Behavioural genetics (behavioral genetics) is the field of biology that studies the role of genetics in animal behaviour. The field is an overlap of genetics, ethology and psychology (particularly evolutionary psychology). Classically, behavioural geneticists have studied the heritability of behavioural traits. Biology is the study, or science, of life. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anenomes) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior considered as a branch of zoology. ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul or mind, logos/-ology = study of) is an academic and applied field involving the study of mind and behavior. ... Evolutionary psychology (abbreviated ev-psych or EP) proposes that animal psychology can be better understood in light of evolution. ... Heritability, as used professionally in genetics, has a very precise definition. ...

Francis Galton

In 1869, Francis Galton published the first empirical work in behavioural genetics, Hereditary Genius. Here, Galton intended to demonstrate that "a man's natural abilities are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world." Like most seminal work, he overstated his conclusions. His was a family study and resemblance among familial relatives can be a function of both shared genes and shared environments. Contemporary behavioural genetics studies special populations—in human research, twins and adoptees and in animal research, specially bred strains and lines—to separate genetic from environmental effects. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton F.R.S. (February 16, 1822 – January 17, 1911), half-cousin of Charles Darwin, was a Victorian polymath, British anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, psychometrician, and statistician. ...

The initial impetus behind behavioural genetic research was to demonstrate that there were indeed genetic influences on behaviour. In psychology, this phase lasted for the first half of the 20th century largely because of the overwhelming influence of behaviourism in the field. Later behavioural genetic research focused on quantitative methods, and today there is a large emphasis on applying molecular genetic techniques to isolate individual genes that influence behaviour. Currently, the largest branch of behavioural genetics is psychiatric genetics which studies phenotypes such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and alcoholism. Behaviorism (or behaviourism) is an approach to psychology based on the proposition that behavior is interesting and worthy of scientific research. ...

References

• Carey, G. (2003) Human Genetics for the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. [1]
• DeFries, J. C., McGuffin, P., McClearn, G. E., Plomin, R. (2000) Behavioral Genetics 4th ed. W H Freeman & Co.
• Scott, J.P. and Fuller, J.L. (1965) Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog. University of Chicago Press.
• Weiner, J. (1999) Time, Love, Memory : A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior. Knopf

Jonathan Weiner is a Pulitzer Winning author of non-fiction books on his biology observations, in particular evolution in the Galápagos Islands, genetics, and the environment. ...

External links

• US Human Genome Project on Behavioral Genetics