Question

Although identical twins have been shown to have some amazing psychological similarities, one should be cautions about attributing these similarities to genetic factors because

a. the twins may have been raised in completely different environments
b. genetic factors influence physical, not psychological, characteristics
c. any two strangers are likely to share a string of coincidental similarities
d. many fraternal twins have been shown to be psychologically different from each other
e. most twin studies have not been replicated or validates

Answer 1

Studies like the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart have shown that identical twins have very similar personalities regardless of their upbringing, indicating strong heritability of certain traits. However, gene expression and resulting behaviors can still vary due to environmental influences studied in epigenetics.

Step-by-step explanation:

Identical twins have often been at the center of debates regarding the effects of nature versus nurture on psychological traits. Taking into account the findings from the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, identical twins show remarkable similarities in their personalities, regardless of whether they were raised together or apart. This study indicates a strong heritability factor in certain personality traits. Heritability refers to how much of the differences in people's traits are due to genetics as opposed to environmental factors. While identical twins are genetically indistinguishable, the expression of these genes can be influenced by their environments, leading to individual differences. This complexity in gene-environment interaction is further studied in the field of epigenetics, which examines how identical genotypes can result in different phenotypes due to variations in gene expression influenced by environmental factors.