Question 1

Which of the following syndromes occurs only in females?

Accepted Answer

Turner's syndrome is a genetic disorder that only affects females, as it is caused by the absence or modification of the X chromosome. The other syndromes listed (Down syndrome, Klinefelter's syndrome, and Fragile X syndrome) can affect both males and females.

Question 2

Which of the following is MOST likely to be experienced as a normative influence?

Accepted Answer

Retirement is often seen as a normative influence as it is a common life transition that many people experience in a relatively predictable way. Normative influences are typically events or experiences that are common to most people and have a predictable impact on behavior or attitudes. While career changes, illness, and moving to a new community can all be influential, they are not necessarily experienced by everyone in the same way, making them less likely to be considered normative influences.

Question 3

The term used to describe alternate versions of the same gene is:

Accepted Answer

The term "allele" refers to alternate versions of the same gene. Each allele occupies the same position, or locus, on homologous chromosomes. Alleles can differ in their DNA sequence, resulting in different traits or phenotypes.

Question 4

Olaf has been diagnosed with Klinefelter's syndrome. What is his chromosomal pattern?

Accepted Answer

Klinefelter's syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by the presence of an extra X chromosome in males, resulting in a chromosome pattern of XXY. This condition can cause various physical and cognitive symptoms, such as infertility, decreased muscle mass, and language and learning difficulties.

Question 5

Operant conditioning is especially likely to be involved in the development of:

Accepted Answer

Operant conditioning involves learning through the consequences of behavior, which makes it particularly relevant to the development of habits. Habits are formed and maintained through reinforcement and punishment, key components of operant conditioning.

Question 6

According to the text, the human body contains about how many different types of cells?

Accepted Answer

The text states that the human body contains about 200 different types of cells.

Question 7

If you were to compare the DNA of any two unrelated people, about what percent of their DNA would be identical?

Accepted Answer

Unrelated individuals share 99.9% of the same DNA sequences. This is because humans are genetically very similar to one another. The remaining 0.1% of genetic variation is what makes each person unique.

Question 8

Color blindness is a sex-linked trait. As such, if a child is color blind, we can be assured that the child's genotype includes:

Accepted Answer

Color blindness is caused by a recessive X-linked gene, meaning that it is carried on the X chromosome. Since males have only one X chromosome, if they inherit the recessive gene from their mother, they will be color blind. Females, on the other hand, would need to inherit two copies of the recessive gene (one from each parent) to be color blind.

Question 9

Patty doesn't want to hang around with people from the other side of town because she says they are "weird." Patty's behavior best reflects the concept involved in:

Accepted Answer

Patty's behavior of characterizing people from a different place as "weird" reflects ethnocentrism, which is the tendency to view one's own culture or group as superior to others.

Question 10

Workers in Dr. Garcia's lab first obtain tumor cells from patients with cancer. They then remove the DNA from the tumor cell nuclei and use enzymes to segment the DNA strands into sections. Finally, they insert the DNA sections in which they are interested into "host" bacteria cells, where the DNA can be reproduced for later use. Dr. Garcia's lab is engaged in work involving:

Accepted Answer

The process described involves the use of enzymes to segment DNA and insert it into host cells, which is a key aspect of recombinant technology. This technology is used to create genetically modified organisms, engineer proteins, and analyze gene expression, among other applications. The other choices (behavior genetics, cryogenics, and autosomal transmission) are not directly relevant to the described process.

Question 11

The extent to which a trait is inherited versus acquired through interactions with the environment defines the concept of:

Accepted Answer

Heritability refers to the proportion of variation in a trait that is due to genetic factors. It reflects how much of the observed differences in a trait between individuals can be attributed to genetic variations, versus other factors such as environmental influences or measurement errors. Heritability estimates range from 0 to 1, where a heritability of 0 means that all variation in the trait can be explained by environmental factors, and a heritability of 1 means that all variation can be attributed to genetic differences. Therefore, heritability is a measure of how much a trait is determined by genetics versus the environment.

Question 12

The key to understanding how classical conditioning works is to recognize that it involves the _________ of what will come.

Accepted Answer

Classical conditioning involves learning to predict what will come next based on a conditioned stimulus. This prediction is a key aspect of the process, as it allows for the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus to be formed. Reinforcement and punishment are more closely associated with operant conditioning, which involves learning based on the consequences of one's own behavior. Repression is a term used in psychoanalytic theory to describe the process by which individuals push unwanted thoughts or feelings out of their conscious awareness.

Question 13

Suppose that a human female is accidentally exposed to a poison at one of four different points in development. If the effect of the poison is that it interferes with meiosis, at which point in the lifespan would we expect it to have the most disruptive effect?

Accepted Answer

Meiosis, the process of cell division that produces gametes (ova and sperm), begins during fetal development. Therefore, if a poison interferes with meiosis, the most disruptive effect would be expected during the prenatal period when ova are forming. While brain growth is rapid in the first year after birth, it is not directly related to meiosis. Similarly, while conception is most likely to happen during early adulthood, it does not have a direct impact on meiosis. Finally, body cells are not most vulnerable in older adulthood, so this is also an incorrect choice.

Question 14

Anne mentions that her cousin has a congenital anomaly. You would know that this is sometimes also referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A congenital anomaly is a condition that is present from birth, which is also commonly referred to as a birth defect. This term does not specifically imply the genetic inheritance patterns or mechanisms such as those suggested by the other options.

Question 15

Which of the following disorders occurs only when the gene involved is inherited from the mother and not the father?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following disorders occurs only...

Question 16

Suppose that a disease is inherited. Your mother has the disease, your father does not, and you have a very minor case of the disease which lies somewhere in between your mother's and father's situation. In this case, we would know that the alleles that determine this trait:

Accepted Answer

In this scenario, the alleles must be codominant, meaning that both alleles are expressed equally in the phenotype. This is because the offspring has a mild case of the disease, which indicates that both the dominant and recessive alleles are expressed in the phenotype. If the alleles were dominant or recessive, the offspring would either have the disease or not have it at all. Heterozygous refers to the genotype of the individual, and does not describe the nature of the alleles.

Question 17

If different members of the family experience quite different environments, this would be reflected in:

Accepted Answer

Nonshared environment refers to the experiences that are unique to each individual within a family. If different members of the family experience quite different environments, this means that their nonshared environment is larger as their experiences vary widely.

Question 18

Many individuals who grew up during the Great Depression were so devastated by the collapse of the economy that they became distrustful of depositing large sums of money in banks. The Great Depression would best be considered a:

Accepted Answer

The Great Depression was a historical event that affected an entire generation, making it a normative, history-graded influence. This is because people who lived through the Great Depression shared a common experience that influenced their attitudes and behaviors, including their tendency to distrust banks.

Question 19

Smith studies a group of 1,000 people who have schizophrenia and who also have identical twins. He finds that 47% of the identical twins also develop this disease. The type of statistical information Dr. Smith's study reveals is called:

Accepted Answer

The statistical information Dr. Smith's study reveals is called concordance, which is the probability that both twins will develop the same trait or disease. In this case, the concordance rate for schizophrenia in identical twins is 47%.

Question 20

The tendency to assume that one's own cultural beliefs are normal and those of others are abnormal is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The tendency to assume that one's own...

Quiz 2: Heredity and Environment