Behavioral Genetics, 7th Edition by Valerie Knopik, Jenae Neiderhiser, John DeFries, Robert Plomin

Exam Compilation for Genetic Behavior, 7e by Valerie Knopik, Jenae Neiderhiser, John DeFries, Robert Plomin

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1464176051
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1464176050

Introducing students to the fundamental principles, significant experiments, ongoing debates, and latest discoveries in the field, the 7th edition of Genetic Behavior presents a clear and succinct overview. The material helps students grasp the concepts of inheritance, its genetic foundation, the techniques for uncovering genetic impact on behavior, and pinpointing specific genes. It further explores the current knowledge of genetic influence on cognitive capabilities, mental health disorders, substance dependency, character traits, health psychology, and the aging process. Lastly, the book delves into the future prospects of Genetic Behavior, an area witnessing exciting advancements in the Behavioral sciences.

Author Bio
Valerie S. Knopik directs the Division of Behavioral Genetics at Rhode Island Hospital and serves as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry & Human Behavior and Behavioral & Social Sciences at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University. Obtaining her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2000, she collaborated with John DeFries and conducted research at the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center. Following this, she pursued a fellowship in psychiatric genetics and genetic epidemiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 2000-2002, continuing as junior faculty for two years. She joined the faculty at Brown University in 2004 and holds an Adjunct Associate Professor position at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Knopik’s primary focus lies in studying the combined impact of genetic and environmental (specifically prenatal and early postnatal) risk factors on externalizing behavior in children and adolescents, linked learning and cognitive deficiencies, and later substance abuse. She is the Associate Editor of Behavior Genetics and Field Chief Editor of Frontiers in Behavioral and Psychiatric Genetics. Her research received acknowledgment from the Research Society for Alcoholism as a finalist for the Enoch Gordis Research Recognition Award, the NIDA Genetics Workgroup, and she was the recipient of the Fuller and Scott Early Career Award from the Behavior Genetics Association in 2007.

Jenae M. Neiderhiser is the Liberal Arts Research Professor of Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University. After completing her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University in 1994, she began her career at the Center for Family Research, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., advancing from an Assistant Research Professor to Professor between 1994 and 2007. In 2007, she transitioned to the Department of Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University and also holds the title of Professor of Human Development and affiliate scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center. Neiderhiser’s research concentrates on the interplay between genetics and environments across the lifespan. She has a specific interest in genotype-environment correlation and how individuals shape their environments, particularly within the family context. In her pursuit of this inquiry, she has collaborated on developing novel or underutilized research designs such as the Extended Children of Twins and an ongoing prospective adoption study, the Early Growth and Development Study. Neiderhiser serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence and Frontiers in Behavioral and Psychiatric Genetics and is on the editorial board of several developmental psychology journals.

John C. DeFries holds the position of professor of psychology and is a faculty fellow at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder. Upon earning his doctorate in agriculture (with specialized training in quantitative genetics) from the University of Illinois in 1961, he spent six years as a faculty member at the University of Illinois. In 1962, he ventured into research on mouse genetic behavior, following which he became a research fellow in genetics at the University of California, Berkeley the subsequent year. Upon returning to Illinois in 1964, DeFries launched an extensive genetic analysis of open-field behavior in lab mice. Three years later, he joined the Institute for Behavioral Genetics and subsequently served as its director from 1981 to 2001. DeFries, along with Steve G. Vandenberg, founded the journal Behavior Genetics in 1970 and initiated the Colorado Adoption Project with Robert Plomin in 1975. For over thirty years, DeFries’s principal research focus has centered around the genetics of reading disabilities, founding the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center alongside Richard K. Olson in 1990. He assumed the presidency of the Behavior Genetics Association in 1982 and 1983, receiving the association’s Th. Dobzhansky Award for Outstanding Research in 1992. Furthermore, he became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Section J, Psychology) in 1994 and the Association for Psychological Science in 2009.

Robert Plomin serves as the MRC Research Professor of Behavioral Genetics at the Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. Having attained his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Texas, Austin in 1974, Plomin was part of one of the few psychology graduate programs offering a specialization in behavioral genetics back then. Following this, he held an assistant professor role at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he collaborated with John DeFries. Together, they established the longitudinal Colorado Adoption Project for behavioral development, which has spanned over thirty years. Plomin worked at Pennsylvania State University from 1986 to 1994 before transitioning to the Institute of Psychiatry in London to help establish the Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre. His research objective is to integrate genetic and environmental research methodologies to explore behavioral development. Plomin is currently leading a study on all twins born in England between 1994 and 1996, focusing on developmental challenges in childhood. He previously served as president of the Behavior Genetics Association (1989-1990) and has received lifetime achievement accolades from the Behavior Genetics Association (2002), American Psychological Society (2005), the Society for Research in Child Development (2005), and the International Society for Intelligence Research (2011).”