While our human behaviors may have a genetic basis that evolved, many of these genetic behaviors only have an influence on us and are not the only factors when weighing in on how we will react in a situation. One example of a non genetic factor affecting how we make decisions is the environment. Depending on environmental factors, people may be able to act against genetic behaviors or may be even further entrenched into these behaviors. One example of this would be with dealing with two aggressive that have had a very different background with managing anger. In the BBC article “Missing gene link to aggression” they talk about how a gene, PET-1, was related to both aggression anxiety in mice and that there could be a similar gene or genes that affected it in humans as well. In a hypothetical example with two aggressive humans, if one has had an environmental influence that allows them to deal with this aggressiveness then their behaviors may not bet that different of a normal person. In contrast a person who’s environment has not given the proper skills to cope with this aggressiveness might have a much different response. Both of these individuals might be influenced in a similar way to do similar things but due to a different in the environments the actual behaviors may be very different. Another example of a environmental factor can be found in the “How your cat is making you Crazy” article. This article talks about how a a parasite found in cat feces can over time result in changes in our normal behavioral patterns. This shows how a outside parasite could potentially also affect our normal behaviors.
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