Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Causes and Determinants of Behavior

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Development and Causality

  • 1803 Accesses

Abstract

The present chapter deals with a variety of topics related to causality. In the last four chapters, I focused on brain processes, especially related to hemispheric specialization, and on systems theory. In this chapter and the next, I examine epigenesis. Before beginning, I touch on the question of causality, in general. It has a storied history, and Aristotle proposed a classic model of four causes. The model is still referred to, and the study of causality is still important in philosophy (Beebee, Hitchcock, & Menzies, 2009). Tinbergen (1963) proposed a powerful model of causation also involving four types. It includes developmental processes, and is quite applicable to the present work. In contrast, the Aristotelian model has led to differing applications in psychology, and until there is a standard understanding of its pertinence, it is best to use more contemporary models. The present work adopts a biopsychosocial and relational metaframe in understanding behavior, and these types of models can integrate Tinbergen’s four questions and expand upon them. As for even more general models, I refer to the four forces in physics and draw parallels with different levels of coherence in sociality, in particular.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Álvarez, M. P. (2009). The four causes of behavior: Aristotle and Skinner. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 9, 45–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold, M. L. (2006). Evolution through genetic exchange. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beebee, H., Hitchcock, C., & Menzies, P. (2009). The Oxford handbook of causation. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009a). The nature (and nurture?) of plasticity in early human development. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 345–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009b). Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 885–908.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Broadie, S. (2009). The ancient Greeks. In H. Beebee, C. Hitchcock, & P. Menzies (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of causation (pp. 21–39). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (2008). Depression and the serotonin transporter 5-HTTLPR polymorphism: A review and a hypothesis concerning gene-environment interaction. Journal of Affective Disorder, 111, 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, N. M., Champagne, F. A., Parent, C., Fish, E. W., Ozaki-Kuroda, K., & Meaney, M. J. (2005). The programming of individual differences in defensive responses and reproductive strategies in the rat through variations in maternal care. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 29, 843–865.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Canli, T., & Lesch, K.-P. (2007). Long story short: The serotonin transporter in emotion regulation and social cognition. Nature Neuroscience, 10, 1103–1109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, S. B. (2005). Endless forms most beautiful: The new science of Evo Devo and the making of the animal kingdom. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., McClay, J., Moffitt, T. E., Mill, J., Martin, J., Craig, I. W., et al. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2006). Gene-environment interactions in psychiatry: Joining forces with neuroscience. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7, 583–590.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Cannon, M., McClay, J., Murray, R., Harrington, H., et al. (2005). Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the COMT gene: Longitudinal evidence of a gene  ×  environment interaction. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1117–1127.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Sugden, K., Moffitt, T. E., Taylor, A., Craig, I. W., Harrington, H., et al. (2003). Influence of life stress on depression: Moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science, 301, 386–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Champagne, F. A. (2010). Early adversity and developmental outcomes: Interaction between genetics, epigenetics, and social experiences across the life span. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 564–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Champagne, F. A., Chretien, P., Stevenson, C. W., Zhang, T. Y., Gratton, A., & Meaney, M. J. (2004). Variations in nucleus accumbens dopamine associated with individual differences in maternal behavior in the rat. The Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 4113–4123.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Champagne, F. A., & Mashoodh, R. (2009). Genes in context: Gene-environment interplay and the origins of individual differences in behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 127–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., & Sturge-Apple, M. L. (2007). Interactions of child maltreatment and serotonin transporter and monoamine oxidase A polymorphisms: Depressive symptomatology among adolescents from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 1161–1180.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cullis, C. A. (2005). Mechanisms and control of rapid genomic changes in flax. Annals of Botany, 95, 201–206.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Curley J. P., Champagne F. A., Bateson P. P., Keverne E. B. (2008). Transgenerational effects of impaired maternal care on behavior of offspring and grandoffspring. Animal Behavior, 75, 1551–1561.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flew, A., & Priest, S. (Eds.). (2002). A dictionary of philosophy. London: Pan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forgács, G., & Newman, S. A. (2005). Biological physics of the developing embryo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Goldenfeld, N., & Woese, C. (2007). Biology’s next revolution. Nature, 445, 369.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, G. (1971). Ontogenesis of sensory function in birds and mammals. In E. Tobach, L. R. Aronson, & E. Shaw (Eds.), The biopsychology of development (pp. 67–128). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, G. (2007). Probabilistic epigenesis. Developmental Science, 10, 1–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grigorenko, E. L. (2007). Understanding the etiology of complex traits: Symbiotic relationships between psychology and genetics. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1, 193–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jablonka, E., & Lamb, M. J. (1995). Epigenetic inheritance and evolution: The Lamarckian dimension. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jablonka, E., & Lamb, M. J. (2005). Evolution in four dimensions: Genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic variation in the history of life. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jablonka, E., & Lamb, M. J. (2008). The epigenome in evolution: Beyond the modern synthesis. VOGis Herald, 12, 242–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jablonka, E., & Lamb, M. J. (2010). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. In M. Pigliucci & G. B. Müller (Eds.), Evolution: The extended synthesis (pp. 137–174). London: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jablonka, E., & Raz, G. (2009). Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance: Prevalence, mechanisms, and implications for the study of heredity and evolution. Quarterly Review of Biology, 84, 131–176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jablonski, D. (2005). Mass extinctions and macroevolution. Paleobiology, 31, 192–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jessell, T. M., & Sanes, J. R. (2000). The induction and patterning of the nervous system. In E. R. Kandel, J. H. Schwartz, & T. M. Jessell (Eds.), Principles of neural science (4th ed., pp. 1019–1040). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim-Cohen, J., Caspi, A., Taylor, A., Williams, B., Newcombe, R., Craig, I. W., et al. (2006). MAOA, maltreatment, and gene-environment interaction predicting children’s mental health: New evidence and a meta-analysis. Molecular Psychiatry, 11, 903–913.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim-Cohen, J., & Gold, A. L. (2009). Measured gene-environment interactions and mechanisms promoting resilient development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 138–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirschner, M. W., & Gerhart, J. C. (2005). The plausibility of life: Resolving Darwin’s dilemma. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamm, E., & Jablonka, E. (2008). The nurture of nature: Hereditary plasticity in evolution. Philosophical Psychology, 21, 305–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, A. A., & Feldman, M. (2004). Genetic and epigenetic reprogramming of the wheat genome upon allopolyploidization. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society of London, 82, 607–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mareschal, D., Johnson, M. H., Sirois, S., Spratling, M. W., Thomas, M. S. C., & Westmann, G. (2007). Neuroconstructivism: Vol. 1. How the brain constructs cognition. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McGowan, P. O., Sasaki, A., Dymov, S., LaBoonté, B., Turecki, G., Szyf, M., et al. (2009). Epigenetic regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor in human brain associates with childhood abuse. Nature Neuroscience, 12, 342–348.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney, M. J. (2010). Epigenetic and the biological definition of gene  ×  environment interactions. Child Development, 81, 41–79.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meaney, M. J., & Szyf, M. (2005). Maternal effects as a model for environmentally-dependent chromatin plasticity. Trends in Neuroscience, 28, 456–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman, S. A., & Müller, G. B. (2006). Genes and form: Inherency in the evolution of developmental mechanisms. In E. Neumann-Held & C. Rehmann-Sutter (Eds.), Genes in development: Re-reading the molecular paradigm (pp. 38–73). Durham: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oberlander, T. F., Weinberg, J., Papsdorf, M., Grunau, R., Misri, S., & Devlin, A. M. (2008). Prenatal exposure to maternal depression, neonatal methylation of human glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) and infant cortisol stress responses. Epigenetics, 3, 97–106.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pezawas, L., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Drabant, E. M., Verchinski, B. A., Munoz, K. E., Kolachana, B. S., et al. (2005). 5-HTTLPR polymorphism impacts human cingulate-amygdala interactions: A genetic susceptibility mechanism for depression. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 828–834.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pigliucci, M., & Müller, G. B. (Eds.). (2010). Evolution: The extended synthesis. London: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., & Loehlin, J. C. (1977). Genotype-environment interaction and correlation in the analysis of human behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 309–322.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Propper, C., Willoughby, M., Halpern, C. T., Carbone, M. A., & Cox, M. (2007). Parenting quality, DRD4, and the prediction of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in early childhood. Developmental Psychobiology, 49, 619–632.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, G. E., Fernald, R. D., & Clayton, D. F. (2008). Genes and social behavior. Science, 322, 896–900.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (2007). Gene-environment interdependence. Developmental Science, 10, 12–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suomi, S. J. (2006). Risk, resilience, and gene  ×  environment interactions in rhesus monkeys. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094, 83–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A., & Kim-Cohen, J. (2007). Meta-analysis of gene-environment interactions in developmental psychopathology. Development & Psychopathology, 19, 1029–1037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E. (2006). Tend and befriend: Biobehavioral bases of affiliation under stress. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 273–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tinbergen, N. (1963). On aims and methods in ethology. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 20, 410–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uher, R., & McGuffin, P. (2007). The moderation by the serotonin transporter gene of environmental adversity in the aetiology of mental illness: Review and methodological analysis. Molecular Psychiatry, 13, 131–146.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, I. C. G., Cervoni, N., Campagne, F. A., D’Alessio, A. C., Sharma, S., Seckl, J. R., et al. (2004). Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior. Nature Neuroscience, 7, 847–854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • West-Eberhard, M. J. (2003). Developmental plasticity and evolution. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westermann, G., Mareschal, D., Johnson, M. H., Sirois, S., Spratling, M. W., & Thomas, M. S. C. (2007). Neuroconstructivism. Developmental Science, 10, 75–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins, A. S. (2002). The evolution of developmental pathways. Sunderland: Sinauer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, D. S. (2009). Convergent cultural evolution and multilevel selection: Reply to comments on Janet Landa’s “The bioeconomics of homogenous middleman groups as adaptive units: Theory and empirical evidence viewed from a group selection framework”. Journal of Bioeconomics, 11, 185–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witherington, D. C., & Crichton, J. A. (2007). Framework for understanding emotions and their development: Functionalist and dynamic systems approaches. Emotion, 7, 628–637.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Young, G., & Shore, R. (2007). Dictionary of terms related to causality, causation, law, and psychology. In G. Young, A. W. Kane, & K. Nicholson, Causality of psychological injury: Presenting evidence in court (pp. 87–135). New York: Springer Science+Business Media.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Zilber-Rosenberg, I., & Rosenberg, E. (2008). Role of microorganisms in the evolution of animals and plants: The hologenome theory of evolution. FEMS Microbiology Reviews, 32, 723–735.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Glendon College, York University, 2275 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 3M6

    Gerald Young

Authors
  1. Gerald Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerald Young .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Young, G. (2011). Causes and Determinants of Behavior. In: Development and Causality. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9422-6_29

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation