Question 1

Research indicates that shared environmental factors correlate about _____ with personality.

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that shared environmental factors have a weak correlation of about .05 with personality. This means that only a small portion of personality differences can be attributed to shared environment, such as growing up in the same household or having a similar cultural background.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a type of genotype-environment correlation?

Accepted Answer

Interclass is not a type of genotype-environment correlation. The other options, active, passive, and reactive are all types of genotype-environment correlation.

Question 3

All of these are significant shared family environment variables EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

Smoking, drinking, verbal intelligence, and health behavior are all factors that can be influenced by shared family environment. However, gender nonconformity is not necessarily influenced by family environment as it is a more complex societal and cultural issue.

Question 4

Juanita is a fantastic basketball player.She has great innate ability.She is tall, agile, and has a great head for the game.Her parents take every opportunity to send her to basketball camps and clinics, and make sure she gets extra coaching.Juanita's basketball skills are due to a genotype-environment

Accepted Answer

Juanita's basketball skills are due to a genotype-environment correlation, where her genetic predispositions (innate ability, physical attributes) are complemented by an environment that supports and enhances her skills (camps, clinics, coaching).

Question 5

Genotype-environment _____ describes what occurs when people with different genotypes are exposed to different environments.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Genotype-environment _____ describes what occurs when people...

Question 6

According to recent research (e.g., the Bailey et al.study discussed in the text as support for Bem's 1995 theory), it appears that

Accepted Answer

The Bailey et al. study discussed in the text suggests that childhood gender nonconformity may be the inherited component of adult sexual orientation, indicating that sexual orientation has a heritable component that is linked to gender nonconformity. Therefore, option B is the correct choice. Option A, which states that sexual orientation is extremely heritable, is a partial answer to the question that does not consider the role of gender nonconformity. Option C, which states that gender nonconformity is not heritable, contradicts the study's findings. Option D, which states that homosexual and heterosexual brains are the same, is not relevant to the topic of genetic inheritance of sexual orientation.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

A shared family vacation is an example of a shared family environment because it involves the entire family spending time together and sharing experiences. This type of environment can have a significant impact on a child's development and create positive memories that can strengthen family bonds. The other choices do not reflect a shared family environment in the same way. A child's friends are not part of the family unit, a parent's job success is not a shared experience for the entire family, and grandparenting effects may be differential and not experienced by all family members in the same way.

Question 8

Winston, the son of a professional musician, grew up surrounded by many musical instruments in his home.This is an example of a _____ genotype-environment correlation.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of passive genotype-environment correlation because Winston's parents provided the musical environment for him to grow up in, but he did not actively choose or seek out this environment himself.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

Adopted children raised in the same family tend to show low correlations in personality traits, indicating that shared family environment has minimal impact on these traits.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

The number of books in a child's home is an example of shared environment because it is a factor that siblings in the same household would typically experience together, influencing their development similarly.

Question 11

Research on brain differences between homosexual and heterosexual men has found some evidence that homosexual men have

Accepted Answer

Studies have found that homosexual men have substantially smaller medial preoptic regions of the hypothalamus than heterosexual men. This region of the brain is involved in sexual behavior and is larger in males than females, suggesting a possible link to sexual orientation. However, it is important to note that the research in this area is still ongoing and more complex than a simple brain structure difference. Additionally, it is not valid to make blanket statements about the brains of a group of people based on sexual orientation.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Genotype-environment interaction refers to the idea that an individual's genetic makeup can influence their response to environmental cues, such as stress or nutrition. This can lead to differences in how individuals of different genotypes develop and thrive under the same conditions.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

Shared environmental influences are those that are common to siblings, such as parents' values and attitudes, which can affect all children in the family similarly.

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

The yearly family trip to Uncle Earl and Aunt Eunice's farm is an experience shared by the entire family, making it part of the shared common family environment.

Question 15

David, an extravert, and Tom, is an introvert, are studying in a small room with the television's volume is quite loud.Based on what you know about genotype-environment interactions, what can you say about how effectively the two are studying?

Accepted Answer

Introverts like Tom are generally more sensitive to external stimuli, such as noise, and may find the loud television more distracting than extraverts like David.

Question 16

A child shows early musical ability, which causes her parents to buy a piano for her.This scenario demonstrates the idea of genotype-environment

Accepted Answer

This scenario demonstrates genotype-environment correlation, where a child's genetic predisposition (musical ability) influences the environment they are exposed to (parents buying a piano).

Question 17

Barbara is a renowned naturalist.Her parents were both park rangers and she grew up in various national parks.Barbara's predilection to become a naturalist was most likely due to a ______ genotype-environment correlation.

Accepted Answer

This is a passive genotype-environment correlation, as Barbara's parents' occupation (the genotype) provided a natural environment for her to grow up in (the environment).

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

Nonshared environmental influences are numerous and varied, making it difficult to isolate and measure their individual effects on personality, as each may contribute only a small effect.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

Nonshared environment refers to the unique experiences that one sibling has and not the other, such as different friends or teachers, unique life events, or different parenting. This can contribute to differences in the behavior and development of siblings, even if they share the same genes and general environment. Phenotypic variance refers to differences in observable traits or characteristics, genotypic variance refers to differences in genetic makeup, and shared environment refers to experiences or factors that are common to all siblings, such as growing up in the same household or having the same parents.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

Nonshared family environment refers to experiences that are unique to each individual family member, rather than being shared by the entire family. Therefore, option B ("are uniquely experienced by an individual family member") is the correct answer.

Quiz 6: Genetics and Personality