Transcript Genetics - Standish

Understanding children
All living things consist of cells.
 Chromosomes: structures within cells that carry genes
 Genes: a string of chemicals that provide the detailed
set of instructions for the biological makeup of life.
 25,000 genes go into the blueprint of life
 People across the world are more similar than
different, in that about 99.9 percent of the genetic
codes are identical.
How?
 Genotype: instructions to make a person
 23 chromosomes from the biological father and 23
chromosomes from the biological mother
 Unique for everyone, except for identical twins.
 Phenotype: way that genes are expressed in a person
Investigating the link between
genes and temperament…..
 Temperament: refers to the general patterns of
emotional and behavioural responses that can be
detected in infancy and sometimes continue into
adulthood.
 How do we know that genes influence temperment?
 Studies
 Twins raised apart, still have the same temperment
Researchers have identified three
temperaments in particular:
 Easy: Infants with this temperament style usually are
in good moods, sleep regularly, eat normally, and
adapt to new experiences readily. Parents find them
easy to take care of.
 Difficult: These babies cry and fuss a lot. They don’t
have regular, predictable sleep patterns; they awaken
more than other infants do, and they aren’t easy to
soothe when they’re upset. Parents know when they
have a baby with a difficult temperament, because the
infant is stressed and stressful to take care of.
 Slow to warm up: These babies are less active than easy
or difficult babies, shy, and withdrawn. They take a
while to adjust to changes but eventually adapt.
 *infants can be in multiple temperaments
Emphasizing Experience
 From the minute they are born, babies observe the
world.
 The developing brain is inherently designed to explore
and acquire information about the world.