This paper reviews literature on whether women choose partners based on genetic or environmental factors. The literature finds that both genetics and environment influence partner choice, though environmental factors usually have a stronger impact long-term. Genetics can impact behaviors and preferences, but the environment shapes how those genetic factors are expressed. While genetics influence initial attraction, long-term relationship quality depends more on non-shared environmental factors between partners that make them different. The paper examines different ways genetics and environment intersect to impact relationships.
Provide a brief overview of the family members in the chosen case study.
Complete a genogram and ecomap.
Explain the key points of therapeutic conversation.
Formulate key questions for additional information.
Ensure your assessment addresses:
Identifying data
Developmental stage and history of family
Environmental data
Family structure
Family functions
Family stress and coping
Family composition
AERA 2014 Motivation SIG Keynote
Keynote speaker: Professor Jacquelynne S. Eccles, University of California, Irvine
Session chair: Dr. Helen Watt, Monash University
Title: The role of parents in socialization expectancies and subjective task value
When: Scheduled for Friday April 4, 12:25-1:55
Where: Philadelphia, PA Convention Center, 100 Level, 114
General Family Systems Theory & Structural Family TherapyJane Gilgun
Ever wondered what general system theory has to do with circular causality and structural family therapy? These slides represent the most clarity I could come up with regarding these important ideas.
Vix Swimwear sexy collection features some of the most forward-thinking spins on beachwear in fashion today. The bathing suit line shines, incorporating super-hot tortoiseshell details and cutting-edge materials like resin to accentuate VIXs classic bikinis and one pieces. Jade stone details combine with VIXs trademark leather and gold accessories. And this year VIX adds a number of light, airy beach dresses and throws, perfect for the pool and beach alike. This is the most exciting collection yet from one of the worlds leaders in beach and resort fashion.
A minimum of 100 words each and References Response (#1 – 6) KEEP .docxfredharris32
A minimum of 100 words each and References Response (#1 – 6) KEEP RESPONSE WITH ANSWER EACH ANSWER NEED TO HAVE A SCHOLARY SOURCE with a Hyperlink
Make sure the Responses includes the Following: (a) an understanding of the weekly content as supported by a scholarly resource, (b) the provision of a probing question. (c) stay on topic
1. In short, abnormal behavior, thoughts and emotions, are those that differ from society's definition of properly functioning, or the norm (Comer, 2018). These norms tend to differ between cultures which help to establish rules for proper conduct. What constitutes as abnormal behavior depends on specific circumstances and cultural norms (Comer, 2018). An example of abnormal behavior could be unusualness like a person who lives with many animals and isolates themselves from society. The behavior of this person is deviant and may be dysfunctional, but could be seen as eccentric rather than abnormal to a professional.
2. Abnormal behavior, in simple terms, is behavior outside of societal norms (Comer, 2018). Abnormalities differ based on what society you come from. Generally speaking, being considered normal means that you are complying by your society’s standards. Abnormalities arise when behavior is deviant, distressing, dysfunctional, or dangerous. An example of abnormal behavior would be manic behavior. A manic episode typically involves less sleep, risky behavior, irritability, increased talking, and even hypersexuality (Purse, 2019). This is typically deviant from the person’s normal behavior by definition. The manic behavior can be distressing for both the affected and their family or other loved ones. Risky behavior causes worry and distress. Irritability can create all sorts of distressing situations. When a person is manic, they are in a state of dysfunction. Memory and responsibilities often fall to the backburner while the manic episode rides its course. Of all the things that define abnormal behavior, a manic episode can be especially dangerous to both the person experiencing it as well as the others around them because it involves risky behavior—which implies many things from gambling to drugs. It often results in the person experiencing the episode being hospitalized.
3. “One common conceptualization of abnormality focuses on what is often called the Four Ds: deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger (Topic 1 Resource, 2018).” An example of abnormal behavior is someone who hears voices telling them to do certain things. Some people may show this kind of abnormal behavior out of nowhere, or they have always heard these voices. This person can be deviant to their old life once they start hearing these voices and if they listen to them or not. These voices can cause distress to the person as well because if they listen to the voices, then they might start doing bad things. These voices can also cause dysfunction in this person life and how they act around others. Having this abnormal behavior can .
Provide a brief overview of the family members in the chosen case study.
Complete a genogram and ecomap.
Explain the key points of therapeutic conversation.
Formulate key questions for additional information.
Ensure your assessment addresses:
Identifying data
Developmental stage and history of family
Environmental data
Family structure
Family functions
Family stress and coping
Family composition
AERA 2014 Motivation SIG Keynote
Keynote speaker: Professor Jacquelynne S. Eccles, University of California, Irvine
Session chair: Dr. Helen Watt, Monash University
Title: The role of parents in socialization expectancies and subjective task value
When: Scheduled for Friday April 4, 12:25-1:55
Where: Philadelphia, PA Convention Center, 100 Level, 114
General Family Systems Theory & Structural Family TherapyJane Gilgun
Ever wondered what general system theory has to do with circular causality and structural family therapy? These slides represent the most clarity I could come up with regarding these important ideas.
Vix Swimwear sexy collection features some of the most forward-thinking spins on beachwear in fashion today. The bathing suit line shines, incorporating super-hot tortoiseshell details and cutting-edge materials like resin to accentuate VIXs classic bikinis and one pieces. Jade stone details combine with VIXs trademark leather and gold accessories. And this year VIX adds a number of light, airy beach dresses and throws, perfect for the pool and beach alike. This is the most exciting collection yet from one of the worlds leaders in beach and resort fashion.
A minimum of 100 words each and References Response (#1 – 6) KEEP .docxfredharris32
A minimum of 100 words each and References Response (#1 – 6) KEEP RESPONSE WITH ANSWER EACH ANSWER NEED TO HAVE A SCHOLARY SOURCE with a Hyperlink
Make sure the Responses includes the Following: (a) an understanding of the weekly content as supported by a scholarly resource, (b) the provision of a probing question. (c) stay on topic
1. In short, abnormal behavior, thoughts and emotions, are those that differ from society's definition of properly functioning, or the norm (Comer, 2018). These norms tend to differ between cultures which help to establish rules for proper conduct. What constitutes as abnormal behavior depends on specific circumstances and cultural norms (Comer, 2018). An example of abnormal behavior could be unusualness like a person who lives with many animals and isolates themselves from society. The behavior of this person is deviant and may be dysfunctional, but could be seen as eccentric rather than abnormal to a professional.
2. Abnormal behavior, in simple terms, is behavior outside of societal norms (Comer, 2018). Abnormalities differ based on what society you come from. Generally speaking, being considered normal means that you are complying by your society’s standards. Abnormalities arise when behavior is deviant, distressing, dysfunctional, or dangerous. An example of abnormal behavior would be manic behavior. A manic episode typically involves less sleep, risky behavior, irritability, increased talking, and even hypersexuality (Purse, 2019). This is typically deviant from the person’s normal behavior by definition. The manic behavior can be distressing for both the affected and their family or other loved ones. Risky behavior causes worry and distress. Irritability can create all sorts of distressing situations. When a person is manic, they are in a state of dysfunction. Memory and responsibilities often fall to the backburner while the manic episode rides its course. Of all the things that define abnormal behavior, a manic episode can be especially dangerous to both the person experiencing it as well as the others around them because it involves risky behavior—which implies many things from gambling to drugs. It often results in the person experiencing the episode being hospitalized.
3. “One common conceptualization of abnormality focuses on what is often called the Four Ds: deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger (Topic 1 Resource, 2018).” An example of abnormal behavior is someone who hears voices telling them to do certain things. Some people may show this kind of abnormal behavior out of nowhere, or they have always heard these voices. This person can be deviant to their old life once they start hearing these voices and if they listen to them or not. These voices can cause distress to the person as well because if they listen to the voices, then they might start doing bad things. These voices can also cause dysfunction in this person life and how they act around others. Having this abnormal behavior can .
Capstone ProjectPSYC 6393Components of CapstoneI.docxjasoninnes20
Capstone Project
PSYC 6393
Components of CapstoneIntroduction Problem StatementIntegrated Literature ReviewCritical AnalysisProblem ResolutionConclusionReferences
IntroductionThe purpose of the introduction is the introduce the identified problem/issue and why you chose this specific topic. In 1-2 paragraph provide specific details about the nature of the problem and your rationale (why this problem is important to you).
Problem Statement
The problem statement describes the identified problem/issue in more detail. Please see the Problem Statement Template for more discussion and examples of a problem statement. The problem statement should be 1-2 pages in length.
Integrated LiteratureThe literature will involve a detailed summary and critique of at least 4 relevant sources related to the problem/issue. The literature review should be between 3-5 pages. Please review the readings for guidance on completing an integrated literature review.
Critical Analysis NarrativeIn this section you will critically analyze the problem/issue using the sources collected in week 4. Please review the Critical Analysis Template for step-by-step instructions on completing this section. The critical analysis narrative should be 3-5 pages in length.
Problem ResolutionUsing the steps outlined in the Problem Solving Template, develop one solution to the problem/issue. Describe the solution in detail including the costs and benefits, and the challenges and barriers to implementing this solution. The problem resolution should be 2-3 pages in length.
ConclusionsEnd the Capstone with a 1 page narrative of your final thoughts about the problem and generated solution. Also include your reaction to the project and what you have learned about yourself in completing the project.
References and Form and StyleBe sure that your references are in APA format.Make sure that your capstone is double spaced in 12 pt font.Be sure the do spell check and grammar check.
Running head: Critical Analysis II 1
Critical Analysis II 8Critical Analysis II: Comorbidity an Its Connection to Substance Abuse, Treatment, and Relapse
Paula King
Walden University
Capstone
Dr. Jane Lyons
July 14, 2019
Critical Analysis II:
Environmental influences are among the causes of drug abuse and mental illnesses identified in my week six assignment. The external environment surrounding a person plays a critical role in shaping a person's behavior. Also, the impact of the environmental influences is far reaching as it may also dictate the mental health of a person. Early childhood exposure to stress and trauma may lead the child to experience mental illnesses in the future. According to the social learning theory which suggests that people learn from each other, a person adopts behaviors from the people around him or her through imitation, observation, and modeling (Rotter, Chance & Phares, 2012). With most of the human behavior being learned from observing others, an ide ...
Integrative Personality Theory 1
Integrative Personality Theory 6
Integrative Personality Theory
Tameka Bowen
Tolanda Martin
PSY 330-Theories of Personality
September 18, 2016
Major Concepts
The psychodynamic model
The psychodynamic model consists of concepts by Sigmund Freud that explains most aspects of personality. These theories were based on Sigmund’s the patients’ therapy whereby he was able to collect many theories and later became the psychodynamic approach to personality.
Throughout the years, these theories have become of much importance in the field of psychology. They have been widely used by therapists to treat patients suffering from depression and anxiety disorders.
The psychodynamic approach assumes that the behavior and feelings of a person are highly affected by their unconscious motives (Henning, Cilliers, 2012). For adults, their behavior and feelings are developed from their childhood experience. According to Freud, personality consists of three parts namely; the id, super-ego, and super-id. These three sections are shaped differently based on one’s childhood experiences during the psychosexual development stage. The unconscious mind consists of the super-ego and the id while as the conscious mind is the ego. These three parts are in constant conflicts that result to anxiety. This anxiety can be dealt with by the ego using defense mechanisms.
The neurobiological model
The neurobiological approach deals with the functioning of the neurons. In psychology, this approach is more concerned with how the neurotransmitters affect the behavior of a person. For instance, when trying to understand mental illness, an analysis on how biological aspects influence the human behavior is necessary. This will focus much on how learning and information processing occur in people.
Since this approach deals with how individual think, relates to others and perceive external events, it is very much related the antisocial personality. People suffering from neuron related disorders do not consider what is right or wrong when making decisions. According to neurobiological approach, the functioning of the effect neural functioning of the morally emotionally (Dodman et al., 2016).
According to this model, components that affect the way people behave are; the level of knowledge and skills, environmental constraints such as attitude, habits, and norms. This theory tries to explain how the mind affects the body and how the body affect the mind resulting in certain behaviors from a person.
Excluded Concepts
While discussing the psychodynamic model, there were some assumptions made. One of the assumptions made is that every behavior has a cause. By making this assumption, aspects such as feelings, thoughts and behavior are taken to be as a result of a certain cause either genetically or environmental. Other assumptions made are t.
1Running head INTROVERSION-EXTRAVERSION AND MARRIAGE BLISS.docxeugeniadean34240
1
Running head: INTROVERSION-EXTRAVERSION AND MARRIAGE BLISS
Add page number.
Use header. Note the phrase “Running head” is uppercase-lowercase, but the short title is all capital letters. Short title should be different from the main title, no more than 50 letters including spaces. Make sure the font type and size through out the document is the same, this includes headers.
Include an APA-style title page with your submission. This is one example of a title page.
Introversion and Extraversion Personality Traits and Marital Bliss
Jason King
Argosy University
Add the main title in the middle of the page; your name in the second line and the university’s name in the third line.
Add “Author Note”. Observe the word “Note” is singular. Use your name and email address in the note.
Author Note
This research was carried out as partial fulfillment towards the Research Methods course at Argosy University by Jason King.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jason King, Department of Psychology, Argosy University, Phoenix 2233 West Dunlap Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85021 Email: [email protected]
Introversion and Extraversion Personality Traits and Marital Bliss
This is the first summary of your study. Please note that the study reference is now different form M1A3 assignment.
Put main title of the study here.
Emotional responses tell us how an individual is processing her environment, and if it contains negative stimuli, emotions reflect such negativity in behavior. Tamir, Robinson, and Clore (2002) carried out four experiments in this study and investigated reaction time (RT), to positive and negative adjectives. In the first study, 102 participants responded to a RT task and then completed Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) developed by Watson, Clark, and Tellegen, (1988) to determine their moods, followed by International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) scales (short form) by Goldberg (1997) to assess their extraversion. The RT task required each participant to respond to a block of words, the participants wanted (e.g., love, happiness etc), or not wanted (failure, pain, etc.,) or neutral (afternoon, definition, etc.,). Extraverts were faster than introverts on positive mood task, and introverts were faster with negative mood tasks. For both type of individuals, RT slowed down if they performed the opposite mood tasks. After the first experiment Tamir et al., (2002) carried out three other experiments manipulating mood conditions and found essentially the same results. This study proposes that traits of introversion and extraversion regulate mood and behavior to pleasant and non-pleasant stimulus material, and would be useful for my proposal, because it suggests that extraverted and introverted individuals may process pleasant and unpleasant affective stimulation from the spouse differently leading to marital bliss or nightmare.
Why is it that extraverts associate with positive moods and introverts w.
Psychological Review
1995, Vol. 102, No. 3,458-489
Copyright 1995 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.
0033-295X/95/S3.00
Where Is the Child's Environment? A Group Socialization
Theory of Development
Judith Rich Harris
Middletown, New Jersey
Do parents have any important long-term effects on the development of their child's personality?
This article examines the evidence and concludes that the answer is no. A new theory of development
is proposed: that socialization is context-specific and that outside-the-home socialization takes place
in the peer groups of childhood and adolescence. Intra- and intergroup processes, not dyadic rela-
tionships, are responsible for the transmission of culture and for environmental modification of
children's personality characteristics. The universality of children's groups explains why develop-
ment is not derailed by the wide variations in parental behavior found within and between societies.
In 1983, after many dozens of pages spent reviewing the liter-
ature on the effects parents have on children, Eleanor Maccoby
and John Martin paused for a critical overview of the field of
socialization research. They questioned the size and robustness
of the effects they had just summarized; they wondered whether
the number of significant correlations was greater than that ex-
pected by chance. They cited other research indicating that bi-
ological or adoptive siblings do not develop similar personalities
as a result of being reared in the same household. This was their
conclusion:
These findings imply strongly that there is very little impact of the
physical environment that parents provide for children and very
little impact of parental characteristics that must be essentially the
same for all children in a family . . . Indeed, the implications are
either that parental behaviors have no effect, or that the only
effective aspects of parenting must vary greatly from one child to
another within the same family. (Maccoby & Martin, 1983, p. 82)
Since 1983, many developmental psychologists have focused
on the second of Maccoby and Martin's two possible implica-
tions, "that the only effective aspects of parenting must vary
greatly from one child to another." The other possibility, "that
parental behaviors have no effect," has never been considered as
a serious alternative.
This article examines both alternatives. I begin by showing
why "must vary greatly from one child to another" cannot ex-
plain the results that puzzled Maccoby and Martin. Then I con-
sider the possibility "that parental behaviors have no effect."
The conclusion reached is that, within the range of families that
have been studied, parental behaviors have no effect on the psy-
chological characteristics their children will have as adults. To
I thank the following people, who do not necessarily agree with the
views presented here, for their helpful comments on earlier versions of
this work: William A. Corsaro, Judith L. Gibbons, Charles ...
Phil DB4
Name
Class
Date
Professor
Human Behavior
Part One
Human behavior and personality are most shaped by a person environment. Human growth and development is influenced by a several factors, many of which are beyond our control (Franco, 2011). While most theories agree it is both genetics and a persons environment that shape personality if one was more influential it would be the environment. While a person may have a genetic tendency to develop a particular behavior or trait, the environment of the person is needed to shape this behavior or trait. This leads to the age old question of nature versus nurture. The environment plays a stronger role because children learn from their environment and are shaped by what they learn.
Genes may predispose people to a behavior but it is unlikely this behavior would appear without the influence of the environment (Saab 2013). A person environment can be loving and nurturing resulting a happy and well rounded adult or their environment could have consisted of neglect and abuse resulting in the adult growing up with certain dysfunctions or abnormalities. Even though the person with the loving and nurturing environment was adopted and genetically was passed a criminal gene does not necessarily mean they will end up being criminals. On the other hand if the person learned they come from a family of criminals this could impact their development.
Part Two
If scientists manipulate genes it could change who people are and what their culture represents. Genetics lay an important part in defining different groups in society. If scientists started manipulating genes these groups may not be as distinctive. Manipulating genes is considered playing God by some because these manipulations result in the development of abnormalities or create damage to the original culture.
If environments were manipulated it would have an impact on social, work, and cultural environments because every aspect of an environment can impact human development. For example if someone manipulates a person social environment by suddenly removing a teenager from all of their friends and family and placing them in an environment where there is not contact with anyone but their parents, the teen would adapt to the environment but it would cause major changes to their personality development and the behavior they display. The same would occur in a work environment or to a greater culture.
References
Franco, V. (2011).Environmental Influences on Human Growth & Development. Retrieved
March 3, 2014 from
http://www.livestrong.com/article/89055-environmental-influences-human-growth-/
Saab, B. (2013). Genetics Shaped by the Environment and Linked to Mental Illness: Heritable
and Reversible? Retrieved March 3, 2014 from
http://bbrfoundation.org/brain-matters-discoveries/genetics-shaped-by-the-environment
.
This research study intends to explore the educational and social considerations of spouse selection preferences of people with and without special needs. This study was quantitative in its nature and survey research design was used. The population of the study was the students from four universities in Lahore city. Sample of the study delimited to four Universities, University of the Sargodha Lahore Campus University of the Punjab, University of Lahore & University of the Gujarat Lahore campus Total 98 students were selected through convenient sampling. Researchers have used self-developed questionnaire for data collection. Researchers have personally collected the data. Descriptive and inferential statistical procedures were used to analyze the data. Findings of this study reveals that youngsters prefer to marry in the age of 21-25 years with the age difference of 4-6 years of their spouses. Educational considerations, personality traits and same religious background were the top preferred features of the spouse selection criteria. People with special needs prefer the spouse selection considering the above characteristics plus of disability of the same nature. People without special needs not prefer the spouse with disability. There is significant difference in the spouse selection preferences between the gender and disability status of the respondents. In Pakistan, there is no comprehensive study about the preferences in spouse selection of males and females so there is need to more work on broad level in terms of spouse selection preferences.
Educational & Social Considerations in Spouse Selection: Preferences of Peopl...
Au Psy492 M6 A2 Mc Graw C
1. Review Paper 1
Running Head: REVIEW PAPER
Cynthia McGraw
Psy 492 Advanced General Psychology
Dr. Rawley
Argosy University
Spring II 2010
Abstract
This paper questions if women pick their partners based on genetic or environmental traits. Overall the
results find that both genetic and environmental influence help women choose their partners. Both of
them impact one another, but environmental influences usually over come the genetic influences. This
2. Review Paper 2
paper also discusses various things that impact the relationship of married couples and their downfalls. It
concludes with the justification of why this topic is important to our society.
Review Paper
The topic of interest asked, do women pick their partners based on observation, or is it
inevitable they pick them because of their inherited genes? It is said that the mate a woman
chooses has the same characteristics as her father because of their observation of them when
growing up. Their father is a part of their environment that they learned from and they mentally
imprint on their father’s characteristics; they end up thinking that is how their partner is supposed
to be like and it becomes the norm for them.
3. Review Paper 3
This topic is important because if we figure out why and how we pick our partners, we can do so
successfully. The divorce rate would more than likely decrease dramatically. As of 2001, “fifty percent of
first marriages end in separation and divorce within the first twenty years” (Ortega & Cordova, 2001).
Therefore, when we figure out what affects us to choose the partners we do, we can control them through
therapy that is based on that and our families won’t have to be affected by it: especially our children.
Children get hit the worst by divorce. It can lead to social problems that will follow them for the rest of
their lives.
When I thought about that study, I thought that maybe genetics could play a significant role in it
as well as environmental observation. For example, a mother has the genes of an extraverted personality
and she was attracted to the father, who was an introvert, because he brought out her personality more
than an extraverted person would. Their daughter would more than likely inherit the mother’s extravert
personality genes; therefore, she would find a spouse like her father who is an introvert. Environmental
factors could influence the behaviors of the daughter; the behaviors could increase due to the observation
of the mother’s behaviors. There are different types of environmental influences that affect behaviors.
First, of all our environment is our physical and psychological surroundings. It is what we do,
what we interact with, and the social and emotional climate of it. One of the types of environmental
influences is shared environmental influences. These are “nongenetic influences that make family
members similar…” (Spotts et al., 2005). An example of this would be the origination of a family, culture,
and the relationship of the family members. The other type of environmental influence is nonshared
environmental influences, which are influences that “make family members different from each other…”
(Spotts et al., 2005). According to Johnson, “any given environment may have different effects on
individuals who differ genetically, and genetic differences among individuals may create differences in
the environment to which individuals are exposed” (Johnson, 2007). That is, since everyone is
4. Review Paper 4
genetically different, everyone is going to interpret their environment differently. This could be why
women choose different spouses than one another. Also, since everyone is different they also have
different nonshared environmental influences. Everyone has different types of friends, jobs, and
experiences; this is another reason why every woman’s spouse differs from one another.
Jacobson and Rowe (1999) found that “genetic influences were stronger for female adolescents
than for male adolescents”. They may be stronger for females because of biological differences such as
hormones. All of the research found that the genetic factors were the factors that could “be altered by
environmental interventions” (Anastasi, 1973), such as therapy, counseling, medical treatment, and so on.
Environment formed characteristics are the ones that are harder to change. A good example of this is the
saying, “you can take a country girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl”. It is
hard to change the environment from which you cam from. It can change little by little, but it is still hard
to change, even with therapy. This is why research finds that environmental factors influence how a
woman chooses her spouse; a woman chooses her spouse based on the norm of her environment.
Research also tells us that genes initially influence a woman’s decision on choosing a spouse, and
then their environmental influences enhance the decision making by bringing out the genetic
characteristics. According to Spotts et al. (2005) “genetically influenced characteristics
influence…“children “to seek out a compatible environment, perhaps by seeking out the parent who is
more compatible with his or her positive behavior”. Therefore, women look for characteristics in their
spouses that bring out their desired behaviors such as in the example given; the daughter will more than
likely chose an introvert just like her mother did not only because of the genetic characteristics her
mothers passed to her, but because introvert personalities are more compatible with her behavior.
Women‘s behaviors provoke a certain reaction from her partner: if the reaction is a desired
reaction the woman will be more satisfied. According to Spotts et al. (2004) “either the wife sought out a
5. Review Paper 5
husband with particular characteristics based on her genetically influenced characteristics, or her
genetically influenced characteristics influence the tone of the marriage in such a way to color the
husband‘s perceptions“. Therefore, the woman may seek out a spouse that shares “similar views, or she
could also be evoking responses in her husband that are similar to her own” (Spotts et al., 2004). So, the
woman’s perception of their marriage is influenced by genetic factors and she finds the spouse based on if
they relate with her genetically influenced characteristics; the woman’s genes are trying to bring out a
certain response from her partner.
“Marital quality has been shown to be modestly heritable” (Spotts et al., 2005). The woman’s
genetic influences are known to influence the husband’s marital quality. They are “an important source of
nonshared environmental influences” (Spotts et al., 2005) because they are usually the main source of the
wife’s social support. The wife’s tend of social support is more than likely to be inherited rather than
learned through her environment. On the other hand, her marital quality is likely to be learned through her
environment. It is known that genes contribute to mental illnesses, which can affect the quality of
relationships. Genetic influences affect behavioral problems and temperament more than environmental
influences do. Since we have learned that we can control our genetic influences by various types of
therapy, we can change our relationships to more positive ones.
The prevailing arguments in each of the literatures are that both environmental and genetic factors
influence how women choose their spouses. According to Spotts et al. (2006) “genetic factors influence
the choice of a mate, but in the long term, nonshared environmental factors may play a larger role in
overall marital quality”. Different environmental influences make the genetic behaviors, such as inherited
behaviors, come out either more or less. The influence of both depends upon the ration of the two. For
instance, if there is a steady level of environmental influences, then the genetic influences will be greater.
Most of the time, environmental influences contribute to decision making more than genetic factors.
6. Review Paper 6
Divorce is influenced by genetic as well as nonshared environmental factors. Genetic
factors are more likely to increase the risk of divorce. Personality genetic traits are included in
this: the characteristics of these can be “criticism, contempt, and defensiveness” (South &
Krueger, 2008) nonconformity, high positive emotionality, low impulse control and endorsement
of traditional values, and extraversion; these characteristics increase the risk of divorce.
“Personality characteristics measured at the beginning of a marriage have been found to be
predictive of later marital satisfaction and divorce” (Spotts et al., 2004). This means that our
individual characteristics stay the same throughout our life span. Those whose characteristics are
persistent of this are the ones who are at risk for divorce because of the unwillingness to change
those characteristics.
It is also revealed that, in women, environmental factors influence their decisions in
choosing their partners. When they do have a husband they are less likely to be satisfied with the
quality of their relationship with their spouse than men are. This is mainly because their genetic
characteristics influence their perception of the marriage. Women’s genotypic-environments
make them find a spouse who has about the same genetic influences as she does; this makes a
particular response come of the spouse that is wanted from the woman. Therefore, genetic factors
is what makes the couples agree more on things and the environmental influences is what makes
them see things differently from one another.
Genetic influences are more likely to be stronger in females than in males, this could be
because of hormonal and endocrine differences. For males, their influences are mainly through
their environment. Although environmental influences influence men the most, they can
7. Review Paper 7
influence women by their environment perceiving them to be something, so they are more than
likely to be what their environment sees them to be as. Women are perceived to be warm and
relationship-oriented so they are. Men are perceived to be more prone to conflict and studies
show that they are.
It was found that both men and women both had genetic influences when it came to
warmth and conflict in their relationships. All research believes that it is possible to adjust
genetic traits to reach better outcomes. Overall, all the literatures found that “genetic factors
influence the choice of a mate, but in the long term, nonshared environmental factors may play a
larger role in over marital quality” (Spotts et al., 2006). They are what cause the major difference
between couples because they are harder to control. Couples who stay together do not have
characteristics that are persistent, and “are more flexible and able to go with the environmental
flow” (Spotts et al., 2004).
One question that was developed was, are we able to control our thoughts, feelings, and
emotions? And if so, to what extent? What are ways we can manipulate our environment so that
we can have the behaviors we want and become the person each of us wants to be? What kinds
of behaviors are more likely to be genetically inherited? I believe that this topic of interest is
important because it can “improve treatments of distressed marriages” (Spotts et al., 2006). This
can go deeper in making marriages better by identifying the genes that interact with specific
environmental situations. When this is identified we can know what genes we can change to get
into the kinds of relationships we desire, or if a person is already in a relationship they will know
how to change their environment of their genetically inherited behaviors to make their
8. Review Paper 8
relationship the best it can be. We will also know how to refine treatments and interventions so
that we can better help troubled couples.
When the research is successful couples will be able to have marriages that will not end
up in divorce, which in the end will affect their whole family. Jockin (1996) stated that “children
in divorce, particularly boys, are at risk of undercontrolled behavior, a relationship that appears
to be mediated by marital conflict”. In the end these children will grow up to have significant
problems of their own. Their social lives could end up being disastrous, and they may even end
up being divorced themselves. If we find the answers we need, we will be able to change the
genetic and/or environmental factors to prevent unsatisfactory relationships and have satisfactory
relationships with our spouses for the sake of us and our family’s well being.
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