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Question 1

What is natural selection?

Answer 1

An evolutionary process by which individuals of a species that are best adapted survive and leave the most fit offspring.

Question 2

Define adaptive behavior.

Answer 2

Behavior that promotes an organism’s survival in the natural habitat.

Question 3

What does evolutionary psychology emphasize?

Answer 3

The importance of adaptation and reproduction to ensure survival.

Question 4

What is evolutionary developmental psychology?

Answer 4

The interest in using concepts of evolutionary psychology to understand human development.

Question 5

How does natural selection operate over the lifespan?

Answer 5

Primarily during the first half of life and during reproductive viability.

Question 6

True or False: Evolutionary psychology adequately values social and environmental factors.

Answer 6

False

Question 7

What is the Human Genome Project?

Answer 7

A project that mapped the human genome, the complete genetic content of our cells.

Question 8

How many genes do humans have approximately?

Answer 8

About 22,000 genes.

Question 9

What is the purpose of chromosomes?

Answer 9

Threadlike structures made up of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

Question 10

Fill in the blank: The process in which the cell’s nucleus duplicates itself into two new cells is called _______.

Answer 10

Mitosis

Question 11

Define meiosis.

Answer 11

Cell division forming eggs and sperm (or gametes).

Question 12

What is a zygote?

Answer 12

A single cell formed through fertilization, combining 23 unpaired chromosomes from the egg and sperm.

Question 13

What is polygenic inheritance?

Answer 13

Many different genes interacting, plus environmental influences, determine a characteristic or developing disease.

Question 14

What is Down syndrome?

Answer 14

A form of intellectual disability caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Question 15

What is Klinefelter syndrome?

Answer 15

A sex-linked chromosomal disorder in which males have an extra X chromosome, making them XXY instead of XY.

Question 16

What is genetic imprinting?

Answer 16

When the expression of a gene has different effects depending on whether it is passed on by mother or father.

Question 17

What does the term ‘genotype’ refer to?

Answer 17

A person’s genetic material.

Question 18

What is the definition of phenotype?

Answer 18

How an individual’s genotype is expressed in observable and measurable traits.

Question 19

What is phenylketonuria (PKU)?

Answer 19

A genetic disorder in which an individual cannot properly metabolize phenylalanine, leading to intellectual disability if untreated.

Question 20

What is in vitro fertilization (IVF)?

Answer 20

A process where eggs and sperm are combined in a laboratory dish, and one or more zygotes are transferred into the uterus.

Question 21

What is infertility?

Answer 21

The inability to conceive a child after 12 months of regular intercourse without contraception.

Question 22

Name one type of adoption.

Answer 22

Domestic adoption from the public welfare system.

Question 23

What is the significance of the fetal MRI?

Answer 23

It is increasingly used for prenatal diagnosis of fetal malformations.

Question 24

What are susceptibility genes?

Answer 24

Genes that make the individual more vulnerable to specific diseases or accelerated aging.

Question 25

What are longevity genes?

Answer 25

Genes that make the individual less vulnerable to certain diseases and more likely to live to an older age.

Question 26

True or False: Chromosomal abnormalities can be treated to erase the problem completely.

Answer 26

False

Question 27

What types of children are U.S. couples adopting?

Answer 27

* From other countries * From other ethnic groups * Children with physical and/or mental problems * Children who had been neglected or abused ## Footnote None

Question 28

What are the types of adoption?

Answer 28

* Domestic adoption from the public welfare system * Domestic infant adoption through private agencies and intermediaries * International adoption ## Footnote None

Question 29

How do adopted children fare compared to children in long-term foster care?

Answer 29

Adopted children fare much better than children raised in long-term foster care ## Footnote None

Question 30

When are children more likely to have positive outcomes after adoption?

Answer 30

Children who are adopted at a very early age are more likely to have positive outcomes ## Footnote None

Question 31

What is behavior genetics?

Answer 31

The field that seeks to discover the influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human traits, development, and behavior ## Footnote None

Question 32

What is a twin study?

Answer 32

The behavioral similarity of identical twins is compared with the behavioral similarity of fraternal twins ## Footnote None

Question 33

What is an adoption study?

Answer 33

Seeks to discover whether behavioral and psychological characteristics of adopted children are more like those of their adoptive parents or biological parents ## Footnote None

Question 34

What are passive genotype-environment correlations?

Answer 34

Occur because biological parents provide a rearing environment for the child ## Footnote None

Question 35

What are evocative genotype-environment correlations?

Answer 35

Occur because a child’s genetically influenced characteristics elicit certain types of environments ## Footnote None

Question 36

What are active (niche-picking) genotype-environment correlations?

Answer 36

Occur when children seek out environments that they find compatible and stimulating and suited for their genetically influenced abilities ## Footnote None

Question 37

What is the epigenetic view?

Answer 37

Development is the result of an ongoing, bidirectional interchange between heredity and environment ## Footnote None

Question 38

What does gene × environment (G × E) interaction refer to?

Answer 38

The interaction of a specific measured variation in the DNA and a specific measured aspect of the environment ## Footnote None

Question 39

What do epigenetic mechanisms involve?

Answer 39

The actual molecular modification of the DNA strand as a result of environmental inputs in ways that alter gene functioning ## Footnote None

Question 40

What are the conclusions about heredity-environment interaction?

Answer 40

* The relative contributions of heredity and environment are not additive * Genes produce proteins—or not—in many different environments throughout the life span * Complex behaviors are influenced by genes and environments in a way that gives people a propensity for a particular developmental trajectory * We can author a unique developmental path by changing the environment ## Footnote None