Behavior Genetics
by Lorelai
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Why I Chose This Topic
I chose behavioral genetics because I have a deep interest in both psychology and genetics. When choosing this topic I was curious about the effect that genetics had on mental illness and personality. I wanted to know if traits that our past relatives had were a part of our daily lives. If my third great grandfather raised goats, would I have a natural tendency toward goats? If a mother to twins had a personality disorder, what are the chances that both twins would possess it? Both these questions and more inspired me to research behavioral genetics for this project. |
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Science Concept
Merrium-Webster defines psychogenetics (behavioral genetics) as the origin and development of mental functions, traits, or states. : development from mental as distinguished from physical origins. psychogenetic. Simply put, behavioral genetics is the study of how genetics affects psychological traits. Although the founding of behavioral genetics is typically credited to Francis Galton, an English polymath who coined the phrase nature vs nurture, the first studies of the science can be attributed to several different people. Some of these people are Gerald McClearn, John Fuller, and William Robert Thompson. All of these people and more are the reason behavioral genetics is studied today.
Behavioral genetics is a confusing field, it takes years of study and research to fully understand how to make any difference in the field. To help fully understand the science, here are four rules of behavioral genetics.
These rules lay the groundwork for the study of the role that genetics play in behavior. While the first three laws of behavioral genetics were proposed in 2000 by Eric Turkheimer, the fourth one was published by the National Library of Medicine in 2015.
As a whole, those who study behavioral genetics work to discover more about the relationship between inherited traits and traits gained from environment. In the future, this study could lead to massive discoveries that could help people with personality disorders and lead to more information on the effects of abuse in children.
Merrium-Webster defines psychogenetics (behavioral genetics) as the origin and development of mental functions, traits, or states. : development from mental as distinguished from physical origins. psychogenetic. Simply put, behavioral genetics is the study of how genetics affects psychological traits. Although the founding of behavioral genetics is typically credited to Francis Galton, an English polymath who coined the phrase nature vs nurture, the first studies of the science can be attributed to several different people. Some of these people are Gerald McClearn, John Fuller, and William Robert Thompson. All of these people and more are the reason behavioral genetics is studied today.
Behavioral genetics is a confusing field, it takes years of study and research to fully understand how to make any difference in the field. To help fully understand the science, here are four rules of behavioral genetics.
- All behavioral traits are heritable and are affected in some way by genes.
- The effect of being raised under certain conditions is smaller than the effect of genetics on behavior.
- A large portion of our behaviors can not be explained by nature or nurture.
- A human trait is composed of many different genetic variables and cannot be explained by just one variant. Instead, the way we behave is affected only a small percentage by genetic variants.
These rules lay the groundwork for the study of the role that genetics play in behavior. While the first three laws of behavioral genetics were proposed in 2000 by Eric Turkheimer, the fourth one was published by the National Library of Medicine in 2015.
As a whole, those who study behavioral genetics work to discover more about the relationship between inherited traits and traits gained from environment. In the future, this study could lead to massive discoveries that could help people with personality disorders and lead to more information on the effects of abuse in children.
Application
Behavioral genetics is the study of genetic and environmental influences on behaviors. The study of behavioral genetics is important due to the effects behavior has on everyday life. One in four Americans struggle with a diagnosable mental disorder. It’s estimated that up to half of the probability of mental illness can be attributed to genes. That means that if your parent has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) then there’s a chance that you will inherit that. Typically this disorder is treated with medication and therapy, however, genes play an important role in how the body reacts, making behavioral genetics an important field. Through the study of behavioral genetics, we can learn more about what effect the environment has on the way we behave, versus the effect genetics has.
Another reason to study behavioral genetics is to gain the full extent of knowledge needed to fully understand how mental illness and behavioral traits occur. Research has shown that children of abusive parents are more likely to abuse their children. While this seems like an obvious observation due to the fact that the child grew up in an abusive environment, it's also important to understand the role genetics has in this situation.
What if a person who inherited antisocial behaviors was being raised in a way that was negatively affecting their personality. Think of the impact this would have on the person. It could lead to many different negative outcomes. With more information, treatment plans for people struggling with mental illness could become more and more advanced and could target the problem and resolve it much quicker. Through behavioral genetics, every issue that psychologists deal with daily could be more easily fixed with the ideal treatment.
Behavioral genetics is the study of genetic and environmental influences on behaviors. The study of behavioral genetics is important due to the effects behavior has on everyday life. One in four Americans struggle with a diagnosable mental disorder. It’s estimated that up to half of the probability of mental illness can be attributed to genes. That means that if your parent has generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) then there’s a chance that you will inherit that. Typically this disorder is treated with medication and therapy, however, genes play an important role in how the body reacts, making behavioral genetics an important field. Through the study of behavioral genetics, we can learn more about what effect the environment has on the way we behave, versus the effect genetics has.
Another reason to study behavioral genetics is to gain the full extent of knowledge needed to fully understand how mental illness and behavioral traits occur. Research has shown that children of abusive parents are more likely to abuse their children. While this seems like an obvious observation due to the fact that the child grew up in an abusive environment, it's also important to understand the role genetics has in this situation.
What if a person who inherited antisocial behaviors was being raised in a way that was negatively affecting their personality. Think of the impact this would have on the person. It could lead to many different negative outcomes. With more information, treatment plans for people struggling with mental illness could become more and more advanced and could target the problem and resolve it much quicker. Through behavioral genetics, every issue that psychologists deal with daily could be more easily fixed with the ideal treatment.
Famous Scientist
In the mid-1800’s Francis Galton coined the term “nature vs. nurture”, this phrase quickly made him known as the “father of behavioral genetics”. Francis Galton was interested in accomplished families and if genetics played any role in the success of the family. Galton quickly published his first study of inherited traits from parents but was quickly discredited due to his beliefs. However, his views were completely consistent with genetics. Despite his quick discreditation, Galton is still cited as the first behavioral geneticist and has many scientific accomplishments such as creating the word association test and establishing fingerprints as a reliable identification method.
In the mid-1800’s Francis Galton coined the term “nature vs. nurture”, this phrase quickly made him known as the “father of behavioral genetics”. Francis Galton was interested in accomplished families and if genetics played any role in the success of the family. Galton quickly published his first study of inherited traits from parents but was quickly discredited due to his beliefs. However, his views were completely consistent with genetics. Despite his quick discreditation, Galton is still cited as the first behavioral geneticist and has many scientific accomplishments such as creating the word association test and establishing fingerprints as a reliable identification method.
Career Path
Behavioral genetics is a rapidly growing field, currently most behavioral geneticists work at universities, genome testing companies, or drug companies trying to identify people who will respond well to certain drugs. However, due to the growing accessibility of DNA chips used to study behavior, behavioral geneticists will soon be able to work in larger settings. Behavioral geneticists work to find out how factors such as genes and environment interact and influence human behavior. Typically, studies are done on twins to determine the effect of nature vs. nurture on people's behavior. Twins are ideal for this kind of study because they share a genetic code.
Behavioral genetics is a rapidly growing field, currently most behavioral geneticists work at universities, genome testing companies, or drug companies trying to identify people who will respond well to certain drugs. However, due to the growing accessibility of DNA chips used to study behavior, behavioral geneticists will soon be able to work in larger settings. Behavioral geneticists work to find out how factors such as genes and environment interact and influence human behavior. Typically, studies are done on twins to determine the effect of nature vs. nurture on people's behavior. Twins are ideal for this kind of study because they share a genetic code.
