Undergraduate Course: Behavioural Genetics (PSYL10129)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest in Psychology. This course introduces the research methods (primarily twin designs) used to estimate genetic and environmental influences on behaviour. In doing so the basic principles of genetic transmission and multifactorial inheritance are outlined. An overview of genetic and environmental findings in the areas of personality, cognitive abilities and mental illness will be presented. The implications of these findings for psychologists will be discussed, and the exciting directions that the rapidly advancing field of genetics is moving in will be highlighted. |
| Course description |
The content of this course comprises 1) an introduction to quantitative genetics including the principles of genetic transmission and multifactorial inheritance, 2) twin and family methodology for estimation of heritability and components of environmental variance (focusing on correlations and quick formulae to estimate these values), 3) an overview of heritability findings (including multivariate studies) for a range of psychological traits and understanding what these mean, 4) overview of gene x environment findings for psychological traits and their implications, 5) applications of genetics research for psychologists, and directions in which the field is moving.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | This course requires a minimum level of statistical understanding, the student should be familiar with the concepts of variance and covariance. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understanding of behavioural genetic research methods
- Knowledge of applications of behavioural genetics in psychology
- Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of behavioural genetic designs
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Keywords Behaviour genetics,genetic and environmental influences |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Michelle Luciano
Tel: (0131 6)50 3603
Email: michelle.luciano@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Richards
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: sue.richards@ed.ac.uk |
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