Deck 3: The Evolving Mind Nature and Nurture Intertwined

Question 1

Micah has straight hair. If he is homozygous for the gene that determines straight hair, what is true of his parents?

A) They must each have a recessive allele for straight hair.
B) One must have a recessive allele for straight hair, while the other must have a dominant allele for curly hair.
C) They must each have a recessive allele for curly hair.
D) They must both have mutated dominant genes for straight hair.

Answer 1

They must each have a recessive allele for straight hair.

Question 2

Recessive alleles determine a phenotype when an individual is

A) neither homozygous nor heterozygous for a particular gene.
B) either homozygous or heterozygous for a particular gene.
C) only heterozygous for a particular gene.
D) only homozygous for a particular gene.

Answer 2

only homozygous for a particular gene.

Question 3

Darren suffers from fragile bone X (FBX) disorder. He inherited the FBX allele from his father and the normal allele for bone development from his mother. What can we conclude?

A) FBX is a recessive allele.
B) FBX is a dominant allele.
C) Darren's children will most likely suffer from FBX disorder.
D) Darren's children are unlikely to suffer from FBX disorder.

Answer 3

FBX is a dominant allele.

Question 4

Researchers found that specific combinations of serotonin transporter alleles affected how students reacted to being bullied. Students with the SS alleles had the strongest reaction, those with the LL alleles the mildest reaction, and those with the heterozygous SL alleles reacted somewhere in between. What do these results suggest?

A) The L allele is the dominant allele.
B) The S allele is the recessive allele.
C) The S allele is the dominant allele.
D) The L and S alleles do not have a strict dominant-recessive relationship.

Question 5

Simon has curly hair. If he is homozygous for the gene that determines curly hair, what is true of his parents?

A) They must each have a recessive allele for straight hair.
B) They have together contributed four dominant alleles for this gene.
C) They have contributed the same type of allele for this gene.
D) One, but not both, of his parents, has contributed an allele for curly hair.

Question 6

The process of gene expression involves

A) replicating a cell's genetic makeup during division.
B) influencing the behavior of a segment of society.
C) converting genetic instructions into a feature of a living cell.
D) chromosomal recombination during gamete formation.

Question 7

Vestigial wings (very small wings) are a recessive trait of the fruit fly. For a fruit fly to have a vestigial phenotype, it must inherit the gene(s) for vestigial wings from

A) both parents.
B) either parent.
C) the mother.
D) the father.

Question 8

What is the relationship between a gene and DNA?

A) A gene is a helical structure, and DNA contains the regulatory elements that decode the structure.
B) A gene is the subset of "turned on" DNA.
C) A gene is a static superset of the entire DNA in a specific individual.
D) A gene is a specific segment of DNA.

Question 9

Your university is hosting an interdisciplinary conference entitled "Contemporary Perspectives on Evolution." Two leading psychologists have been invited to debate the effects of nature and nurture on human behavior. They would most likely reach the consensus that these two entities

A) are not mutually exclusive.
B) maintain distinct and equal functions.
C) compete to influence behavior.
D) have a negative correlation.

Question 10

Gene expression results in the synthesis of what component of a living cell?

A) Proteins
B) Nucleic acids
C) Lipids
D) Carbohydrates

Question 11

Molly's parents are both above average in height, but Molly is medium in height. Molly's shorter stature is part of her

A) phenotype.
B) homotype.
C) heterotype.
D) allelotype.

Question 12

As human beings, we each have a personal set of instructions, or alleles. What term best describes this set?

A) Genotype
B) Homotype
C) Phenotype
D) Heterotype

Question 13

Jang, who has Type A blood, inherited the gene for Type A blood from his mother and the gene for Type O blood from his father. What is the genotype for Jang's blood type?

A) Type A
B) Type O
C) Type AO
D) Type AA

Question 14

The curly wing trait of the fruit fly is carried by a dominant gene. What is the minimum number of curly winged genes that a fruit fly must have to exhibit a curly wing phenotype?

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four

Question 15

Dominant alleles determine a phenotype when an individual is _____ for that particular gene.

A) neither homozygous nor heterozygous
B) either homozygous or heterozygous
C) only heterozygous
D) only homozygous

Question 16

Cal suffers from metabolic insufficiency X (MIX) disorder. His mother also has MIX disorder, but his father does not. What can we conclude?

A) The MIX gene must be recessive.
B) The MIX gene must be dominant.
C) Cal may or may not pass down the gene for MIX disorder to his children.
D) Cal will pass down the MIX disorder to his children, but they may not get the disease.

Question 17

Janelle inherited the allele for muscle fiber X (MFX) disorder from her mother and the normal allele for muscle fiber formation from her father. Janelle does not suffer from any variant of MFX disorder. What can we conclude?

A) Janelle's mother has MFX disorder.
B) MFX disorder is a sex-linked disorder.
C) The MFX gene is dominant.
D) The MFX gene is recessive.

Question 18

Different versions of a single gene are known as

A) alleles.
B) chromosomes.
C) homozygotes.
D) heterozygotes.

Question 19

Who is credited for first describing the contrast between heredity and environment as "nature versus nurture"?

A) Charles Darwin
B) Francis Galton
C) Gregor Mendel
D) James Watson

Question 20

Each cell type in the human body has

A) the same gene expression.
B) a different set of genes.
C) a different set of genes, but the same gene expressions.
D) the same set of genes, but different gene expressions.

Question 21

You are attending a family reunion of your dad's extended family. You often wonder how you could be related to any of them based on their physical and behavioral characteristics. What is the chance you share an allele with your first cousins?

A) One sixteenth
B) One eighth
C) One fourth
D) One half

Question 22

Behavioral geneticists focus on the

A) amount of heritability of a trait.
B) degree of mutation in a gene.
C) number of behaviors you learn from your biological parents.
D) greater or lesser degree of physical likenesses between twins.

Question 23

When a parent's cell divides to make an egg or sperm cell, each resulting cell contains

A) 11 chromosomes.
B) 23 chromosomes.
C) 46 chromosomes.
D) 92 chromosomes.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is true of sex-linked disorders?

A) Childbirth and the stress of raising children contribute to the prevalence of sex-linked disorders in women.
B) Hormonal fluctuations lead to a great prevalence of sex-linked disorders in women than men.
C) Sex-linked disorders, which are more prevalent in males, are typically caused by recessive diseased alleles found on the X chromosome.
D) Sex-linked disorders are caused by genetic mutations on the X chromosome for females and on the Y chromosome for males.

Question 25

Your sister-in-law frequently comments on how many traits you seem to have in common with your eight-year-old niece. You share your extensive knowledge on genetics and explain that the chance you share an allele with your niece is

A) one sixteenth.
B) one eighth.
C) one fourth.
D) one half.

Question 26

The probability that two people share the same allele from a common ancestor is referred to as

A) heterozygous.
B) degree of origin.
C) gene lineage.
D) relatedness.

Question 27

The gene for nerve deterioration X (NDX) disorder is located on the X chromosome. What can we conclude?

A) It is more prevalent in females.
B) It is more prevalent in males.
C) Only mothers can pass down the gene for NDX.
D) Only fathers can pass down the gene for NDX.

Question 28

Molecular geneticists look for _____, or genes that have a greater impact on a trait of interest than other genes.

A) paternal genes
B) mutated genes
C) candidate genes
D) maternal genes

Question 29

Tasha and Boris, expectant parents, wonder about the endless possibility of traits their unborn son might inherit from them (e.g., Tasha's red hair and allergies; Boris's tall frame and poor eyesight). As a genetics expert, you tell them that after cell division, the egg or sperm contains 23 chromosomes; thus, a male or female can produce _____ different combinations of his or her chromosomes.

A) 2²³
B) 23²
C) 2⁴⁶
D) 46²

Question 30

The statistical likelihood that variations observed in a population are due to genetics is referred to as

A) inheritance.
B) selectability.
C) covariation.
D) heritability.

Question 31

What do humans share that allows them to be so similar to one another, but different from other animals?

A) Alleles
B) Genes
C) Number of chromosomes
D) Structure of DNA

Question 32

Which gene is thought to play a major role on distinctly human behaviors, including the development of spoken language?

A) Sp1
B) Nrf2
C) FoxP2
D) HIF-1a

Question 33

What is the likelihood of your sharing an allele with a parent or with a sibling?

A) The chance that you share an allele with either a parent or a sibling is one fourth.
B) The chance that you share an allele with either a parent or a sibling is one half.
C) The chance that you share an allele with a parent is one-half and with a sibling one fourth.
D) The chance that you share an allele with a parent is one-fourth and with a sibling one eighth.

Question 34

Humans share what percent of their genes with fruit flies?

A) 18%
B) 26%
C) 44%
D) 92%

Question 35

Which statement best illustrates the concept of heritability?

A) Augusta is outgoing, just like her father and older sisters.
B) Jackson is the first person in his family in three generations to have blue eyes.
C) Savannah inherited the mutated BRCA1 gene, increasing her risk for certain cancers.
D) Charlotte has a 50% chance of passing the gene for curly hair to her children.

Question 36

Which of the following is most characteristic of studies looking into heritability?

A) Finding out how much sons favor their mother's genetics over their father's
B) Finding out how much daughters favor their mother's genetics over their father's
C) Finding the number of characteristics children inherit from their fathers
D) Finding the statistical likelihood that variations observed across individuals in a population are due to genetics

Question 37

Why is hemophilia more prevalent in males?

A) Fathers can only pass the diseased allele along to their sons.
B) The Y chromosome activates the diseased allele on the X chromosome.
C) There is no other X chromosome to offset the diseased gene.
D) The diseased gene is located on the Y chromosome.

Question 38

Salvador would like to take a paternity test to determine if he is Pilar's father. He asks Pilar's mother, Antonia, to provide DNA samples for both her and Pilar. Which technique will most likely be used to compare the three DNA samples?

A) High-performance liquid chromatography
B) Immunocytochemistry analyses
C) Western blots
D) Autoradiographs

Question 39

Humans share what percent of their genes with mice?

A) 18%
B) 26%
C) 44%
D) 92%

Question 40

If genes play no part in producing phenotypical differences between individuals, heritability is

A) 0.0.
B) 0.25.
C) 0.5.
D) 1.0.

Question 41

Dr. Pohlson is studying the heritability of self-confidence. Because all of his research participants are upper-middle class adolescents from the same private school in New York City, the heritability of self-confidence will appear to be

A) low.
B) high.
C) nondiscrete.
D) constant.

Question 42

Heritability takes into account

A) only environmental factors.
B) only genetic factors.
C) both environmental and genetic factors.
D) neither environmental nor genetic factors.

Question 43

Georgie and Lennie are identical twins. Which of the following is true of their genetic makeup?

A) They have identical genotypes and identical phenotypes.
B) They have identical genotypes but not identical phenotypes.
C) They have identical phenotypes but not identical genotypes.
D) They have neither identical phenotypes nor identical genotypes.

Question 44

In what way does epigenetic change alter the development of a given person's phenotype?

A) It influences gene expression, the process by which DNA forms proteins that contribute to the features of living cells.
B) It inhibits the ability of a sperm cell and an egg cell to correctly "match" each of the 23 gene pairs, leading to chromosomal distortions.
C) It enhances the "strength" of recessive or mutated genes, so that they can no longer be masked by dominant alleles of the same gene.
D) It increases the likelihood that specific genes will work in singular form to cause a specific phenotype.

Question 45

Dr. Mahr is studying the heritability of shyness. Because her research participants are adolescents from different socioeconomic groups across the county, the heritability of self-confidence will appear to be

A) low.
B) high.
C) variable.
D) constant.

Question 46

Which example best illustrates the concept of epigenetics?

A) Josh and Jason are identical twins; Josh is two inches taller than Jason.
B) Fareed and Asha are fraternal twins; they are often mistaken for identical twins.
C) Toby has Huntington's disease; his son has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease.
D) Joe and Elaine have brown eyes; their youngest daughter has blue eyes.

Question 47

The study of gene-environment interactions in the production of phenotype is called

A) genospherics.
B) epigenetics.
C) biogenics.
D) phenomics.

Question 48

What is an argument against using adoption studies for assessing the relative influences of genetics and environment on child development?

A) Adoptive parents go through a rigorous screening process, decreasing their diversity.
B) Because adoptive parents are under constant scrutiny, they tend to downplay the negative behaviors of their children.
C) Children who are adopted are more likely to feel out of place in their adopted home and community.
D) The mere knowledge of knowing they were adopted will alter the behavior of a child.

Question 49

Which scenario best illustrates the concept of natural selection?

A) The gene for sickle cell anemia has been passed down for generations because those with sickle cell anemia are typically resistant to malaria.
B) Farmers typically breed only their strongest animals to ensure that the offspring will retain the most desirable characteristics.
C) The gene for brown eyes is dominant; therefore, the most common eye color in the world is brown.
D) As identical twins age, they typically show more physical differences because of epigenetic processes.

Question 50

Heritability of most human traits is typically in the range of

A) 0.10 to 0.40.
B) 0.30 to 0.60.
C) 0.50 to 0.80.
D) 0.70 to 1.0.

Question 51

Because looking for candidate genes for particular phenotypes does not result in complete findings, contemporary functional geneticists often use

A) genomewide association studies (GWAS).
B) partial gene testing (PGT).
C) dual gene association (DGA).
D) chromosome deletion techniques (CDT).

Question 52

Why does Huntington's disease have a heritability ratio of 1.0?

A) The gene that causes Huntington's disease is dominant.
B) In families where Huntington's disease is prevalent, it tends to appear at least once every generation.
C) If someone inherits the gene for Huntington's disease, it is inevitable that he/she will acquire the disease.
D) Because of environmental influences, it is difficult to predict whether someone will acquire the disease despite having the diseased allele.

Question 53

The process by which survival and reproduction pressures in the wild have an effect on mating is referred to as

A) coercive inheritance.
B) natural selection.
C) randomized lineage.
D) genetic exclusion.

Question 54

Two groups of students (Group A and Group B) participate in standardized agility tests. The results show that Group A is considerably more agile than Group B and that agility is heritable. What can we conclude?

A) The genetic variability between the two groups is high.
B) Genetic factors play a role in agility.
C) The genetic variability within each group is low.
D) Environment has no effect on agility.

Question 55

The heritability ratio of having a liver is

A) 0.0.
B) 0.25.
C) 0.75.
D) 1.0.

Question 56

What do modern biologists describe as the "descent with modification from a common ancestor"?

A) Genetic lineage
B) Heritability
C) The human genome
D) Evolution

Question 57

What allows for variation within the human species?

A) Alleles
B) Genes
C) Number of chromosomes
D) Structure of DNA

Question 58

A new field known as _____ has emerged to explore the epigenetic influences of diet.

A) vitagenomics
B) isogenomics
C) nutrigenomics
D) neogenomics

Question 59

In one study, rats licked frequently during infancy by their mothers were calmer than rats licked infrequently when faced with stress later in life. What is the most likely explanation for this difference?

A) The rat pups that were frequently licked learned to engage in the licking behavior as a coping strategy during times of stress.
B) Because mothers who chose to lick their pups had a calmer demeanor, their pups were raised in less stressful environments.
C) By licking their pups, these mothers had influenced the expression of genes that influenced responses to a stress hormone.
D) The "licking" prone mothers only cared for the calmest pups of the litter, causing the more aggressive pups to die prematurely.

Question 60

Which early scientist was the first to develop a method to account for variations observed in particular traits?

A) Charles Darwin
B) Francis Galton
C) James Watson
D) Gregor Mendel

Question 61

The process or result of change due to natural selection is referred to as

A) fitness.
B) malleability.
C) adaptation.
D) exclusivity.

Question 62

Which of the following is evidence of the adaptation of the contemporary human brain?

A) Brain size has gradually increased over the last 6,000 years.
B) Genes involved with brain development appear to have changed as recently as 6,000 years ago.
C) Compared with nonhuman primates, the human brain uses oxygen more efficiently.
D) Although the brain comprises only about 2% of the body's weight, it requires about 15% of the body's resources when at rest.

Question 63

In his book The Origin of the Species , _____ described how species change in an orderly manner.

A) Charles Darwin
B) Francis Galton
C) James Watson
D) Gregor Mendel

Question 64

Which of the following best describes the relationship between evolutionary forces and behavior?

A) Evolutionary forces influence simple physical traits and simple behaviors, but not complex behaviors.
B) Although behavior is complex, evolutionary forces influence both physical traits and behavior.
C) Because behaviors have no genetic component, evolutionary forces are irrelevant in shaping behavior.
D) The idea that evolutionary forces can mold behavior has come to light only in the last decade.

Question 65

The major factor distinguishing human intelligence from the intelligence of other species is the

A) ability to recognize the self.
B) size of the brain.
C) ability to combat environmental factors.
D) richness and complexity of social behaviors.

Question 66

Which scenario best illustrates the concept of genetic drift?

A) Twelve thousand years ago, Native Americans traversed the Bering Strait to settle in the Americas, causing different genetic traits to be favored over others.
B) The genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia also increases resistance to malaria, increasing the frequency of the diseased allele in the general population.
C) The prevalence of depression is greater in populations where the serotonin transporter gene translocated to position q21 along chromosome 17.
D) There is a higher than average rate of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in the Amish community because the diseased allele was introduced by some of the original Amish settlers.

Question 67

What psychological perspective assumes that our current behavior exists because it provided survival and reproductive advantages to our ancestors?

A) Adaptive psychology
B) Evolutionary psychology
C) Biological psychology
D) Behavioral genetics

Question 68

Why is it thought that advances such as agriculture, literacy, and urbanization have not been accompanied by additional increases in brain size?

A) The earliest Homo sapiens were as intelligent as contemporary humans.
B) Although brain size has remained constant, brain density has increased.
C) The physiological cost of a bigger brain exceeds its benefit.
D) More efficient neuronal connections account for modern human advancements.

Question 69

Over the 7-million-year period of hominin evolution,

A) brains grew very rapidly.
B) quadrupeds became bipeds.
C) agriculture replaced hunting.
D) ecological complexity shaped modern intelligence.

Question 70

Which scenario best illustrates the concept of migration?

A) Thousands of years ago, Native Americans traveled long distances to settle in the Americas, causing different genetic traits to be favored over others.
B) The genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia also increases resistance to malaria, increasing the frequency of the diseased allele in the general population.
C) The prevalence of depression is greater in populations where the serotonin transporter gene translocated to position q21 along chromosome 17.
D) There is a higher than average rate of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome in the Amish community because the diseased allele was introduced by some original Amish settlers.

Question 71

An error that occurs when DNA is replicated is referred to as a

A) mutation.
B) migration.
C) splicing event.
D) genetic drift.

Question 72

Mike and Molly, who work at the same research institute, are competing to be the first scientist to isolate novel protein X from cancer cells. They run into one another while signing up for the same lab microscope and discuss their research progress. The end result is that Mike's research project benefited from the interaction but Molly's did not. Which set of interactional styles could have occurred between Mike and Molly?

A) Cooperative or altruistic
B) Spiteful or selfish
C) Altruistic or spiteful
D) Altruistic or selfish

Question 73

Although the human brain makes up only _____% of the body's weight, it requires about _____% of the body's resources.

A) 0.75; 8
B) 2; 15
C) 4; 25
D) 7; 30

Question 74

Which of the following statements is true of genetic mutations?

A) They typically lead to disease.
B) They are a rare occurrence.
C) They typically have no effect.
D) They almost always lead to disadvantages in a population.

Question 75

Evolutionary psychologists suggest that sacrificing yourself for others is much more likely when the "others" are

A) members of the same sex.
B) members of the opposite sex.
C) genetically related relatives.
D) genetically diverse individuals.

Question 76

The ability of one genotype to reproduce more successfully relative to other genotypes is referred to as

A) fitness.
B) malleability.
C) adaptation.
D) exclusivity.

Question 77

The field of evolutionary psychology directly descends from which early school of thought?

A) Functionalism
B) Dualism
C) Gestaltism
D) Structuralism

Question 78

Which scenario best illustrates the concept of adaptation?

A) Plant "A" produces either large fruit or small fruit; farmers breed only the large fruit plants, causing them to outnumber the small fruit variant.
B) Plant "B" has a rare waxy leaf variant; as the environment becomes more arid, the waxy leaf variant becomes more prevalent.
C) Plant "C" has a genetic mutation that creates a taller variant; this variant is able to survive and reproduce.
D) Plant "D" has a recessive allele that causes a higher rate of photosynthesis; plants with this phenotype have a higher energy reserve.

Question 79

The concept of fitness includes survival to adulthood, the ability to find a mate, and

A) the loss of recessive traits.
B) diversification of the genetic pool.
C) adaptation to multiple environments.
D) successful reproduction.

Question 80

A change in a population's genes from one generation to the next due to chance or accident is referred to as a

A) mutation.
B) migration.
C) splicing event.
D) genetic drift.