Download Chapter 14 – Key Terms

Chapter 14 Key Terms
Introduction to Personality: Toward An Integration 7e
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Chapter 14 – Key Terms
Activity – temperament that affects the vigor or intensity of responses; also refers to individual
differences on a dimension that ranges from hyperactivity to extreme inactivity (p. 327)
Behavior genetics – study of the role of genes in social behavior and personality (p. 323)
Dizygotic twins – fraternal twins; two organisms that develop in the uterus at the same time but
from two egg and two sperm cells; not genetically identical (p. 324)
Down Syndrome – genetic abnormality consisting of a third chromosome in the 21st
chromosome pair; causes severe mental retardation and a distinctive appearance (p. 339)
Emotionality – tendency to become physiologically aroused easily and experience frequent and
intense negative emotions such as anger, fear, and distress (p. 327)
Heritability estimates (index) – a measure used in behavior genetic research to try to assess the
degree to which a trait or attribute is due to inheritance (p. 331)
Human genome – the human genetic code consisting of roughly 30,000 to 40,000 individual
genes contained in 23 chromosome pairs (p. 324)
Monozygotic twins – identical twins; two organisms that develop from a single fertilized egg cell
and share identical genes (p. 324)
Neurotransmitter systems – physiological pathways that communicate and carry out the
functions of signal detection and response via chemical receptors (neurotransmitters) (p. 340)
Nonshared (unique) environment – all of the aspects of the individual’s environment that are
not shared with other members of the family (e.g., birth order effects, illness, and peer
influences) (p. 334)
Person x situation interaction patterns – stable patterns that emerge when the individual’s
behavior is measured in relation to its situational context (p. 341)
PKU (phenylketonuria) – a genetic abnormality in which the gene that produces a critical
enzyme is missing; it results in mental retardation if not treated soon after birth (p. 338)
Shared environment (or family environment) – individuals raised in the same
family/household (p. 334)
Sociability – the degree to which the person seeks interpersonal interaction (p. 327)
Temperaments – characteristic individual differences relevant to emotional expression, often
visible early in life (p. 326)
Twin method – method of assessing genetic influence by comparing the degree of similarity on
trait measures for genetically identical twins versus dizygotic twins (p. 324)