What are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)? How do they affect prenatal development?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer: For many years, PCBs were used to insulate electrical equipment, until research showed that they entered waterways and the food supply. In Taiwan, prenatal exposure to high levels of PCBs in rice oil resulted in low birth weight, discolored skin, deformities of the gums and nails, brain-wave abnormalities, and delayed cognitive development. Steady, low-level PCB exposure is also harmful. Women who frequently ate PCB-contaminated fish, compared with those who ate little or no fish, had infants with lower birth weights, smaller heads, persisting attention and memory difficulties, and lower intelligence scores in childhood.
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Fred has an IQ of 65 and cannot do schoolwork. He lives on the streets by begging, is usually dirty, and is always hungry. He would MOST likely be diagnosed with:
A) depression B) dyslexic. C) schizophrenic. D) mentally retarded.
In personality psychology, what is the phenotype?
a. the behavior expressed by a person b. the genetic predisposition for a certain personality trait c. the measure of how likely a person is to be neurotic d. the underlying cause of personality variability