Summary Sigelman's "Life-Span Human Development": chapter 2, "Genetic Environment and Development"

PASSIVE GENE-ENVIRONMENT CORRELATIONS
➔ the kind of home environment that parents provide for their children is influenced
partly by the parents’ genotypes
➔ parents provide children with both their genes and a home environment compatible
with those genes => the home environment to which children are exposed are
correlated to their genotypes
EVOCATIVE GENE-ENVIRONMENT CORRELATIONS
➔ a child’s genotype also evokes certain kinds of reactions from other people
➔ genetically based tendencies may affect the reactions of other people to an individual
and, hence, the kind of environment the individual will experience through life
ACTIVE GENE-ENVIRONMENT CORRELATIONS
➔ children’s genotypes influence the kinds of environments they seek
Genetically informed studies = try to determine whether there are genetic
explanations for apparent environmental effects and establish more firmly whether
environment matters.
Epigenetic effects = ways in which environmental factors influence the expression of
particular genes in particular cells.
➔ especially important during prenatal development
Gene therapy = techniques for altering an individual’s genetic makeup.