Help needed to understand one of the syllabus question in biological level of analysis

[Sarah8993]

With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behavior?

How do I answer this question?

I know i have to write a brief introduction about behavioural genetics and i also mention the human genome project in a brief sentence.

Based on genetic research there are 3 studies: twin studies, family studies and adoption studies!

How should i write them?

What research studies should i put in

I know i have to mention minnesota twin studies as an example for twin studies.

So how about family studies and adoption studies? Which research studies should i use as an example in family studies and adoption studies?

My psychology teacher is pretty bad and she doesnt understand this syllabus topic.

Thank you.

[blindpet]

My understanding of this question is for students to look at nature versus nurture debate with respect to genetics. While the human genome project is worth mentioning I think your introduction should be focused more on nature vs nurture. This is why twin studies are used for this question. When twins are reared apart then any differences between their intelligence should be to the environment and not their genes (since they have identical genes).

If I recall correctly in the course companion they cite some studies that show a strong genetic influence of behavior, another where the environment plays a role (wealthy families raising adopted children from poor backgrounds and the kids end up having high IQs which suggests the environment is important) and I think the Minnesota twin study estimates how strong the genetic influence actually is using statistics.

I think the aim of this question is to show that in some cases genetics completely determine behavior (e.g. Down's syndrome) and in other cases it is less clear like with intelligence. A successful answer should show a mixture of studies showing the relative strength of genetics on behavior. The conclusion should always be that genetics can determine behavior in some cases but in others it only plays a role in shaping behavior like intelligence.

[Carpe Diem]

You can use the course companion for your help. I've written an answer for the same topic, if you want I can email it to you, just give me your id

[Sean Banan Janse]

Scarr & Weinberg (1976) - Black Children Adopted to White Parents is suitable, as is Bouchard et al.'s (1990) Minnesota Twin Studies, as you already have.

When answering a short answer question you should do an introduction where you explain the key concepts; genetics etc. Presenting the research could be good as well, I think. ("Two studies concerning this are Scarr & Weinbergs blabla and Bouchard blablabla")

Then you should briefley re-tell the studies, "Bouchard studied twins who had been separated at birth and looked for similarities", also if you find something that could have influenced the results you should state it here. ("The researchers might have been biased as they were looking for similarities to begin with...")

As the key words are "To what extent" you should then draw a conclusion. ("The results of these two studies support the theory that behavior is determined to a large extent by genetics because [support found in studies]" or "The results of these two studies support the theory that the environment is the main influence on an individual's behavior because [support found in studies]")

The answer should be a page and half or so, and according to my teacher (Diploma teacher for 13 years, gets one or two sevens each year, minimum) two studies are enough to answer the question. (Hint: the studies all show that environment is the main factor.)