Chapter 9: Genetics and Epigenetics in Psychology
Psychological researchers study genetics to better understand the biological factors that contribute to behavior. Genes and the environment shape the nervous system’s structure and function, ultimately influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and unique personal traits. In this chapter, we first review fundamental genetics. Then we look at how behavioral geneticists study the relative contributions of genes and environment to tease apart nature and nurture. We discuss gene-environment interactions and introduce the relatively new field of epigenetics, which studies how the environment and behaviors can change how our genes work.
Learning Objectives
- Explain the basic principles of the theory of evolution by natural selection
- Describe the differences between genotype and phenotype
- Discuss how gene-environment interactions are critical for the expression of physical and psychological characteristics
- Understand why nature–nurture questions are difficult to study empirically.
- Know the major research designs that can be used to study nature–nurture questions.
- Understand what epigenetics is and how epigenetic mechanisms can alter gene expression and impact physical and mental health
