Assignment: Novelty Gene Research

1. Do you behave like your parents? Is there a connection between genes and
behavior?
2. If you could test for the genes that influence personality traits such as sexual
preference, intelligence, aggression, extroversion, and novelty seeking, would
you?

Follow-Up Questions

 Is a test for a gene that only influences a person’s disposition accurate? How
important are environmental effects on the development of a personality?
 Insurance companies now use information about a person’s smoking habits to
set their rates. Should information about a person’s predisposition for behaviors
like smoking, drinking to excess, or driving too fast be evaluated in setting
insurance rates?

3. How often do you react impulsively? If genes do influence personality, does this
bias your free will?

Internet Research

Behavioral Genetics
(http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/behavior.shtml#4) This site
offers an overview of many of the social implications of behavioral genetics research. A
regularly updated summary article is provide on important topics as new information is
reported. Read the summary article (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi?
id=601696) on the novelty seeking personality trait. Are scientists confident that novelty-
seeking is determined by genetics?

Ethics and Behavioral Genetics

(http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/publications/geneticsandhb/rep0000001105.asp) This
site offers a report exploring ethical issues surrounding the growing science of
behavioral genetics. Read the “Summary and Recommendations”
(http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/publications/geneticsandhb/rep0000001105.asp)
portion of the recent report. What recommendations does the report make about legal
issues such as criminal responsibility?