PSYC3016 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Scientific Literacy, Eye Color, Behaviorism
Document Summary
Innate qualities: embedded dna in our biology: nativism, rationalism, modern nativism: humans from birth have certain cognitive modules. Is your favourite colour an innate preference? (specialised genetically inherited psychological abilities that allow them to learn and acquire certain skills such as language. Tabula rasa = born with a blank state. Innate qualities sound inflexible- talking about things that cant change: genetic determinism: if biologically based, then that means people are stuck on their own qualities. Heritability: how much variation of a trait (phenotype) in a population is due to genetic difference in that population: phenotype: something that you can measure, phenotype = genetics effects +environmental effects, heritable is not the same as inherited. Height in one family: heritability may increase if the genetic variation increases, e. g. marriage, babies, outbreeding, heritability may increase if the environmental variation decreases (poor diet): not enough to eat, people don"t grow as much.
