Discuss the meaning of epigenetics and its importance for the study of personality

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Epigenetics is a relatively new field of study. It is the study of the ways in which the environment can influence the expression of genes, or the genetic component of development, in a way that does not alter heritability. A gene is a sequence of DNA that codes for a specific protein, or trait. A given gene has coding regions called exons and noncoding regions called introns. Of all the DNA in a cell, only 3% or so is composed of functioning genes. The rest (97%) used to be called “junk” DNA, but at least some of this “junk” performs a very important function regulating the expression of genes; some of this function is influenced by the environment. This means that the environment can have influence over which genes in a cell or set of cells are expressed, or used. An example of some research into this process is the Cole study that demonstrated that different genes were expressed in individuals who were lonely compared to another group that was not lonely. Genes that had the effect of preventing disease were less expressed in individuals who were also deemed lonely.