Explain why the role of genetics is to produce a tendency toward a future course of development.
What will be an ideal response?
A good answer would include the following key points:
- At one time it was popular to believe that "biology is destiny;" that is, a person's genetic makeup controlled everything about her or his developmental course.
- It was also popular, under other circumstances, to argue that "environment is all;" people of vastly different genetic propensities could equally flourish under the right environmental conditions.
- Researchers now know that when or whether a behavioral characteristic will actually be displayed depends on the nature of the environment in which the person is raised or lives.
- In other words, genes always express themselves within an environmental context, so to argue that "genes do" anything apart from recognizing the context of their expression is short-sighted.
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Which of the following individuals is likely to be at the HIGHEST level of sympathetic arousal?
a. Melissa, who is daydreaming and staring out the window b. Keith, who is concentrating on a lecturer and taking careful notes c. Professor Trong, who is lecturing d. Bill, who is anticipating an exam he will take within the hour and for which he is unprepared
Logan is 8 years old. By the time she is 9, she has gained three inches in height and four pounds in weight. This is a. not normal for children her age. b. normal, as there are more individual differences in height and weight during middle childhood than in earlieryears
c. typical for girls, but not for boys. d. an indication that she will be obese as an adult.
All of the following are characteristics common to specific phobias EXCEPT a. strong and persistent anxiety related to a specific object or situation
b. significant attempts by the anxious individual to avoid the phobic situation. c. recognition by the person with the phobia that the anxiety is excessive or unreasonable. d. Chronically decreased arousal of the autonomic nervous system.
Regarding the research on recovered memories and the false memory syndrome, which of the following statements is FALSE?
a. No matter how real a recovered memory may seem, it could be false, unless it can be verified by others or by court or medical records. b. Many sexually abused children develop problems that persist into adulthood with some of these children repressing all memory of the abuse. c. To elicit true recovered memories from a sexual abuse victim, the "truth drug" called Amytal must be used. d. Recovered memories have sent some innocent people to jail, while some actual sexual abuse victims have been accused of making false claims about their real memories.