among genetically ________ individuals who grew up in ________ environments.
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dissimilar; similar
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When the effect of one factor (such as environment) depends on another (such as heredity), we say there is a(n) ________ between the two factors.
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interaction
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Despite growing up in the same home environment, Karen and her brother John have personalities as different from each other as two people selected randomly from the population. Why is this so?
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The interaction of their individual genes and nonshared experiences accounts for the common finding that children in the same family are usually very different.
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Which of the following is an example of an interaction?
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Swimmers with certain personality traits swim fastest during competition, while those with other personality traits swim fastest during solo time trials.
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The subfield that studies the specific genes that influence behavior is:
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molecular genetics.
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Of the following, parents are most likely to influence their children's:
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faith.
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Which of the following most accurately expresses the extent of parental influence on personality?
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It is more limited than popular psychology supposes
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I am a rat whose cortex is lighter and thinner than my litter mates'. What happened to me?
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You were raised in a deprived environment.
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Research studies have found that when infant rats and premature human babies are regularly touched or massaged, they:
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gain weight more rapidly & develop faster neurologically.
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Providing a child with a stimulating educational environment during early childhood is likely to:
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prevent neural connections from degenerating.
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The "selection effect" in peer influence refers to the tendency of children and youth to:
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seek out friends with similar interests and attitudes
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Which of the following is not true regarding cultural diversity?
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Culture does not have a strong influence on how strictly social roles are defined
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Chad, who grew up in the United States, is more likely to encourage ________ in his future children than Asian-born Hidiyaki, who is more likely to encourage ________ in his future children.
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independence; emotional closeness
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Compared to children raised in Western societies, those raised in communal societies, such as Japan or China:
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grow up with a stronger integration of the sense of family into their self-concepts, exhibit greater shyness toward strangers, exhibit greater concern for loyalty and social harmony.
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Genetically female children often play in "masculine" ways if they were exposed to excess ________ during prenatal development.
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testosterone
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The fertilized egg will develop into a boy if, at conception:
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the sperm contributes a Y chromosome.
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The hormone testosterone:
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stimulates growth of the male sex organs
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Women and men are most likely to be attracted to strongly gender-typed mates in cultures characterized by:
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gender inequality
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Children who are raised by parents who discourage traditional gender-typing:
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nevertheless organize themselves into "girl worlds" and "boy worlds."
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When his son cries because another child has taken his favorite toy, Brandon admonishes him by saying, "Big boys don't cry." Evidently, Brandon is an advocate of ________ in accounting for the development of gender-linked behaviors
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social learning theory
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Which theory states that gender becomes a lens through which children view their experiences?
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gender schema theory
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The fact that after age 2, language forces children to begin organizing their worlds on the basis of gender is most consistent with which theory of how gender-linked behaviors develop?
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gender schema theory
