Question 1

The point of view that scientists will eventually be able to explain everything about the mind via biology is called

Accepted Answer

A)  biological reductionism. 
B)  the naturalistic fallacy. 
C)  psychophysical structuralism. 
D)  evolutionary theorizing.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT indicated by a heritability statistic?

Accepted Answer

A)  whether genetic factors play some role in shaping individual differences 
B)  whether the etiology of certain conditions such as mental retardation is environmental 
C)  whether genes and environments interact to produce behavior 
D)  how much variability in a trait is due to nonshared environmental factors

Question 3

Which of the following accurately describes evolutionary mismatch?

Accepted Answer

A)  Evolutionary mismatch is the idea that self-sacrificing behaviors can still be evolutionarily advantageous if they help the survival of others that share your genes. 
B)  Evolutionary mismatch is the idea that negative emotions or feelings may actually be helpful because they act as a motivator to avoid bad outcomes in the future. 
C)  Evolutionary mismatch is the idea that certain traits that have evolved in the past may not be useful or may even be detrimental to survival today. 
D)  Evolutionary mismatch states that individual differences in traits and behaviors are a required mechanism for evolution to occur.

Question 4

Match each person-environment transaction type with its appropriate example.
-Reactive

Accepted Answer

A) An adventurous individual decides to move to another country and thus experiences many new situations. 
B) A rebellious child leads to more strict parenting styles. 
C) An individual develops an anxiety disorder after experiencing a traumatic event.

Question 5

All of the following are objections to evolutionary theorizing EXCEPT evolutionary

Accepted Answer

A)  theorizing consists of after-the-fact speculations that cannot be put to empirical test. 
B)  theorists assume that everybody wants many children when, in fact, many people limit their own reproduction. 
C)  theorists assume that behavior patterns present today are essentially inevitable and unchangeable because they are rooted in our biology. 
D)  theory is unnecessarily complicated because it involves too many basic principles.

Question 6

What is the scientific benefit of knowing a trait's heritability coefficient?

Accepted Answer

A)  the variance in a trait that is due to genetic influences 
B)  the degree to which genetic influences in a trait are due to inheritance 
C)  the degree to which reliable genetic effects are statistically significant 
D)  the degree to which genetic effects will replicate in an additional sample

Question 7

According to the text, biology will NEVER be able to explain

Accepted Answer

A)  which brain structures are associated with depression. 
B)  how people act in their daily social environments. 
C)  how likely it is for schizophrenia to be passed down from mother to child. 
D)  the influence increased serotonin has on changes in behavior.

Question 8

It is difficult to calculate the heritability of traits that

Accepted Answer

A)  develop later in adulthood. 
B)  do not vary across people. 
C)  are highly affected by one's environment. 
D)  are highly affected by one's genes.

Question 9

When personality psychologists measure trait differences in extraversion, what kinds of direct observations are they making?

Accepted Answer

A)  phenotypic 
B)  genotypic 
C)  allelic 
D)  genome-wide

Question 10

All of the following are reasonable complications to evolutionary personality theory EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A)  males' looks are extremely important to many women. 
B)  women that are very thin lack sufficient body fat to menstruate. 
C)  the degree to which someone is considered physically attractive can be influenced by how much we like them. 
D)  women and men often abandon their children.

Question 11

What term refers to different forms of the same gene?

Accepted Answer

A)  chromosome 
B)  genotype 
C)  allele 
D)  nucleotide

Question 12

What might be the evolutionary function of crying, according to recent research described in the text?

Accepted Answer

A)  a way to elicit social support 
B)  an aversive motivator of behavioral change toward more adaptive pursuits 
C)  an index of social acceptance 
D)  a way of preventing wasteful energy expenditures on lost causes

Question 13

What explanation might an evolutionary psychologist give for an individual giving a large amount of money to charity?

Accepted Answer

A)  In our current social environment, people who give money to charity are regarded as noble and are therefore attractive. 
B)  People are basically selfless beings who give for the sake of giving. 
C)  Giving to charity increases our self-esteem, which is an indicator of our social acceptance. 
D)  Giving to charity satisfies our basic instinct to balance the social scales.

Question 14

The presence of schizophrenia was measured in both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. The correlation between the MZ twins was .50 and the correlation between the DZ twins was .30. What is the heritability coefficient for schizophrenia?

Accepted Answer

A)  .80 
B)  .20 
C)  .40 
D)  .65

Question 15

So far, evolutionary psychology has been much more concerned with the origins of ________ than with ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  unconscious processes; conscious processes 
B)  extraversion and agreeableness; neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness 
C)  neuroticism, openness, and conscientiousness; extraversion and agreeableness 
D)  general human nature; individual differences

Exam 9: Genetics and Evolution: the Inheritance of Personality