Deck 6: Genetics and Personality

Question 1

The term refers to the complete set of genes an organism possesses.

A)"phenotypic"
B)"genome"
C)"genotypic"
D)"eugenics"

Answer 1

"genome"

Question 2

The proportion of phenotypic variation in a group of individuals due to genetic variance is called

A)"heritability."
B)"genome."
C)"phenotypic percentage of variance."
D)"eugenics."

Answer 2

"heritability."

Question 3

refers to the proportion of variance in a group of individuals that can be accounted for by genetic variance.

A)Phenotypic percentage of variance
B)Eugenics
C)Heritability
D)Genome

Answer 3

Heritability

Question 4

The percentage of variance in a group of individuals that can be attributed to nongenetic differences is called

A)environmentality.
B)genotypic variance.
C)phenotypic variance.
D)heritability.

Question 5

If the heritability of sociability is .30, the environment is responsible for

A)30 percent of phenotypic variation.
B)70 percent of phenotypic variation.
C)70 percent of genotypic variation.
D)30 percent of genotypic variation.

Question 6

All human genes are located somewhere on one of pairs of chromosomes.

A)17
B)12
C)23
D)32

Question 7

A common concern regarding behavioural genetic research is

A)the use of research findings for financial gain.
B)the lack of understanding of research findings by the public.
C)the use of research findings to support political agendas.
D)the misrepresentation of research findings in the media.

Question 8

The Human Genome Project has

A)identified the sequence of DNA molecules in humans.
B)discovered that people differ widely in their particular genes.
C)identified the functions of most human genes.
D)been a large failure.

Question 9

The human genome contains about separate genes.

A)1,000,000-2,000,000
B)30,000-40,000
C)10,000-15,000
D)20,000-30,000

Question 10

Which one of the following is NOT one of the fears about genetic research?

A)Genetic research will lead to the development of "designer" babies.
B)Decoding genetic differences will reveal complexities in human nature.
C)Genetic research will marginalize research in other areas of psychology.
D)If criminal behaviour is genetic then attempts at rehabilitation will be fruitless.

Question 11

refers to individual differences in the collection of genes of each person.

A)Environmentality
B)Heritability
C)Phenotypic variance
D)Genotypic variance

Question 12

The idea that people with "desirable" characteristics should be encouraged to have children while "less desirable" people should be discouraged from having children is called

A)heritability.
B)selective placement.
C)molecular genetics.
D)eugenics.

Question 13

_ refers to observed differences among individuals.

A)Phenotypic variance
B)Environmentality
C)Heritability
D)Genotypic variance

Question 14

If a score for a characteristic is divided into its different causes, researchers are typically assessing the due to each of the causes of that score.

A)environmentalism
B)percentage of variance
C)genotype-environment interaction
D)genotype-environment correlation

Question 15

If the heritability of a trait is very large, then the of the trait is small.

A)phenotypic variance
B)environmentality
C)genomic variance
D)genotypic variance

Question 16

The fact that North Americans are, on average, taller than a hundred years ago demonstrates that

A)the environment determines height.
B)height is only slightly heritable.
C)height is not heritable.
D)the environment can contribute to highly heritable traits.

Question 17

The goal of the Human Genome Project is to

A)identify genotypic variance.
B)identify the particular sequence of DNA molecules in humans.
C)solve the nature-nurture debate once and for all.
D)identify which genes are related to personality.

Question 18

Most psychologists who study genetics

A)believe that the environment does not contribute to personality.
B)support the idea of eugenics.
C)believe creating "designer babies" is a worthwhile goal.
D)are interested in the causes of individual differences.

Question 19

Behavioural geneticists are generally NOT interested in the

A)percentage of genetic variance in an individual.
B)percentage of variance due to genes.
C)percentage of variance due to environment.
D)ways in which genes and the environment interact to form personality.

Question 20

Research demonstrating a link between politics and genes may be controversial because

A)it suggests that socialization and personal experience play little role in political perspective.
B)it is difficult for the average person to understand the meaning of heritability coefficients.
C)it is contrary to people's expectations regarding the role of genes in their attitudes and beliefs.
D)it may inflate the role of personal experience in the formation of personality.

Question 21

Which of the following could potentially develop from a single fertilized egg?

A)Identical twins
B)Fraternal twins
C)Zygotic twins
D)All siblings

Question 22

Which of the following share 100 percent of their genes?

A)All siblings
B)Monozygotic twins
C)Dizygotic twins
D)Parents and children

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a problem with the family-study method?

A)Family members sharing environments.
B)Siblings may share traits because they grew up in the same household.
C)The fact that parents contribute 50 percent of their genes to each child.
D)The degree of genetic similarity is often correlated with environmental similarity.

Question 24

Which of the following statements about heritability is NOT true?

A)The heritability of the same trait can be different in different groups.
B)Heritability can change over time.
C)The phenotype is the expression of a characteristic's genotype.
D)Heritability can be applied to a single individual.

Question 25

The argument over whether the environment or genes determine personality is known as

A)the eugenics debate.
B)heritability.
C)the equal environments assumption.
D)the nature-nurture debate.

Question 26

At the level of the individual

A)genes are useful in studying personality.
B)the idiographic genetic approach should be used.
C)there is no nature-nurture debate.
D)genes determine most of personality.

Question 27

Selective breeding in dogs demonstrates that

A)the equal environments assumption is not violated.
B)human personality is heritable.
C)the representativeness assumption is not violated.
D)behavioural traits can be heritable.

Question 28

are also known as "monozygotic twins."

A)Genotypic twins
B)Fraternal twins
C)Identical twins
D)Phenotypic twins

Question 29

is shown when successive generations show more and more of a trait.

A)Selective breeding
B)The equal environments assumption
C)Shared environment
D)Genotype-environment correlation

Question 30

If a trait is highly heritable

A)all family members will possess the trait.
B)all children in the family will possess the trait.
C)all members of the population will possess the trait.
D)the more closely family members are genetically related, the more similar they will be on the trait.

Question 31

Which of the following methods is NOT used with humans?

A)Family studies
B)Adoption studies
C)Selective breeding
D)Twin studies

Question 32

Dizygotic twins share ________ genes compared to ordinary siblings, and ________ genes compared to monozygotic twins.

A)more; less
B)less; more
C)the same percent of; less
D)more; more

Question 33

For selective breeding to be successful, the desired trait must

A)occur in all offspring.
B)be heritable.
C)not be affected by the environment.
D)be entirely under genetic control.

Question 34

Which of the following methods provides the LEAST conclusive evidence that a trait is heritable?

A)Selective breeding
B)Family studies
C)Twin studies
D)Adoption studies

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a reason why heritability can vary?

A)Environments change.
B)It is an imprecise estimate.
C)Unreliability in measurement.
D)Heritability coefficients are fixed in a population.

Question 36

The use of selective breeding in animals can be used to study

A)the dominance hierarchies of animals.
B)natural selection pressures for behaviours.
C)sexual selection pressures for behaviours.
D)the heritability of behaviours.

Question 37

If we were attempting to determine how much of George's personality was due to genetics and how much were due to the environment we would

A)compare George to his siblings.
B)map his chromosomes.
C)be asking an impossible question.
D)measure George's genome.

Question 38

A parent shares, on average, _ percent of his or her genes with each child.

A)75
B)25
C)50
D)100

Question 39

Aunts and uncles share, on average, percent of their genes with nieces and nephews.

A)12.5
B)0
C)25
D)50

Question 40

The technical term for dividing a trait's score into genetic and environmental variance at the population level is called

A)apportioning.
B)partitioning.
C)extrapolating.
D)subdivision.

Question 41

Selective placement is a potential problem with behavioural genetics studies as it artificially inflates the

A)estimates of environmental influences.
B)estimates of nonshared family environment.
C)effects of the equal environments assumption.
D)estimates of genetic influences.

Question 42

The observed correlations among mental toughness and the Big Five personality traits suggests what about their heritability?

A)They are all associated with the same gene.
B)It is difficult for scientists to precisely determine heritability.
C)They share a common genetic substrate.
D)None of the choices are correct.

Question 43

Combining adoption studies and twin studies

A)provides an error-free estimate of heritability for behavioural genetics studies.
B)provides an especially powerful method for studying behavioural genetics.
C)methodologically is not appropriate in behavioural genetics studies.
D)requires selective breeding over many generations of lab animals.

Question 44

Mary Jo and Bobbi Jo are identical twins. Their parents dress them alike, put them in the same classes and treat them identically. If Betty Jo and Mary Jo were selected to participate in a twin study, they may contaminate the results by leading to a violation of the assumption.

A)nonshared family variance
B)equal environments
C)confluence effects
D)shared family environment

Question 45

One of the most common formulas for assessing heritability is

A)heritability2 = 2(rmz - rdz).
B)heritability = (rdz - rmz).
C)heritability = 2(rmz - rdz).
D)heritability2 = (rmz - rdz).

Question 46

Which of the following estimates heritability most accurately?

A)The difference between the correlations of MZ twins and DZ twins.
B)Multiplying the correlations between MZ twins and DZ twins.
C)One-half the difference between the correlations of MZ twins and DZ twins.
D)Twice the difference between the correlations of MZ twins and DZ twins.

Question 47

A trait is likely to be heritable if ________ are more similar in that trait than _.

A)dizygotic twins; ordinary siblings
B)monozygotic twins; dizygotic twins
C)dizygotic twins; monozygotic twins
D)ordinary siblings; dizygotic twins

Question 48

In their study of the heritability of mental toughness, Horsburgh and colleagues also included measures of the Big Five personality traits. Why was this important?

A)It allowed them to determine potential congruence in heritability among multiple traits.
B)It allowed them to better estimate the degree of environmentality in the sample.
C)It allowed them to examine correlations among mental toughness and other traits such as conscientiousness, informing their conclusions on reliability.
D)It allowed them to determine if their sample was similar to or different from other populations, better informing their conclusions on generalizability.

Question 49

Researchers have studied cases where parents were wrong about whether their twins were identical or fraternal to address

A)genotype-environment correlation.
B)selective breeding.
C)shared environments.
D)the equal environments assumption.

Question 50

Philippe displays a high level of confidence, is committed to goals, feels in control of circumstances, and values change. Which trait best summarizes these aspects of Philippe's personality?

A)hardiness
B)mental toughness
C)conscientiousness
D)resilience

Question 51

An advantage of adoption studies is that they

A)do not depend on the representativeness assumption.
B)depend on the equal environments assumption.
C)do not depend on the equal environments assumption.
D)depend on the representativeness assumption.

Question 52

Which of the following could be a violation of the equal environments assumption?

A)Dressing identical twins in the identical clothes.
B)Dressing fraternal twins in the identical clothes.
C)Fraternal twins are similar to ordinary siblings.
D)Twins are treated differently than other children.

Question 53

Jerold was adopted by his mother's sister (his maternal aunt)and his uncle. If he were to participate in a behavioural genetics study, his scores would

A)skew the results to show the greater effects of maternal influences.
B)skew the results to favour the percentage of the variance for his scores to environmental influences.
C)skew the results to favour the percentage of the variance for his scores to genetic influences.
D)not bias the effects for either the genes or the environment.

Question 54

The equal environments assumption states that

A)twins are not treated differently from ordinary siblings.
B)dizygotic twins are not treated differently from monozygotic twins.
C)parents treat all their children the same.
D)all people in a population share similar environments.

Question 55

Canadian research indicates that the component of mental toughness that is most heritable is

A)commitment.
B)control.
C)challenge.
D)confidence.

Question 56

If the correlation between adoptive parents' traits and adopted children's traits is high, we can assume

A)a genetic influence.
B)an environmental influence.
C)that adoptive parents pick children similar to themselves.
D)an influence of shared environment.

Question 57

The personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism have been found to be

A)highly heritable.
B)not at all heritable.
C)slightly heritable.
D)moderately heritable.

Question 58

A trait is heritable if

A)the biological parents of children they placed for adoption have similar levels of a characteristic.
B)the children that have been adopted have levels of a characteristic that are similar to those of the other siblings in the home.
C)adoptive parents and biological parents of a child have similar levels of a characteristic.
D)adoptive parents and the children they have adopted have similar levels of a characteristic.

Question 59

If adopted children differ in important ways from most other people, it would violate the ________ assumption.

A)shared family environment
B)eugenics
C)representativeness
D)equal environments

Question 60

The personality trait of mental toughness has been shown to be positively associated with all of the Big Five traits EXCEPT

A)openness to experience.
B)neuroticism.
C)agreeableness.
D)extraversion.

Question 61

Recent findings from behavioural genetics and brain research point to the possibility that sexual orientation may

A)not be heritable at all.
B)be heritable in both women and men.
C)be heritable only in men.
D)be heritable only in women.

Question 62

According to recent research (e.g., the Bailey et al. study discussed in the text as support for Bem's 1996 theory), it appears that

A)homosexuals' brains are the same as heterosexuals' brains.
B)sexual orientation is extremely heritable.
C)childhood gender nonconformity may be the inherited component of adult sexual orientation.
D)gender nonconformity is not heritable.

Question 63

A yearly family trip to Uncle Earl and Aunt Eunice's farm would be considered part of the environment.

A)family experiential
B)phenotypic family
C)shared common family
D)nonshared family

Question 64

Research on brain differences between gay and straight men has found some evidence that gay men have

A)substantially larger ascending reticular activating systems than straight men.
B)substantially smaller occipital lobes of the brain than straight men.
C)substantially smaller medial preoptic regions of the hypothalamus than straight men.
D)brains substantially more like women's brains than straight males' brains.

Question 65

Evidence for the extremely small effects of shared family environment includes the low correlations

A)between adopted children's personality traits in the same family.
B)between adopted and biological children in the same family for personality traits.
C)across biological siblings for personality traits.
D)between adopted children and their parents personality traits.

Question 66

Which of the following is probably most heritable?

A)Alcoholism in men and women.
B)Alcoholism is not heritable.
C)Drinking behaviour in men.
D)Drinking behaviour in women.

Question 67

Most major personality traits

A)are more heritable than height.
B)have been found to be moderately heritable.
C)have been found to not be heritable at all.
D)have not been studied with respect to heritability.

Question 68

Which of the following is an example of a shared environmental influence?

A)Parents' values and attitudes
B)The grades a child gets
C)A child's friends
D)Special treatment from a parent

Question 69

Shared family environment is BEST expressed by which of the following?

A)A parent's rapid rise up the corporate ladder.
B)Differential effects of grandparenting on children.
C)The friends a child selects while growing up.
D)A shared family vacation.

Question 70

One problem with attempting to study the effects of nonshared family environment is that

A)the nonshared environmental effects on each child in the family are too subtle to analyze with current methods.
B)there are myriad environmental variables that affect personality, but each may have only a small effect.
C)the effects of shared family environments interfere with clearly observing the effects of the nonshared family environments.
D)the equal environments assumption is violated by variables attributable to nonshared family environment.

Question 71

Canadian research has suggested that heritability coefficients for diverse categories of social values are in the

A)high range.
B)moderate range.
C)low to moderate range.
D)None of the choices are correct.

Question 72

Nonshared family environment is best expressed as those aspects of the family environment that

A)are uniquely experienced by an individual family member.
B)represent differential genetic dimorphism.
C)are hoarded by the family members.
D)are uniquely experienced by the family.

Question 73

Research indicates that shared environmental factors correlate about with personality.

A).05
B).65
C).50
D).25

Question 74

The number of books in a child's home is an example of

A)phenotypic variance.
B)nonshared environment.
C)genotypic variance.
D)shared environment.

Question 75

Which of the following attitudes has been found to be somewhat heritable?

A)Involvement in religious activities
B)Attitudes about racial integration
C)Belief in God
D)Traditionalism

Question 76

refers to the unique things that happen to one sibling and not another.

A)Nonshared environment
B)Phenotypic variance
C)Genotypic variance
D)Shared environment

Question 77

The idea that individuals with different genotypes respond differently to the same environmental cues is called

A)genotype-environment correlation.
B)active genotype-environment correlation.
C)genotype-environment interaction.
D)passive genotype-environment interaction.

Question 78

All of these are significant shared family environment variables EXCEPT

A)health behaviour.
B)verbal intelligence.
C)smoking and drinking.
D)gender nonconformity.

Question 79

Chimpanzees show moderate heritability for dominance and

A)sociability.
B)well-being.
C)aggressiveness.
D)extraversion.

Question 80

traits show moderate to high heritability.

A)Political
B)Religious
C)Psychopathic
D)Idiographic