Behavioral Genetics

by Valerie S. Knopik, Robert Plomin, Jenae M. Neiderhiser

With its clear and concise presentation, Behavioral Genetics, 7th edition introduces students to the field’s underlying principles, defining experiments, ongoing controversies, and most recent discoveries.  The text provides students with an understanding of heredity, it’s DNA basis, the methods used to discover genetic influence on behavior and identify specific genes.  It then examines what is known about genetic influence on cognitive ability, psychopathology, substance abuse, personality, health psychology, and aging.   Finally it looks ate the future of the field of Behavioral Genetics and area where some of the  most exciting development in the Behavioral sciences are being made.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Genetics, Biology, Nonfiction, Evolution, Academic

528 pages, Hardcover

First published September 24, 2012

Reviews

[Mohammad · Rating 3 out of 5]

چیزهایی که حتی فکرش رو نمی کنیم مثل مهربانی و با فرهنگ بودن، حتی اندکی به ژنتیک وابسته اند و تقریبا تنها چیزی که جدا از این وابستگی ست، عاشق شدن یک فرده.
انگار در دنیای عاشقی باید دفتر از دی ان ای و کروموزوم هم شست

بشوی اوراق اگر همدرس مایی

که علم عشق در دفتر نباشد

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm certainly no geneticist, but this book contains a lot of really interesting information about the sort of crossroads where genetics and psychology intersect. Behavioral Genetics is a relatively young field, so there is a lot of research being done, and for people in either biology or psychology (or even anthropology or sociology) there is potentially a lot to be gained from keeping up with it.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

if we are machines that are to be inspected under the hood, which we are, we'll find that there is more to our behaviors than fee agency and conditioning. some things we can't help; this textbook is a good starting point as to how genetics play a role in our behaviors

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

About as technical as you would expect for this kind of subject (i.e. very) which can make it dry and hard to get through unless you're interested in the subject and comfortable with reading more academic style writing.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some geneticists believe that behavior traits can be inherited. This work explores the possibility. This work studies both the basics of genetics and behavior.

[Yunus Edgu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davranışsal genetiğe en iyi giriş kitaplarından biri. Kitaptaki hastalık kısmıyla ilgilenenlere Kevin Mitchell'in editörlüğünü yaptığı The Genetics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders kitabını öneririm.

[Teo · Rating 4 out of 5]

2016.01.22–2016.03.06

Contents

Plomin R, DeFries JC, Knopik VS, & Neiderhiser JM (2012) Behavioral Genetics (6e)

01. Overview

02. Mendel's Laws of Heredity
• Mendel's First Law of Heredity
• • Box 2.1: Gregor Mendel's Luck
• • Huntington Disease
• • Phenylketonuria
• • Box 2.2: How Do We Know That 1 in 50 People Are Carriers for PKU?
• Mendel's Second Law of Heredity

03. Beyond Mendel's Laws
• Genes on the X Chromosome
• Other Exceptions to Mendel's Laws
• • New Mutations
• • Changes in Chromosomes
• • Expanded Triplet Repeats
• • Genomic Imprinting
• Complex Traits
• • Schizophrenia
• • General Cognitive Ability
• • Pea Size
• Multiple-Gene Inheritance
• Quantitative Genetics
• • Box 3.1: Liability–Threshold Model of Disorders

04. DNA: The Basis of Heredity
• DNA
• • Box 4.1: The "Central Dogma" of Molecular Genetics
• Chromosomes

05. Animal Models in Behavioral Genetics
• Quantitative Genetic Experiments to Investigate Animal Behavior
• • Selection Studies
• • Inbred Strain Studies
• Animal Studies for Identifying Genes and Gene Functions
• • Creating Mutations
• • Quantitative Trait Loci
• • Synteny Homology

06. Nature, Nurture, and Human Behavior
• Investigating the Genetics of Human Behavior
• • Adoption Designs
• • Box 6.1: The First Adoption Study of Schizophrenia
• • Box 6.2: Issues in Adoption Studies
• • Twin Design
• • Box 6.3: The Twin Method
• • Combination

07. Estimating Genetic and Environmental Influences
• Heritability
• Interpreting Heritability
• • Box 7.1: Estimating Quantitative Genetic Parameters Directly from DNA
• Environmentality
• • Shared Environment
• • Nonshared Environment
• • Estimating Shared and Nonshared Environmental Influences
• • Identifying Specific Nonshared Environment
• • Identifying Specific Nonshared Environment That Predicts Behavioral Outcomes
• Multivariate Analysis

08. The Interplay between Genes and Environment
• Beyond Heritability
• Genotype-Environment Correlation
• • The Nature of Nurture
• • Three Types of Genotype-Environment Correlation
• • Three Methods to Detect Genotype-Environment Correlation
• • Implications
• Genotype-Environment Interaction
• • Animal Models
• • Adoption Studies
• • Twin Studies
• • DNA

09. Identifying Genes
• Mutations
• Detecting Polymorphisms
• • Box 9.1: DNA Markers
• Human Behavior
• • Linkage: Single-Gene Disorders
• • Linkage: Complex Disorders
• • Association: Candidate Genes
• • Box 9.2: Affected Sib-Pair Linkage Design
• • Association: Genomewide
• • Box 9.3: SNP Microarrays

10. Pathways between Genes and Behavior
• Box 10.1: Levels of Analysis
• Gene Expression and the Role of Epigenetics
• The Transcriptome: Gene Expression throughout the Genome
• • Gene Expression Profiles: RNA Microarrays and Sequence-Based Approaches
• • Genetical Genomics
• • Gene Expression as a Biological Basis for Environmental Influence
• The Proteome: Proteins Coded throughout the Transcriptome
• • The Brain
• • Box 10.2: Endophenotypes
• • Learning and Memory

11. Cognitive Disabilities
• General Cognitive Disability: Quantitative Genetics
• General Cognitive Disability: Single-Gene Disorders
• • Phenylketonuria
• • Fragile X Syndrome
• • Rett Syndrome
• • Other Single-Gene Disorders
• General Cognitive Disability: Chromosomal Abnormalities
• • Down Syndrome
• • Sex Chromosome Abnormalities
• Specific Cognitive Disabilities
• • Reading Disability
• • DF Extremes Analysis
• • Communication Disorders
• • Mathematics Disability
• • Comorbidity among Specific Cognitive Disabilities
• Dementia

12. General Cognitive Ability
• Historical Highlights
• • Animal Research
• • Box 12.1: Francis Galton
• • Human Research
• Overview of Genetic Research
• • Genetic Influence
• • Environmental Influence
• • Assortative Mating
• • Nonadditive Genetic Variance
• Developmental Research
• • Does Heritability Change during Development?
• • Do Genetic Factors Contribute to Developmental Change?
• Identifying Genes

13. Specific Cognitive Abilities
• Broad Factors of Specific Cognitive Abilities
• Multivariate Genetic Analysis
• Information-Processing Measures
• Working Memory Model
• Imaging Genetics
• School Achievement
• Identifying Genes

14. Schizophrenia
• Family Studies
• • Box 14.1: The Beginnings of Psychiatric Genetics: Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals
• Twin Studies
• Adoption Studies
• Schizophrenia or Schizophrenias?
• Identifying Genes

15. Other Adult Psychopathology
• Mood Disorders
• • Family Studies
• • Twin Studies
• • Adoption Studies
• • Identifying Genes
• Anxiety Disorders
• Other Disorders
• Co-Occurrence of Disorders
• • Identifying Genes

16. Developmental Psychopathology
• Autism
• • Family and Twin Studies
• • Identifying Genes
• Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
• • Twin Studies
• • Identifying Genes
• Anxiety Disorders
• Other Disorders
• Overview of Twin Studies of Childhood Disorders

17. Personality and Personality Disorders
• Self-Report Questionnaires
• Other Measures of Personality
• Other Findings
• • Situations
• • Development
• • Nature-Nurture Interplay
• Personality and Social Psychology
• • Relationships
• • Self-Esteem
• • Attitudes and Interests
• • Behavioral Economics
• Personality Disorders
• • Schizotypal Personality Disorders
• • Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
• • Antisocial Personality Disorder and Criminal Behavior
• Identifying Genes

18. Substance Use Disorders
• Alcohol Dependence
• • Twin and Adoption Research on Alcohol-Related Phenotypes
• • Animal Research on Alcohol-Related Phenotypes
• • Molecular Genetic Research on Alcohol-Related Phenotypes
• Nicotine Dependence
• • Twin Research on Smoking-Related Phenotypes
• • Molecular Genetic Research on Smoking-Related Phenotypes
• Other Drugs
• Complexities of Studying the Genetics of Substance Use

19. Health Psychology and Aging
• Health Psychology
• • Body Weight and Obesity
• • Subjective Well-Being and Health
• Psychology and Aging
• Health Psychology and Genetic Counseling
• • Box 19.1: Genetic Counseling

20. Evolution and Behavior
• Charles Darwin
• Inclusive Fitness
• Population Genetics
• Evolutionary Genomics
• Evolutionary Psychology
• • Instincts
• • Empirical Evidence
• • Box 20.1: Mate Preference and the Major Histocompatibility Complex
• • Box 20.2: Mate Selection for Facial Characteristics

21. The Future of Behavioral Genetics
• Quantitative Genetics
• Molecular Genetics
• Implications of Nature and Nurture

Appendix: Statistical Methods in Behavioral Genetics
• Quantitative Genetics
• Molecular Genetics

Web Sites
Glossary
References
Name Index
Subject Index

[Amin Azad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the 7th edition; it's definitely time for an updated version with newer data! Still, the foundations of behavioral genetics are explained very well.

A solid undergraduate textbook for biological psychology, especially when paired with some basic biology knowledge and related readings. 👌🏻

[Megan Maxton]

Amazing book if you want to learn about behavioral genetics (idk why you would unless you are me)

[Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive book on behavioural genetics! Gonna be useful for my dissertation :)

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behavior genetics focuses on the relationship betwee species' genetic structure and their behavior. This work is a bit dated, but it still has value. The authors are well known scholars in the area. The book provides a solid introduction to the subject.

[Muhammad al-Khwarizmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a solid book but if I could start all over again I would have skipped to the appendix on the statistical techniques used therein before reading anything else which likely would have avoided substantial confusion later on.

[Wilson Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livro extraordinário sobre Genética Comportamental, escrito pelo mestre Plomin.