PSYC10004 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Gregor Mendel, Heritability, Phenotype
3. The Contribution of Genes and Environment
Is it eause of our eiroet ad our uprigig or, geeti fators eod our otrol, or, is it a
oiatio of oth?
How much? How?
How much?
Concerned with variability across a population
Expressed as Heritability – a statistic that describes the proportion of observed variance in a population
Heritability: the amount of variability in the population that is attributable to hereditary influence
Behavioural geneticists use two major strategies to assess hereditary contributions to behaviour: selective
breeding and family studies
Heritability
Heritability estimates the amount of genetic variation between individuals in a population beyond that
accounted for by genetic determination
Nature and Nurture
Everything about an individual is a joint consequence of interaction between genetic material and
environment. How are characteristics inherited and to what degree are they influenced by environmental
factors?
• Gregor Mendel, Austrian Monk, 19th century, inheritance in peas
• Development results from close and continual interplay of genes and experience
• Three key elements:
1. Genotype: the genetic material an individual inherits
2. Phenotype: the observable expression of the genotype
3. Environment: all other aspects other than the genetic material itself
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