What Do The Twins Reared Apart Studies Tell You About Human Development?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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The research team found that identical twins who are reared apart

had the same chance of being similar as twins who were raised together

. Bouchard and his colleagues concluded that genetic factors have a large influence on behavioral habits demonstrating the influence of the genetics on development.

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What do twin studies generally reveal about the more complex human behaviors?

Modern twin studies have concluded that almost all traits are in part influenced by

genetic differences

, with some characteristics showing a stronger influence (e.g. height), others an intermediate level (e.g. personality traits) and some more complex heritabilities, with evidence for different genes affecting …

What can studying twins tell us about the genetic influence on a particular trait?

We can

measure and compare the degree of similarity in a trait

between pairs of identical and non-identical twins, to understand how much of the difference in a trait between people is caused by genes and how much is caused by the environment. Every person in the world is different from every other.

How are twin studies used in behavioral genetics?

More than a century after Galton’s observation, twin studies remain a favorite tool of behavioral geneticists. Researchers have used twin studies

to try to disentangle the environmental and genetic backgrounds of a cornucopia of traits, from aggression to intelligence to schizophrenia to alcohol dependence

.

What have some studies of identical twins reared apart discovered about the role of nature and nurture?

The studies of reared-apart twins have shown that in general, half the differences in personality and

religiosity are genetically determined

, but for a trait like I.Q., about 75 percent of the variation, on average, is genetic, with only 25 percent influenced by the environment.

What did the Minnesota study of twins reared apart suggest about intelligence the findings from the?

The Minnesota researchers found that about 70 percent of IQ variation across the twin population was

due to genetic differences among people

, and 30 percent was due to environmental differences.

What do studies of identical twins reveal about epigenetic variations?

The study of epigenetic profiles in twins offers an excellent opportunity to understand the causes and consequences of epigenetic variation. Twin epigenetic heritability estimates tell us about

the genetic control of DNA methylation variability and the stability of methylation patterns during cell division

.

How do the results of twin studies help researchers determine the contributions of heredity and environment in determining intelligence?

Hereditary Influences

Family studies show that intelligence tends to run in families. Twin studies

show a higher correlation between identical twins in IQ than between fraternal twins

. This holds true even when identical twins reared apart are compared to fraternal twins reared together.

What do twin studies show about the role of biological influences on behavior?

Twin Studies

Because identical twins have the same DNA, they are often used to help scientists understand which behaviors may be determined by

genetics

and which may be influenced by our environment. … For example, genetic makeup accounts for about half of the variation we see in human personalities and intelligence.

What are the advantages of twin studies?

Advantages of twin studies

Twin studies

allow disentanglement of the shared genetic and environmental factors for the trait of interest

. Researchers can estimate the proportion of variance in a trait attributable to genetic variation versus the proportion that is due to shared environment or unshared environment.

What do the twin studies tell us about the nature versus nurture argument?

Twin studies used to be almost

the only way to compare the influence of genes against the environment on personality and behavior

. Recent advances in genetics, however, suggest that opposing “nature” to “nurture” is misleading. Genes combine with the environment to produce complex human traits.

What do twin studies tell us about Nature Vs Nurture?

The traditional way of studying nature versus nurture relies on twins. Because identical

twins share the same genetic code

, comparing the health of twins can help determine whether genetic or environmental factors play more of a role in their health.

How has studying twins helped psychologists better understand heritability?

Twin studies not only

control for genetic selection

; they also control for shared-environmental selection, without identifying either the specific genes or the specific shared-environmental influences involved. Such studies therefore provide tough tests of causal associations.

What have twin studies revealed as far as the further understanding of genetics?

Modern twin studies have concluded that

almost all traits are in part influenced by genetic differences

, with some characteristics showing a stronger influence (e.g. height), others an intermediate level (e.g. personality traits) and some more complex heritabilities, with evidence for different genes affecting …

What did the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart suggest about intelligence the findings from the study blank quizlet?

What does the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart show?

Concordance rate for IQ between monozygotic twins reared together (MZT)

was approximately 88%. Similarity rates between monozygotic twins raised apart was at 69%.

What did the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart suggest quizlet?

What was the hypothesis of the Minnesota Twin Study? It was

expected that monozygotic twins raised together and apart would have a high concordance rate due to the inheritance of genes

. It was also expected that monozygotic twins would have a higher concordance rate than dizygotic twins.

Why twin studies are so important in psychology?

Twins provide a valuable source of information for health and psychological research, as their unique relationship allows researchers to pull apart and examine genetic and environmental influences. Twin study findings have been

influential in detecting and treating various diseases and psychological disorders

.

Why identical twins are useful in the epigenetic studies of complex diseases?

Because

they have identical genomes

, identical twins are ideal subjects for studying the effects of epigenetic modifications – changes to the DNA which control the expression of genes but not the DNA sequence itself.

Are twin studies case studies?

Since 1922, there have been

1,894 cases of sets of twins reared apart

, according to a study by Segal. … Though all twins, through their similarities and differences, offer insight into the effects of genetics and the environment, twins who were reared apart offer particularly powerful case studies.

Why is molecular genetics important to the study of human behavior?

Why is it important to the study of human behavior? Molecular genetics is the subfield of biology that

studies the molecular structure and function of genes

. It seeks to identify specific genes that influence our behavior. … It is the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes.

How do adoption and twin studies help us understand the effects and interaction of nature and nurture?

Twins offer a glimpse into shared family alikeness and allow scientists to decipher to what extent similarity is caused by genes and how much of it is shared environment. … Adoption studies help scientists see the impact of two identical individuals raised in different

environments

.

What are the problems with twin studies?

Put another way, twin studies

fail to separate the effects of genes and the prenatal environment

. This failure casts doubt on claims of the relative effects of genes and environment on intelligence, psychiatric disorders, personality and other psychological variables, and other conditions.

What do twin studies show about the environmental contribution to IQ scores?

Studies show that IQ scores of

identical twins

may be more similar than those of fraternal twins. Siblings who were raised together in the same environment have more similar IQs than those of adopted children who were brought up in the same household.

Why might Adoption studies be an improvement on twin studies?

High concordance between MZ twins tells us more about genetic influences than high concordance between children and their biological parents. On the other hand, adoption studies are

much better at studying the effects of nurture (upbringing)

.

What have twin studies revealed about infidelity quizlet?

What have twin studies revealed about infidelity?

Genetic factors influence both male and female infidelity

.

Why are twin studies important when studying crime?

Twin studies.

Twin studies

support the contention that a heritable trait may increase risk for criminal behavior

. … To the extent that the similarity observed in MZ twins is greater than that in DZ twins, genetic influences may be implicated.

What do studies of maternal nurturing behavior in rats suggest about humans?

What do studies of maternal nurturing behavior in rats suggest about humans? a.

Maternal nurturing causes children to release corticosterone

, which reduces levels of stress and leads to more nurturing. … Children with nurturing mothers develop fewer natural defenses to stress and are more likely to become suicidal.

How does nature and nurture influence human behavior?

Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by

genetic inheritance and other biological factors

. Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception, e.g., the product of exposure, life experiences and learning on an individual.

What are two types of studies that psychologists use to gain a better understanding of the effect of nature and nurture on development?


Twin and adoption studies

are two instances of a much broader class of methods for observing nature-nurture called quantitative genetics, the scientific discipline in which similarities among individuals are analyzed based on how biologically related they are.

What is Twin Study in Psychology?

Twin research is

an informative approach for understanding the genetic and environmental influences affecting behavioral, physical, and medical traits

. … Twin researchers compare the resemblance between MZ and DZ twins with reference to a particular trait, such as height or weight.

What have twin studies revealed about intelligence?

Twin studies have revealed that

intelligence has a strong genetic influence

.

Why are studies of identical twins raised in different environments extremely valuable in understanding the causes of a disease?

We study twins to understand how much of the difference in a trait between people is caused by genes and how much is caused by the environment. These studies are important because they

help scientists quantify genetic and modifiable environmental factors that increase the risk

of certain diseases.

What do twin and adoption studies reveal about the role of genetics in behavior?

Researchers use twin and adoption studies to

understand how much variation among individuals is due to genetic makeup and how much to environmental factors

. … They also compare adopted children with their adoptive and biological parents. Some studies compare traits and behaviors of twins raised together or separately.

How do researchers use twin and adoption studies to learn about psychological principles?

how do researchers use twin and adoption studies to learn about psychological principles?

researchers compare the traits and behaviors of identical twins (same genes) and fraternal twins

(sharing half their genes – similar to any sibling). They also compare adopted children with their adoptive and biological parents.

Sophia Kim
Author
Sophia Kim
Sophia Kim is a food writer with a passion for cooking and entertaining. She has worked in various restaurants and catering companies, and has written for several food publications. Sophia's expertise in cooking and entertaining will help you create memorable meals and events.