Discuss genetic influences on behavior.

Asking for information about genetic influences on
behavior is asking what appears to be a simple question about a huge topic that is far
from completely understood. As a result, there is no one simple answer that summarizes
how genes influence behavior.

We do know that some medical
conditions have a genetic component. There is a "genetic predisposition" to alcoholism,
for example, and there are types of behaviors that are frequently associated with people
who suffer with alcoholism. So the genetics that make one person more likely to be
sensitive to the effects of alcohol will influence that person's actions in some way -
possibly causing that person to make a conscious decision to abstain from alcohol,
possibly causing that person to become an alcoholic. Other genetically based conditions
influence other kinds of behaviors in varied ways.