1.

1 Does the Cultural Environment Influence Lifespan

Development More Than Our Genes?
Wednesday, September 2, 2 015

Issue Summary
Yes:

Many believe that emotions are biologically hardwired; however, researchers compared
facial expressions of emotions of individuals from Western and Eastern cultures, finding
differences that highlight the influence of culture on how we represent emotions.

No:

Research clearly demonstrates how a relatively small number of genes influence our
environmental learning by "cascading" ( genes interact in various patterns that account for
massive number of developmental outcomes) to determine the paths of our behavioural
development.

Introduction

Mendel's theory of dominant and recessive genes determines physical

characteristics such as eye colour, dimples, and tongue-curling ability, but does not
account for personality traits such as shyness or aggression
Epigenetics:
Examines how gene expression is varied by other DNA activities
Looks at traits not caused by changes in DNA sequence
Study of stable, long-term alterations which may or may not be heritable
Used to describe development as result of ongoing interaction between genes
and environment
Definition of "nurture" is unclear
Role of parents, peers, teachers, and coaches
Individual's nationality, race, social economic status, family, college or
university, or religious affiliation
Six basic emotions are expressed using same facial expression across all cultures
Happiness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, sadness

Yes: Facial Expressions of Emotion Are Not Culturally Universal

East Asians represent emotion intensity with movements of eyes, whereas Western
Caucasians represent emotional intensity with other parts of face
Western Caucasians show emotions with distinct set of facial muscles, whereas East
Asians do not
East Asians show early signs of emotional intensity with eyes ( under less voluntary
control than mouth) for fear, disgust, and anger

 East Asians represent emotion intensity with movements of eyes, whereas Western
Caucasians represent emotional intensity with other parts of face
Western Caucasians show emotions with distinct set of facial muscles, whereas East
Asians do not
East Asians show early signs of emotional intensity with eyes ( under less voluntary
control than mouth) for fear, disgust, and anger
Six basic categories inadequate to represent conceptual space of emotions for East
Asians
Neglect shame, pride, guilt

No: Making the Mind: Why We've Misunderstood the Nature-

Nurture Debate
Developing brain is highly plastic

How to Build a Brain

Fertilized egg contains information that copies into nucleus of every newly formed
cell to guide gradual but powerful process of shaping each organ
Previous notion of mind and body as separate is wrong
Brain's capabilities emerge from its physical properties
Identical twins resemble each other more than non-identical twins in
personality and physique
Mental disorders are shared even by twins reared apart
Shaping bodies of animals often leads to correlated changes in behaviour
Proper neural wiring depends on behaviour of individual axons and dendrites
Axon activity governed by hand-like protuberances at end of each axon called
growth cones
Growth cones swerve, maneuver, and extend and retract feelers called
filopodia to search for destination
Growth cones broadcast signals to find destinations
Some proteins serve as radio beacons to guide distant growth cones ( provided
they are tuned to right station)
Researchers can now begin to understand how to manipulate those genes
Rather than waiting for experience, brains use complex combination of genes and
proteins to create starting point for brain

Nature and Nurture Redux

Beyond the Blueprint

Genes seen as providers of opportunity

All genes have 2 functions
Serve as templates for building particular proteins
Each has regulatory sequence ( set of conditions that guide whether or not
that gene's template gets converted into protein)
Each gene has IF and THEN ( precondition = IF, action = THEN)
IFs responsive to environment of cells
Genes are dynamic and can guide cell in different ways at different times based on

Serve as templates for building particular proteins

Each has regulatory sequence ( set of conditions that guide whether or not
that gene's template gets converted into protein)
Each gene has IF and THEN ( precondition = IF, action = THEN)
IFs responsive to environment of cells
Genes are dynamic and can guide cell in different ways at different times based on
balance of molecules in their environment
Single environmental cue can radically reshape course of development
High temperature during development can lead African butterfly to become
brightly coloured
Low temperature leads to brown colour
Growing butterfly doesn't learn how to blend in better
Genetically programmed to develop in two different ways in two different
environments
Many genes have multiple Ifs

From Genes to Behaviour

Changing regulatory IF region of single gene can have significant effect on social
behaviour
Could change one gene to create mice that:
Are anxious and fearful
Increase alcohol consumption under stress
Lack nurturing instinct
Groom constantly to point of baldness
Although individual genes can have powerful effects, no trait is consequence of any
single gene
Most behaviours are product of multiple interacting system ( except perhaps in
reflexes)
Genes build neural structures, not behaviour
"Cascading"
One gene influences another, which influences another, which influences
another
One gene is precondition for expression of next

From a Tiny Number of Genes to a Complex Brain

30,000 gene shortage argument for influencing 20 billion cells in brain

Better to think of genome as compression scheme rather than blueprint
Trillions of cells in the body supervised by same 30,000-gene genome

From Prewiring to Rewiring

Instead of asking to which extent genes prewire brain, now asking to which extent
and how genes can rewire brain
Innateness is extent to which brain is prewired
Plasticity is extent to which brain can be rewired
Some organisms may be good at one but not the other
Humans well-endowed in both respects

Is There Common Ground?

and how genes can rewire brain

Innateness is extent to which brain is prewired
Plasticity is extent to which brain can be rewired
Some organisms may be good at one but not the other
Humans well-endowed in both respects

Is There Common Ground?

Most traits reflect both genetic and environmental differences

Gene-environment correlations explain how nature and nurture may interact
Too much emphasis in genes and evolutionary psychology = implying social roles are
fixed by nature
Too much emphasis in culture and socialization = ignoring natural constraints on
behaviour and assuming attitude is all that matters
Must find right balance