2.63 The branch of genetics that addresses the inheritance of behavioral and psychological traits is referred to as
a. evocative genetics. c. behavioral genetics.
b. active genetics. d. polygenic genetics.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.64 Polygenic inheritance
a. reflects the influence of a single gene.
b. determines “either–or” traits, such as eye color.
c. cannot be studied because its influence is too broad.
d. influences behavioral and psychological traits such as intelligence.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.65 Most behavioral and psychological characteristics follow a(n) __________ pattern of genetic inheritance.
a. dominant-recessive c. sex-linked
b. incomplete dominance d. polygenic
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.66 Personality is
a. determined by a single gene. c. determined by the sex chromosomes.
b. a polygenic trait. d. not influenced by genetic factors.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.67 When phenotypes are caused by the combined effect of many separate genes, the pattern of inheritance is
referred to as
a. polygenic inheritance. c. codominant.
b. dominant-recessive. d. sex-linked inheritance.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.68 Your professor mentions in a lecture that activity level follows a polygenic pattern of inheritance. You,
having already read Chapter 2 in your textbook, realize this means that
a. activity level is a recessive trait.
b. a single gene determines activity level.
c. there is no evidence of a genetic influence on activity level.
d. activity level is determined by the combination of many genes.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.69 Twins that come from a single fertilized egg that splits in two are called
a. dizygotic twins. c. fraternal twins.
b. monozygotic twins. d. homozygous.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.70 Mindy and Mandy are dizygotic twins. Therefore, they
a. came from two separate eggs. c. have no shared genes.
b. have the same genes. d. cannot be used in a twin study.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.71 Which pair has the most genes in common?
a. mother and daughter c. fraternal twins
b. identical twins d. brother and sister
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.72 __________ twins are to identical twins as __________ twins are to fraternal twins.
a. Homozygous; heterozygous c. Dizygotic; monozygotic
b. Heterozygous; homozygous d. Monozygotic; dizygotic
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.73 Twin studies
a. cannot be used to study polygenic traits such as intelligence.
b. are based on the assumption that monozygotic twins are not more similar genetically than dizygotic
twins.
c. are based on the assumption that heredity influences a trait if identical twins are more alike than fraternal
twins.
d. often underestimate the influence of heredity because identical twins may have more similar
environments than fraternal twins.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.74 Dr. Tutu uses a twin study to determine the influence of heredity on emotionality. If emotionality is influenced
by heredity, he will find that the level of emotionality is more similar in
a. sibling pairs than in identical twins. c. fraternal twins than in identical twins.
b. fraternal twins than in sibling pairs. d. identical twins than in fraternal twins.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
54
2.75 In 2010, Dale, Harlaar, Haworth, and Plomin completed a twin study in which they found evidence suggesting
an important role for heredity in the ease with which adolescents learn a second language. Given this,
a. skill in foreign language was more similar among fraternal twins than among identical twins.
b. skill in foreign language was more similar among identical twins than among fraternal twins.
c. skill in foreign language was equal among fraternal and identical twins.
d. skill in foreign language cannot be evaluated using a twin study.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.76 Dr. Banta conducts an adoption study to estimate the heritability of intelligence. If intelligence is primarily
influenced by the environment, he will find that
a. adopted children’s intelligence level is more similar to that of their biological parents than that of their
adoptive parents.
b. adopted children’s intelligence level is more similar to that of their adoptive parents than that of their
biological parents.
c. adopted children’s intelligence level is unrelated to that of either their biological or adoptive parents.
d. he cannot determine heritability with an adoption study, therefore he will need to do a twin study.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.77 Adoption studies tend to study mothers more often than fathers because
a. mothers tend to have a stronger genetic influence on their children than fathers do.
b. mothers tend to have a stronger environmental influence on their children than fathers do.
c. fathers generally have less genetic and environmental influence on their children’s development than
mothers do.
d. it is harder to get information about the fathers than about the mothers.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.78 If a trait is strongly influenced by genetic factors, you would expect to find that
a. adopted children resemble their biological parents more than their adoptive parents on that trait.
b. adopted children resemble their adoptive parents more than their biological parents on that trait.
c. dizygotic twins would be more similar on that trait than monozygotic twins would be.
d. dizygotic twins would be more similar on that trait than siblings would be.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.79 In adoption studies
a. the results may be biased because biological and adoptive parents may be similar.
b. adoptive parents are assumed to provide genetic influence.
c. biological parents are assumed to provide environmental influence.
d. the greater similarity of adoptees to biological than to adoptive parents on a trait would indicate that the
trait is influenced by the environment.
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Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.80 Adoption studies may be flawed because
a. adopted children are more likely than nonadopted children to have genetic disorders.
b. the results of adoption studies usually conflict with results of twin studies.
c. agencies may try to place adoptees in environments similar to those of their biological parents.
d. parents treat adopted children differently from biological children.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.81 A potential flaw of twin studies is that
a. monozygotic twins do not always have identical genes.
b. dizygotic twins do not have identical genes.
c. parents may treat identical twins more similarly than they treat fraternal twins.
d. parents may treat fraternal twins more similarly than they treat identical twins.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.82 The problems associated with twin studies and adoption studies
a. are not serious enough to cause concern.
b. can be minimized by using both kinds of studies to see if they yield similar results.
c. can be minimized by using only one kind of study, so potential flaws are not multiplied.
d. are insurmountable.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.83 Results of twin and adoption studies suggest that genetics strongly influence
a. intelligence, but do not strongly influence psychological disorders or personality.
b. intelligence and psychological disorders, but do not strongly influence personality.
c. personality and psychological disorders, but do not strongly influence intelligence.
d. intelligence, psychological disorders, and personality.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.84 Sadie is depressed. You would be most likely to find that
a. Sadie’s identical twin is depressed. c. Sadie’s brother is depressed.
b. Sadie’s adoptive mother is depressed. d. no one else in Sadie’s family is depressed.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.85 In Plomin’s study of the effects of heredity on intelligence
56
a. adopted children’s intelligence was more similar to their adoptive parents’ skills and they became more
similar as the children grew older.
b. adopted children’s intelligence was more similar to their biological parents’ skills, but they became less
similar as the children grew older.
c. adopted children’s intelligence was more similar to their adoptive parents’ skills, but they became less
similar as the children grew older.
d. adopted children’s intelligence was more similar to their biological parents’ skills and they became more
similar as the children grew older.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.86 Whose opinion is best supported by the results of twin and adoption studies?
a. Aaron, who assumes heredity is solely responsible for behavioral development.
b. Baron, who believes heredity has a substantial, but not total influence on behavioral development.
c. Karen, who asserts that heredity has virtually no influence on development.
d. Sharon, who asserts that twin and adoption studies are too flawed to yield accurate information about the
influence of genetics on development.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.87 Benji has the genotype for phenylketonuria. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Benji will be mentally retarded.
b. Benji’s phenylketonuria is not likely to surface until he reaches middle age.
c. If Benji avoids consuming phenylalanine, he will have normal intelligence.
d. Benji has a high likelihood of having an older mother.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.88 Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an example of
a. the interaction between genes and environment.
b. a disorder caused by a dominant allele.
c. a chromosomal abnormality caused by an extra chromosome.
d. a disorder whose effects cannot be changed by the environment.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.89 The continuous interplay between genes and multiple levels of the environment (from cells to culture) that
drives development is known as ______________.
a. epigenesis. c. heritability.
b. codominance. d. niche-icking.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
57
2.90 Intelligence has a heritability coefficient of about .5 which means
a. about 50% of an individual’s intelligence is due to heredity.
b. about 50% of the differences in intelligence between people is due to heredity.
c. about 50% of an individual’s intelligence is due to environmental factors.
d. about 50% of the differences in intelligence between people is unable to be measured.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.91 Which situation will lead to the largest heritability coefficient for reading disability?
a. well-educated parents providing academically stimulating environments that foster children’s reading
ability
b. less-educated parents providing academically stimulating environments that foster children’s reading ability
c. well-educated parents providing environments that do not foster children’s reading ability
d. less-educated parents providing environments that do not foster children’s reading ability
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.92 An example of niche-picking is
a. parents enrolling their active child in many structured, sedentary activities in hopes that he will calm down.
b. parents enrolling their active child in many athletic activities in hopes that he will burn off some steam.
c. an active child choosing to participate in many athletic events.
d. an uncoordinated child choosing to participate in athletic events in hopes of becoming more coordinated.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.93 Who provides the best example of niche-picking?
a. musically-talented Mosi who chooses to spend his free time listening to music and practicing his guitar
b. natural singer Vanessa who is often asked to sing by her family and friends
c. tone-deaf Toneesha whose choir director asks her to simply mouth the words, rather than sing during
performances
d. piano prodigy Philip who not only inherited musical talent from his symphony-playing parents, but was
encouraged by his parents to begin playing a musical instrument at an early age
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.94 Niche-picking refers to
a. one genotype leading to a range of phenotypes, depending on the environment.
b. children deliberately seeking environments that fit their heredity.
c. children’s heredity eliciting different reactions from the environment.
d. parents both passing on their genes to their children and providing an environment for their children.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.95 Caris is very artistically talented and chooses to spend much of her time drawing and painting. This is a good
example of
a. a passive gene-environment relation. c. a reaction range.
b. an evocative gene-environment relation. d. niche-picking.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.96 The forces within a family that make children different from one another are referred to as
a. an evocative gene-environment relation. c. incomplete dominance.
b. passive gene-environment relation. d. nonshared environmental influences.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.97 The fact that children with genes for average intelligence can actually develop either below-average, average,
or above-average intelligence depending on their experiences best illustrates which of the following themes of
development?
a. Early development is related to later development, but not perfectly.
b. Development is always jointly influenced by heredity and environment.
c. Children help determine their own environment.
d. Development in different domains is connected.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
2.98 Each sperm and egg contains 46 chromosomes.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.99 In vitro fertilization involves combining the sperm and egg in a laboratory dish.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.100 About 80% of in vitro fertilization attempts succeed.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
59
2.101 The autosomes determine the sex of the child.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.102 The first pair of chromosomes determines the sex of the child.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.103 Chromosomes consist of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.104 A homozygous individual has two alleles that are the same.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.105 If an allele for a disorder is dominant, then every person who receives the allele will have the disorder.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.106 Individuals with the sickle-cell allele are more resistant to malaria.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.107 Huntington’s disease is a fatal disease caused by a recessive allele.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.108 The presence of abnormal autosomes is a major cause for spontaneous abortions during the period of the
zygote.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.109 The extra 21st chromosome that is found with Down syndrome usually comes from the father’s sperm.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.110 The risk of having a baby with Down syndrome decreases as the mother gets older.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.111 The presence of a Y chromosome appears to be necessary for life.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
2.112 The traits controlled by single genes usually represent “either-or” phenotypes, while traits controlled by many
genes typically represent an entire range of different outcomes.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.113 Most behavioral and psychological traits are polygenic traits.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.114 In twin studies, it is assumed that heredity influences a characteristic if fraternal twins are more alike than
identical twins.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.115 In adoption studies, if a behavior has genetic roots, adopted children should behave more like their biological
parents than their adoptive parents.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.116 One problem with twin studies is that the experiences of identical twins may be more similar than the
experiences of fraternal twins, so that heredity appears to have a greater influence.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
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2.117 The behavioral consequences of genetic instructions depend on the environment in which those interactions
develop.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.118 Teenage girls begin to menstruate at a younger age if they’ve had a stressful childhood. This is an example of
epigenesist.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.119 A heritability coefficient estimates the extent to which differences within an individual reflect heredity.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.120 Heredity and environment interact dynamically throughout development.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.121 The environment has no impact on when genes are activated — they follow a predictable and predetermined
schedule based on maturation.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.122 Experiences determine which phenotypes emerge, and genotypes influence the nature of experiences.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
2.123 Although environmental factors are important, they usually affect each child in a unique way, which makes
siblings differ.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
2.124 Explain basic concepts of single gene inheritance using the terms alleles, chromosomes, homozygous,
heterozygous, dominant, and recessive.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
Type: Conceptual
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points:
2.125 Name and briefly describe some common disorders associated with recessive alleles.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
Type: Conceptual
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points:
2.126 Explain the general properties of the paths from genes to behavior.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
Type: Conceptual
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points:
ESSAY QUESTIONS
2.127 Your friends Shania and Ricky are expecting a baby. Both Shania and Ricky are farsighted and have cheek
dimples. Shania and Ricky have said that they hope that their baby won’t need to wear glasses or have cheek
dimples because they both hate their glasses and dimples. What can you tell them about genetic inheritance
and the likelihood that they will get their wish?
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
Type: Applied
Answer: A good answer will be similar to the following:
2.128 Describe Down syndrome. What it is, its causes, and its symptoms? What are the odds of having a child with
Down syndrome?
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
Type: Factual
Answer: A good answer will be similar to the following:
2.129 Name and describe one disorder caused by an abnormal number of sex chromosomes that affects only males.
In addition, name and describe one disorder caused by an abnormal number of sex chromosomes that affects
only females.
Chapter Module: Mechanisms of Heredity
Type: Factual
Answer: A good answer will include the following key points:
2.130 Explain how (a) twin studies, and (b) adoption studies are used to determine the influence of heredity on a trait
and discuss a potential flaw of each type of study.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
Page(s): 51
Type: Conceptual
Diff: Moderate
Answer: A good answer will be similar to the following:
2.131 Heredity and environment interact dynamically throughout development. We know that a genotype is
expressed differently when it is exposed to a different environment. We also know that the environment can
trigger genetic expression. Explain this constant connection between nature and nurture. Be sure to give
examples and discuss epigenesist in your explanation.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
Page(s): 55–56
Type: Conceptual
Diff: Moderate
Answer: A good answer will be similar to the following:
2.132 You and a friend were talking about the role of heredity and environment on child development. You tell
your friends that “nature” can help determine the kind of “nurturing” that a child receives. Explain and give
an example (since your friend looks really confused). Be sure to discuss niche-picking in your explanation.
Chapter Module: Heredity, Environment, and Development
Page(s): 58–59
Type: Conceptual
Diff: Moderate
Answer: A good answer will be similar to the following: