Introduction to Behavioural Genetics

Behavioral Genetics provides both an engaging and clear overview of human and animal behavioral genetics that effectively introduces students to the field. "Although several excellent monographs and collections of articles pertinent to behavioral genetics are currently available, our experience with teaching courses in the subject has revealed a genuine need for an introductory textbook. Like the authors of this book, students come to behavioral genetics with diverse backgrounds. Most psychology majors have studied behavior and statistics, but have received no formal training in genetics. Most biology undergraduates, on the other hand, have had instruction in basic biology and genetics, but little or no exposure to psychology and statistics. We have endeavored to resolve this problem by writing a text that covers the entire range, realizing that some material will be repetitious to almost everyone. In Chapter 1, an historical survey, we introduce a few of the basic principles of genetics. In Chapter 2, these principles are considered in more detail, but not belabored. Throughout the rest of the book, additional details and concepts of genetics are introduced. The more elementary concepts of probability and statistics are presented in Chapter 3. Students who have had formal course work in statistics may find this chapter a useful review (as students who have studied genetics may find the first two chapters). For those with no previous training in statistics, mastery of the information in Chapter 3 will be essential to an understanding of the later material. The remainder of the text presents a sampling of the literature of behavioral genetics. We have attempted to be representative in our coverage, but by no means exhaustive or encyclopedic. We have frequently cited our own work, not because we regard it as being of special significance, but simply because we know it best."