Researchers have determined that mice can be bred to inherit a strong preference for drinking alcohol instead of water, indicating that ___ factors may play a significant role regarding the effect of this drug.Unknown Question Type
A
behavioral
B
environmental
C
genetic
D
psychological

Question

Researchers have determined that mice can be bred to inherit a strong preference for drinking alcohol instead of water, indicating that ___ factors may play a significant role regarding the effect of this drug.Unknown Question Type

A

behavioral

B

environmental

C

genetic

D

psychological

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Selective breeding showing a stable alcohol preference across generations demonstrates genetic influence: when mice can be bred so offspring reliably prefer alcohol to water, the most direct inference is that inherited (genetic) factors contribute to that preference.

1) Relevant concepts:
- Heritability and genetics: traits passed from parents to offspring via genes.
- Selective breeding: choosing parents with a trait increases frequency of trait in descendants if genes underlie it.
- Nature vs. nurture: distinguishing inherited causes from learned or environmental causes.
- Distinction between behavioral outcomes and underlying causes: a behavior can be produced by genes, environment, or their interaction.

2) Step-by-step reasoning:
- Researchers observe a preference (behavior) for alcohol in some mice.
- They selectively breed mice showing strong alcohol preference together over multiple generations.
- If the trait increases or remains stable in offspring despite controlled, similar rearing conditions, this persistence indicates a heritable component.
- Because breeding manipulates parent genotypes and produces predictable phenotypic changes in descendants, the logical cause is genetic variation affecting physiology or neural circuits that mediate alcohol preference.

3) Intermediate logical steps:
- Controlled environment rules out (or reduces) environmental explanations.
- Consistent transmission across generations points to genes rather than acquired behavior.
- Therefore the causal factor is genetic predisposition (e.g., alleles affecting reward pathways, alcohol metabolism, or receptor function).

4) Why "genetic" is correct:
Selective breeding is a classic genetic method; obtaining offspring that inherit alcohol preference directly implicates genes. Genes influence neurobiology and metabolism in ways that can make alcohol more rewarding or metabolically tolerable, producing inherited preference.

5) Why other choices are incorrect:
- Behavioral: describes the observed action, not a proximate inherited cause; behavior can be shaped by genes but “behavioral factors” don’t explain inheritance.
- Environmental: would imply external conditions cause preference; selective breeding across controlled environments excludes this as the primary explanation.
- Psychological: refers to mental processes; while relevant in humans, in this experimental genetic context it’s not the best explanation for inherited traits in mice.

Conclusion: The correct answer is genetic, which matches the provided answer.

Researchers have determined that mice can be bred to inherit a strong preference for drinking alcohol instead of water, indicating that ___ factors may play a significant role regarding the effect of this drug.Unknown Question Type

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