SAGE Journal Articles

Article 1: Whalen, P.J., Raila, H., Bennett, R., Mattek, A., Brown, A., Taylor, J. . . . Palmer, A. (2013). Neuroscience and Facial Expressions of Emotion: The Role of Amygdala–Prefrontal Interactions. Emotion Review, 5, 78-83.

Questions that apply to this article:

  1. What are the advantages of using facial expressions when studying human emotions?
  2. Describe the connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex.
  3. How do top-down and bottom-up processing differ?

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Article 2: McDermott, R., Dawes, C., Prom-Wormley, E., Eaves, L., & Hatemi, P.K. (2013). MAOA and Aggression: A Gene–Environment Interaction in Two Populations. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 57(6), 1043-1064. doi: 10.1177/0022002712457746

Questions that apply to this article:

  1.  What is a gene-environment interaction and why is it important in the field of behavioral genetics?
  2. Explain the function of the monoamine oxidase A gene.
  3. Which variant of the MAOA gene interacts with which environmental factors to make an individual more likely to be aggressive?

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Article 3: Simons, R.L., Lei, M.K., Beach, S.R.H., Brody, G.H., Philibert, R.A., & Gibbons, F.X. (2011). Social Environment, Genes, and Aggression: Evidence Supporting the Differential Susceptibility Perspective. American Sociological Review, 76(6), 883-912. doi: 10.1177/0003122411427580

Questions that apply to this article:

  1. What is a schema and why are they important in psychology?
  2. What is the difference between a gene-environment interaction and a hypothesis that there is different susceptibility to the environment?
  3. How was data collected for this experiment? Why is it important to have large numbers of subjects for such a genetics experiment?