The Biology of Behavior

Heredity influences much of behavior and experiences, but it does not operate on thought and behavior in a deterministic way.

We often hear references to DNA in today's media. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a large coiled double-stranded nucleotide that is in every cell in the body except red blood cells. This DNA contains an organism's entire genetic code.

Inside the cells, DNA is packaged together to form structures known as chromosomes. Small segments of this DNA, known as genes, contain the plans for the production of proteins. Different forms of the same gene are called alleles. All of this genetic information in most of our cells is contained in the genome.

Dominant genes show their effect even if there is only one copy of the gene in the pair, whereas, recessive genes show their effects when both pairs are the same.

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