Question 1

Imagine that you are growing a plant. You are told that, depending on environmental factors (e.g. sunlight, water, etc.), you can expect it to grow between 6 and 10 feet tall. This is most similar to which concept?

Accepted Answer

The concept of a reaction range in genetics refers to the range of potential phenotypes (observable characteristics) that could result from a genotype (genetic makeup) in response to varying environmental conditions. In this scenario, the plant's potential height of 6 to 10 feet depending on environmental factors like sunlight and water is a perfect example of a reaction range, where the genetic potential (to grow to a certain height) is expressed within a range depending on environmental influences.

Question 2

Tahki and Waneta are identical twins, but they were separated at birth and raised in different countries. When they meet as adults, they talk about all the ways in which they are the same, but also the ways in which they are different. Compared to identical twins who have been raised together, Tahki and Waneta probably

Accepted Answer

Identical twins raised in different environments, like Tahki and Waneta, tend to have fewer characteristics in common compared to those raised together due to the influence of their differing environments on their development.

Question 3

Identical twins have 100 percent of their genes in common, though people who know them often emphasize their personality differences. Therefore, we can say that twins have the same _______________, but environmental influences may affect each twin's _________________.

Accepted Answer

Identical twins share the same genotype because they have identical genetic material. However, their phenotype, which includes observable characteristics influenced by both genes and environment, can differ due to environmental factors.

Question 4

Liam's father has blue eyes, but Liam himself has brown eyes, like his mother. As an adult, Liam marries a woman with blue eyes, and now they are expecting their first baby. Is it possible for the child to be born with blue eyes?

Accepted Answer

Liam, having brown eyes, can still carry a recessive gene for blue eyes inherited from his father. Since blue eyes are typically caused by a recessive gene, if Liam's partner also has blue eyes (and therefore two recessive genes for blue eyes), their child could inherit the recessive gene from both parents, resulting in blue eyes.

Question 5

If you are chatting with someone at a party who tells you they are a behavior geneticist, which of the following topics would they be most likely to study?

Accepted Answer

Behavior genetics focuses on understanding how both genetics and the environment contribute to individual variations in human behavior, which includes studying how environmental conditions can affect genetically inherited potential.

Question 6

Jeff is trying to get his newborn infant, Ian, to take a bottle of formula. His wife Mel, has gone to try to nap, and is out of Ian's line of sight. Ian recognizes the formula is not the same as his mother's milk, will have none of it, and continues to cry. Eventually, Mel cannot take the crying and gets up to nurse Ian. Although this is difficult for Jeff, the response of the baby is a(n)

Accepted Answer

Ian's refusal to take the formula and insistence on being nursed by his mother can be attributed to an innate evolved mechanism. This behavior is instinctual and developed through evolution to ensure that infants receive the nutrients and antibodies necessary for their survival, which are present in their mother's milk.

Question 7

According to kin selection theory, which of the following should you be least likely to help?

Accepted Answer

Kin selection theory suggests that individuals are more likely to help relatives share more of their genes, prioritizing direct offspring and siblings over more distant relatives or non-relatives, making one's best friend the least likely to be helped in this context.

Question 8

Psychologist David Buss studies the dating and mating behaviours of human beings. The facial features we associate with female beauty-big eyes, clear skin, full lips-are strongly correlated with health and fertility. Therefore, Buss says, early men who chose beautiful women who met these criteria were more likely to have healthy children and pass on this appreciation of beauty. Based on this information, we can say that Buss is a/an ____________________ psychologist.

Accepted Answer

David Buss's work, which connects human dating and mating behaviors to evolutionary advantages such as health and fertility, aligns with the principles of evolutionary psychology. This field examines how natural selection has shaped behaviors in humans.

Question 9

What does heritability refer to?

Accepted Answer

Heritability refers to the proportion of variation in a trait within a specific group or population that can be attributed to genetic factors.

Question 10

Researchers have determined that bipolar disorder is more heritable than a major depressive disorder. They found that the more closely related family members are to someone with bipolar disorder, the more likely they are to have bipolar disorder themselves. The correlation is not as strong with major depressive disorders. These types of researchers are referred to as

Accepted Answer

Behavior geneticists study the genetic and environmental influences on behaviors, including how genetic predispositions and environmental factors interact to influence conditions like bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

Question 11

Which of the following sources of variation is not taken into account by a twin study design?

Accepted Answer

Twin studies are designed to account for genetic variation (by comparing monozygotic and dizygotic twins), shared environment (twins reared together), and non-shared environment or unique experiences (differences between twins).

Question 12

Every year, the dubious posthumous honour of the Darwin Award is bestowed on people who "improve the human gene pool by accidentally killing themselves in really stupid ways." In 2002, for example, a man used a chainsaw to open a grenade because he wanted to make firecrackers; instead, the grenade exploded. To which of Darwin's principles are the Darwin Awards in homage?

Accepted Answer

The Darwin Awards humorously honor individuals who remove themselves from the gene pool in foolish ways, thereby indirectly referencing the principle of natural selection. This principle, a key mechanism of evolution, suggests that traits beneficial for survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations. The awards play on this concept by suggesting that those who engage in fatally foolish behavior are less likely to contribute their genes to future generations.

Question 13

Siblings Alisa and Erika were born at the same time but are very different both in terms of looks and personality. We can therefore assume they are ___________ twins.

Accepted Answer

Dizygotic (fraternal) twins are born at the same time but are genetically as similar as any other siblings, which explains the differences in looks and personality between Alisa and Erika. Monozygotic (identical) twins, on the other hand, share the same genetic material and are usually very similar in appearance and often in personality. The other options are not recognized terms for types of twins.

Question 14

Carol's parents live in southern Florida, where anoles (small lizards) are common. Every time she visits, Carol removes more anoles from inside her parents' pool cage. There is no way for new anoles to get into the cage, so all the anoles there now are either the original interlopers or their offspring that have inherited the qualities that allowed the original anoles to escape capture. As a result, the anoles that are still inside the cage, including the babies, are very difficult to catch and remove. On a microcosmic level, the increasingly clever anoles in the pool cage are the result of

Accepted Answer

The scenario described is an example of natural selection, where the anoles that were able to avoid capture (due to their speed, agility, or other traits) survived and reproduced, passing these advantageous traits to their offspring. This process leads to a population of anoles that are increasingly difficult to catch.

Question 15

Early women who had sex before securing a commitment were more likely to be left without a partner to help during the pregnancy and childrearing. Explanatory theories based on differences in _____________ would argue that many modern women's tendency to insist on some indication of commitment before having sex is a direct, inherited, and adaptive result.

Accepted Answer

Theories based on parental investment argue that because women historically have had to invest more in childrearing (e.g., pregnancy, breastfeeding), they evolved to be more selective in choosing a partner, preferring those who show signs of commitment to ensure support for their offspring. This selectiveness is seen as an adaptive result of evolutionary pressures.

Question 16

The idea that genes have invariant and unavoidable effects that can't be altered is called _______________.

Accepted Answer

Genetic determinism is the belief that genes determine physical and behavioral traits in a way that cannot be altered, implying that the environment or other factors have little to no influence on these outcomes.

Question 17

Scientific advances have enabled genetic researchers to manipulate or alter genes. When this technique is perfected, it could be used to prevent the development of diseases like sickle-cell anemia by keeping abnormal genes from carrying out their preprogrammed function. This scientific intervention is called a ___________________ procedure.

Accepted Answer

A knockout procedure involves manipulating genes to prevent them from performing their normal functions, which can be used to study diseases or potentially prevent them by disabling the gene responsible for the condition.

Question 18

Regardless of what language is spoken around an infant, a typically developing baby will begin acquiring that language. What is this an example of?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of domain-general adaptation because it demonstrates the infant's general cognitive ability to adapt to and learn from their environment, in this case, language acquisition, which is not specific to any one language but applies across various languages.

Question 19

As humankind evolved physically and socially, the brain had to evolve to manage problems related to these changes. The size of the brain increased, with the most significant growth occurring in areas that manage such processes as problem solving, creativity, and language. We can therefore say that the human brain was ______________ new environmental challenges.

Accepted Answer

The human brain was adapting to new environmental challenges, as indicated by the significant growth in areas managing problem solving, creativity, and language, which are key to adapting and responding to changes and challenges in the environment.

Question 20

Lydia's father has straight hair and her mother has curly hair. Lydia has a gene that dictates her own hair texture from her mother and an alternative form of the same gene from her father. Each of the pair of genes is called an

Accepted Answer

Each of the pair of genes is called an allele. Alleles are alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome.

Quiz 4: Genes, Evolution, and Behaviour

Imagine that you are growing a plant. You are told that, depending on environmental factors (e.g. sunlight, water, etc.) , you can expect it to grow between 6 and 10 feet tall. This is most similar to which concept?

Identical twins have 100 percent of their genes in common, though people who know them often emphasize their personality differences. Therefore, we can say that twins have the same _, but environmental influences may affect each twin's ___.