Chapter 6 - Social Agents and Genes

Summary

This chapter exemplifies mechanisms through which social agents appear to impact the genome by upregulating, downregulating, or transforming its structural capacities. Viewing human development by connecting genes and environments with the term 'and' rather than 'versus' begs the task of understanding how that 'and' works. The social genome is formed within the context of its transactions with multiple social agents, which are channeled through society, family, school, and relationships with peers. Collectively these social agents are referred to as culture. Cultural ways of living depend on the climate conditions in which a culture unfolds. One other dimension of culture that is of interest in this conversation is lifestyle. The concept of lifestyle typically includes multiple factors, both genetic and environmental. The chapter concludes by commenting on the emerging picture of how the coaction of the genome and environments results in the manifestation of complex human behaviors.