Synonyms
Definition
Molecular Genetics is a field within biology that studies the molecular structures, sequences, and activity of genes in order to better understand their function.
Introduction
Historically, the field of molecular genetics was concerned with broad topics in basic biological processes, reproduction, physiological development, and cellular activity. With recent advances, most notably the human genome project (which completed the sequencing of all three billion human nucleotides and continues to identify human genes and their functions; Lander et al. 2001), molecular genetics has become a useful tool for describing higher-order human biological processes including disease, nutrition, behavior, and psychology. Personality and individual differences can now be linked with differences in heritable genetic factors, opening the door to new research avenues in developmental, clinical, and evolutionary psychology.
The Gene
Genes...
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Alanko, K., Santtila, P., Harlaar, N., Witting, K., Varjonen, M., Jern, P., … & Sandnabba, N. K. (2010). Common genetic effects of gender atypical behavior in childhood and sexual orientation in adulthood: A study of Finnish twins. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 81–92.
Buss, D. M. (2009). How can evolutionary psychology successfully explain personality and individual differences? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 359–366.
Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232.
Comings, D. E., Gade-Andavolu, R., Gonzalez, N., Wu, S., Muhleman, D., Blake, H., Dietz, G., … & MacMurray, J. P. (2001). Comparison of the role of dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline genes in ADHD, ODD and conduct disorder: Multivariate regression analysis of 20 genes. Clinical Genetics, 57, 178–196.
Crespi, B., Summers, K., & Dorus, S. (2007). Adaptive evolution of genes underlying schizophrenia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 274, 2801–2810.
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (2005). Carpe diem: Adaptation and devaluing the future. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 80, 55–60.
Ebstein, R. P., Novick, O., Umansky, R., Priel, B., Osher, Y., Blaine, D., … & Belmaker, R. H. (1996). Dopamine D4 receptor (D4DR) exon III polymorphism associated with the human personality trait of novelty seeking. Nature Genetics, 12, 78–80.
Gates, G. J. (2011). How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender? The Williams Institute, UCLA. Retrieved from: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/09h684x2.pdf
Gavrilets, S., & Rice, W. R. (2006). Genetic models of homosexuality: Generating testable predictions. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 273, 3031–3038.
Girard, S. L., Dion, P. A., & Rouleau, G. A. (2012). Schizophrenia genetics: Putting all the pieces together. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 12, 261–266.
Heck, A., Lieb, R., Ellgas, A., Pfister, H., Lucae, S., Roeske, D., … & Ising, M. (2009). Investigation of 17 candidate genes for personality traits confirms effects of the HTR2A gene on novelty seeking. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 8, 464–472.
Lander, E. S., Linton, L. M., Birren, B., Nusbaum, C., Zody, M. C., Baldwin, J., … & Szustakowki, J. (2001). Initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. Nature, 409, 860–921.
Neel, J. V. (1962). Diabetes mellitus: A “thrifty” genotype rendered detrimental by “progress”? American Journal of Human Genetics, 14, 353–362.
Sullivan, P. F., Kendler, K. S., & Neale, M. C. (2003). Schizophrenia as a complex trait: Evidence from a meta-analysis of twin studies. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 1187–1192.
Trivers, R. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.), Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871–1971 (pp. 136–179). Aldane-Atherton: Chicago.
Voight, B. F., Kudaravalli, S., Wen, X., & Pritchard, J. K. (2006). A map of recent positive selection in the human genome. PLoS Biology, 5, e147.
Zucker, K. J., Mitchell, J. N., Bradley, S. J., Tkachuk, J., Cantor, J. M., & Allin, S. M. (2006). The recalled childhood gender identity/gender role questionnaire: Psychometric properties. Sex Roles, 54, 469–483.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Jeffery, A. (2017). Molecular Genetics. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_777-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_777-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences