Shenk’s
GxE model explains how our environment interacts with our genetic
factors. Shenk also goes on to encourage that when positive
environmental triggers are discovered, “the appropriate response is
not to caution against their possible irrelevance, but to embrace the
influence they have on our genes”(46) and lives. Some triggers that
are known today, found on page 47, include speaking to children early
and often, nurturance and encouragement, and reading early and often.
These environmental factors all relate to the communication,
behavior, culture, and social aspects of humans. Because of our
capacity for learning and versatility, human behavior is more
flexible than that of any other animal, and this has contributed
strongly to human evolution. How does human communication differ and
compare to those of other animals (use chapter 51 in the Campbell)?
How do genetic makeup and the environment contribute to the
development of behaviors in both humans and animals (use page 1142 in
the Campbell book and the concept of sociobiology)? Incorporate the
themes of evolution and interdependence in nature in your response.
Neil Edat (neil.edat@gmail.com)
Human communication, when compared with the communication methods of other organisms, is far more complicated. Humans use most types of communication used by other animals, as well as a form unique to us: language. Humans are the only animal on earth that have a spoken and written language, and with this ability comes many nuances. One such factor in the complexity of human interaction is the ability to deceive. While other animals are unable to lie to one another because of their lack of a spoken language, humans are not limited in this manner. As a result, human communication is incredibly complex. In addition to lying, a spoken language also comes with the use of sarcasm and other linguistic devices. Though speaking is what sets us apart from other organisms, we also communicate via other methods. For example, like fruit flies, humans communicate using pheromones (1125). While fruit flies use pheromones as a courting communication (again, humans get to talk), humans use pheromones in other ways (though they do play a role in attraction according to a 2001 journal article titled “Human Pheromones: Integrating Neuroendocrinology and Ethology”). For example, women can synchronize menstrual cycles in the McClintlock effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McClintock_effect) due to pheromone activity. In contrast to genetic makeup, environmental factors are far more vital regarding development of behaviors in humans. Personality is a character trait that, while it can be affected by genes such as in ADHD (“Experts do know that ADHD has a strong genetic component” (http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-causes).), is much more influenced by personal experience and environment. In animals, however, these factors are much closer in terms of amount of influence. Because of a lack of a complex social structure in most animal populations as well as the absence of a spoken language, environmental stimuli are unable to affect individuals in as extreme of a manner as in humans. In fruit flies, for example, mating behavior is dictated by the fru gene, which demonstrates a large role of genetics in communicatory behavior (1130).This relates primarily to the theme of evolution because organismal communication is of vital importance regarding mating and other behavior. This role of communication in mating and the selection of a mate affect the genetic makeup of future generations (because some organisms will be more “desirable” due to certain characteristics) promoting certain traits in the gene pool until the entire population (or almost all of it) displays that trait. Thus, communication affects how species evolve, and due to humans’ unique system of communication, we may evolve differently than other organisms. The idea of communication also relates to the theme of interdependence in nature because individual organisms in a population (especially humans) rely on one another to survive. By forming groups, organisms are much more likely to survive and reproduce, thus passing on their genetic information and being successful. In general, human beings communicate in a way unlike any other organism can, and this difference in communication carries with it a host of unique characteristics, such as the pliability of our personality to outside, environmental influences and an altered population of offspring. These are also traits of various other animals, but they are rarely, if ever, seen to the extent that they are in humans.
ReplyDelete(Eric Savin, Dallastarsfan13@gmail.com)