PSY Personality Exam 2

Walter Mischel

"Personality and Assessment" Upper limit to how well we can predict a person's actions based on any measurement of personality....and that limit is small Knowledge of someone's personality does a poor job of predicting their behavior Situations are more important than personality traits in determining behavior Therefore, not only is Practice of personality assessment is a waste of time, but also everyday intuitions about people are fundamentally flawed The trait words used to describe people are not legitimately descriptive and people tend to see others as more consistent across situations than they actually are

Eugenics

("Good birth"): We can improve our society by controlling who passes along their genes to future generations Encourage reproduction among healthy, talented, intelligent Discourage reproduction among weak, unintelligent, mentally ill. homeless

frontal lobotomy

1935: J.F. Fulton tells story of chimps "Becky" and "Lucy" at World Congress of Neurology. Hard to work with. They were operated on and had small part of frontal lobe removed. Became calm, placid, easy to work with A. Moniz questions whether frontal lobe surgery could be useful in humans 1937: Moniz performs first prefrontal leucotomy -White matter behind frontal lobes deliberately damaged Leucotomies considered a success -Moniz only operated on people with severe psychosis and agitation -Surgery made patients calmer and more manageable -1949: Moniz wins Nobel prize in medicine Leucotomy became more and more popular Over time standard leucotomy surgery became more extreme -Whole portions of frontal lobes removed (frontal lobotomy) Lobotomies had drastic behavior results -Patients lost ability to plan, anticipate consequences, control impulses, think about future, needed full time care Walter Freeman wanted to simplify lobotomies so that it could be carried out by psychiatrists in psychiatric hospitals, where there were often no operating rooms, surgeons, or anesthesia and limited budgets, Freeman invented a transorbital lobotomy procedure. The ice-pick transorbital approach, a transorbital lobotomy, involved placing an orbitoclast (an instrument resembling an ice pick) under the eyelid and against the top of the eye socket; a mallet was then used to drive the orbitoclast through the thin layer of bone and into the brain. Freeman's transorbital lobotomy method did not require a neurosurgeon and could be performed outside of an operating room, often by untrained psychiatrists without the use of anesthesia by using electroconvulsive therapy to induce seizure and unconsciousness. In 1947, Freeman's partner Dr. James W. Watts ended their partnership because he was disgusted by Freeman's modification of the lobotomy from a surgical operation into a simple "office" procedure.[2]

The same environment can affect different people in different ways

A stressful environment may lead genetically predisposed individuals to develop mental illness.... while not adversely affecting others A gifted program may lead some children to excel, while having no effect on others Our genes affect the way we respond to the environment

Stroop Task

A task invented in which a subject sees a list of words (color terms) printed in an ink color that differs from the word named. The subject is asked to name the ink colors of the words in the list and demonstrates great difficult in doing so, relative to a condition in which non-color words form the stimuli Name color ink the word is printed in and ignoring what the word says Blue (word is colored red), Green (word is colored blue), Red (word is colored yellow)

natural selection

Across a population, there is variance in all traits This variance is partly determined by genetics Certain traits increase the likelihood that we will reproduce (attractiveness, good health) Traits that increase ability to reproduce will likely be passed to future generations (selected for) Ex: Peppered moths in the industrial revolution

Brain imaging studies

Allows us to directly observe brain functions Electroencephalogram (EEG) Positron emission tomography (PET) Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

somatic marker hypothesis

Antonio Domasio Stimuli we encounter (friends, food, animals, etc.) are associated w/emotional reactions (gut feelings) We rely on these emotional reactions to guide our behavior/decision-making processes These emotional reactions (gut feelings) (called somatic markers) are "stored" in our prefrontal cortex (in our frontal lobes) Damage to cortex (frontal lobes) can interfere w/somatic markers; impair decision-making

Capgras syndrome

Belief that a spouse/family member has been replaced by an identical looking imposter Many people w/CS have frontal lobe or amygdala damage These individuals can recognize familiar faces but don't feel any emotion/arousal upon seeing the faces

Knowledge of the brain comes from three sources

Brain damage studies Brain stimulation studies Brain imaging studies

person-situation debate

Debate about degree to which our personalities are consistent across situations We assume there are traits that define us and predict our behavior across time, situations People have NOT always assumed this because: The aftermath of WWIII Adolf Eichman (coordinated deportations to camps and ghettos, decided who and when, fled to Argentina post WW2, was captured and brought to trial, assumed he would be loud and insane and psychotic, but actually came off as ordinary, he was just following orders) Hannah Arendt, "the banality of evil" (Covered the Eichman trial, banality of evil refers to idea that when placed in certain environments, ordinary people would be driven to evil)

Behavior geneticists

Determine what % of the variance in a trait is due to genes and what % is due to environment. Nature vs nurture basically

Walter Freeman

Doctor who streamlined lobotomies, made them extremely common. He shocked patients into unconsciousness instead of anesthesia, and used an ice pick through the eye to get to the brain. Wanted to leave a legacy like his grandfather William Keane Lobotomy caused Kennedy to become seriously disabled and required full time care Walter Freeman wanted to simplify lobotomies so that it could be carried out by psychiatrists in psychiatric hospitals, where there were often no operating rooms, surgeons, or anesthesia and limited budgets, Freeman invented a transorbital lobotomy procedure. The ice-pick transorbital approach, a transorbital lobotomy, involved placing an orbitoclast (an instrument resembling an ice pick) under the eyelid and against the top of the eye socket; a mallet was then used to drive the orbitoclast through the thin layer of bone and into the brain. Freeman's transorbital lobotomy method did not require a neurosurgeon and could be performed outside of an operating room, often by untrained psychiatrists without the use of anesthesia by using electroconvulsive therapy to induce seizure and unconsciousness. In 1947, Freeman's partner Dr. James W. Watts ended their partnership because he was disgusted by Freeman's modification of the lobotomy from a surgical operation into a simple "office" procedure.[2]

People with certain genes tend to elicit certain reactions from others

E.g., toddlers with easy, relaxed, social temperaments tend to elicit different reactions than toddlers with difficult temperaments These reactions can exacerbate differences in genetically influenced traits/temperaments

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Electrodes placed on scalp to pick up electrical signals generated by neurons in the brain Allows researcher to see which brain areas are most active

Adoption Studies

Examine whether adopted children are more likely to share traits w/their adoptive parents or w/their biological parents If adopted children are more likely to share a trait w/their adoptive parents, trait is likely caused by environmental factors If they are more likely to share a trait w/their biological parents, trait is likely caused by genetic factors

Who developed the theory of eugenics

Francis Galton (founded field of behavior genetics, twin study method, Correlation coefficient): believed protecting 'weak' members of society was interfering with natural selection Cousin of Charles Darwin Felt that protecting weak members of society = interfering with natural selection (Allowing weak to pass along "defective" genes) We can improve our society by controlling who passes along their genes to future generations

gene-environment interaction

Genes do not act in isolation -Genes interact with our environment. In other words, the environment affects how genes are expressed -Environments can affect the degree to which a trait is heritable In places where every child receives adequate nutrition, variance in height will be genetically controlled When food is scarce, variance in height will be controlled by the environment

Milgram obedience study

Goal: Determine degree to which ppl will obey authority Subjects: Ordinary men and women Experiment: "Teachers" help "learner" memorize word pairs, administer shocks whenever learner makes mistake The learner was really the experimenter's assistant. Did not receive any shocks Kept going despite being hesitant at first, at the order of Milgram Study given to many different types of people Everyone behaved the same way Personality does NOT predict behavior in this experiment The situation is more powerful than personality

Zimbardo's Prison Experiment

Goal: Determine how people will behave in positions of authority and submission Subjects: Stanford undergraduates Experiment: Undergraduates randomly assigned to be prisoners or guards in a fake prison Guards began to abuse prisoners after 24 hours (solitary, pushups, other punishments) Prisoners became depressed All participants given an extensive battery of personality tests Test scores did not predict behavior in the study The situation was more powerful than any individual's personality

What are some problems with evolutionary psychology?

Hard to prove or disprove -What about men who only want one singular partner? Some things evolutionary psychology can't account for -Same-sex relationships? -True Altruism (rushing into burning building to save a stranger)

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Harder a brain area works, more blood flow to that area Harmless, Radioactive substance injected into bloodstream Allows researchers to observe blood flow to different brain areas while tasks are performed

equal environments assumption

Identical & fraternal twins have equally similar environments While identical twins share more genes than fraternal twins... the two types of twins have equally similar environments How true is this? BUT evidence shows that identical twins are treated more similarly than fraternal twins (dressed in same clothes, etc.)

Behaviors can also be heritable

Identical twins are more likely to have similar behaviors in these regards, similar rates, for example Divorce Suicide Hours spent watching TV

Twin studies

Identical twins share 100% of their genes Fraternal twins and regular siblings share 50% of their genes Compare concordance rates of various traits in identical & fraternal twins

Saying that a behavior is heritable does NOT mean the behavior is DIRECTLY caused by genes

Instead, We often inherit traits that are INDIRECTLY caused by genes or related to behaviors -We don't inherit tendency to watch tv -We DO inherit traits related to TV watching (activity level, attention span) Behaviors are not directly heritable often Leads to misunderstanding in media, popular culture

Eyesenck's ARAS theory

Introverts: ARAS lets in lots of stimulation = chronic overarousal Extroverts: ARAS lets in little stimulation = chronic underarousal Introverts get MORE stimulation than they need and want to avoid excitement, social situations Extroverts get LESS stimulation than they need and try to find excitement, social situations Lemon juice test Researchers: Put drops of lemon juice on the tongues of extraverts and introverts Measure resulting amount of saliva Question: Do extraverts or introverts salivate more? Introverts salivate more than extraverts Their wide open ARASs allow them to experience the sour taste of the lemon more strongly Overall, Eysenck's theory has received mixed support Some parts of the brain can be stimulated while others are inactive ARAS is more complicated than Eysenck thought Bulk of evidence suggests that introverts react more strongly and more negatively to sensory stimuli than extraverts

frontal lobes

Involved in complicated, higher-order processes (self-control, judgment, planning, inhibiting impulses, emotional expression, social understanding) Much of what we know about the frontal lobes comes from case studies of brain damage Phineas Gage Railroad worker, dynamite explosion that sent 3.5 foot steel rod through his cheek, his frontal lobe, and out of the top of his head He was less emotional and agitated than he had been before the accident. Became impulsive and immature. Blurt out profanities and inappropriate remarks. Had trouble making decisions, trouble concentrating. Lost his job and family Elliot Antonio Damasio Had a brain tumor and had surgery to remove it, and surgeon had to remove part of frontal lobe He had become unemotional, something wrong with his judgment, decided between different dishes, got easily distracted at work, had trouble allocating time to certain activities Similar to Phineas Gage

Amygdala

Involved in emotion Helps determine whether a stimulus signals an impending threat Different peoples' amygdalas respond to different stimuli -Amygdalas of shy people become active when they're shown pictures of strangers, those of non-shy people do not Related to certain personality traits: chronic anxiety, fearfulness, Involved in memory

Early 1900s

Laws passed prohibiting "unfit" ("epileptic, imbecile, or feebleminded") from marrying; requiring forcible sterilization Thousands of "feeble minded" and mentally ill individuals forcibly sterilized Movement began to wind down when ideas became linked to nazi ideology but continued until the 1970s. Forced sterilizations continued into the 70s

evolutionary psychology

Many of our traits and behaviors are a product of NS The fact that we think babies are cute The fact that certain phobias (e.g., snakes) are much more common than others (e.g., cars)....even though they are unrealistic

Social psychology experiments demonstrating the power of the situation to overwhelm personality

Milgram obedience study Zimbardo prison experiment

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Monitors magnetic pulses generated by oxygen in the blood Allows researchers to see which brain areas are most active by examining which areas are using the most oxygen.

To improve quality, we should:

Move research out of lab, into "real world" Most of the behavioral measurements that formed basis of Mischel's critique were performed in the lab These lab measures are often artificial Take into account types of people and types of situations we're studying Consistency of behavior may be different across different types of situations Strong situations Situations in which environmental cues clearly tell you what to do (therefore, everyone does the same thing) Stopping at a red light Not talking during a movie (lights down, voices shut) Giving the orchestra a standing ovation even if you thought the orchestra was not good Weak situations Situations in which how you should behave is unclear (therefore, people behave in different ways) College party (get drunk, dance, sit by yourself) Trip to the beach (lie in a towel, volleyball, swim, picnic) Personality predicts behavior in WEAK situation but not in STRONG situations

Brain damage studies

Oldest Look at behavior of people/animals with brain damage Damage to substantia nigra (a critical brain region for the production of dopamine and this neurochemical affects many systems of the central nervous system ranging from movement control, cognitive executive functions, and emotional limbic activity) can inhibit seizure activity in rats

Clarifications on Natural selection

Our traits evolved to fit an environment that existed thousands of years ago....NOT our current environment Example: Our enjoyment of fatty foods. Made sense then but not as practical now NS does not make us consciously want to pass along our genes. Rather, it makes us want to do things that result in us passing along our genes Evolution did not produce a desire for biological children Evolution did produce a desire for sexual intercourse

Ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)

Part of brain stem which connects to cerebral cortex Connects brain stem to cerebral cortex May regulate amount of stimulation allowed in brain (Eysenck) Each person's ARAS lets a different amount of stimulation into the brain -Some let lots of stimulation into brain, others limit stimulation

Men attracted to women who are:

Past puberty (breasts and hips) Young enough to give birth for many years Have wide hips (curvy)

Women attracted to men who are::

Past puberty (mature physique) Age not as important

Aggregation

Process of combining or averaging different measures of behavior -Personality does a good job at predicting aggregate data -Aggressiveness over the course of a year -Batting ability over the course of a month

Strong situations

Situations in which environmental cues clearly tell you what to do (therefore, everyone does the same thing) -Stopping at a red light -Not talking during a movie (lights down, voices shut) -Giving the orchestra a standing ovation even if you thought the orchestra was not good

Weak situations

Situations in which how you should behave is unclear (therefore, people behave in different ways) -College party (get drunk, dance, sit by yourself) -Trip to the beach (lie in a towel, volleyball, swim, picnic)

behavior genetics

Study of how our genes affect our personalities Across a population of people, there is variance in every trait. Differences in height, aggressiveness, etc.

Heritability

The % of variance in a trait due to genes. Heritability of .90 means that 90% of the variance in a trait is due to genes.

Example of Somatic marker

The Iowa Gambling Task Subjects hooked up to skin conductance (SC) electrodes Shown 4 decks of cards; asked to select cards, on at a time, from whichever decks they want Whenever they pick a card, they win AND lose a certain amount of $ 2 decks with winning and losing a lot of $ (risky) 2 decks associated with winning and losing a little of $ (conservative) 2 decks are conservative; 2 decks are risky; over time, most advantageous to pick from conservative decks Most people pick conservative decks even before they can say why SC (skin conductance) responses to risky decks Results w/frontal lobe patients. Not true of people with frontal lobe damage. Don't have SC responses. Don't have that gut feeling

The physical basis of personality

The brain

concordance rate

The chance that a person will possess a trait given that their twin possesses the trait. Has a strong genetic basis If a trait is strongly genetic, concordance rates should be higher (bc identical twins share 100% of their genes) in identical twins than in fraternal twins (Fraternal should be lower bc they share only 50%) Two identical twins are more likely to share the same (genetically influenced) trait than are two fraternal twins Equal environment assumption

tests to assess frontal lobe functioning

The stroop Tower of Hanoi

Are the physical traits men and women are attracted to still present?

Today, we're still attracted to those traits Evidence: -Across many cultures, women prefer older men and men prefer younger women -Studies on ideal hip/waist ratio

Evolutionary Psychology and attractiveness. Based on the principles of NS, what physical characteristics should men and women find attractive?

Traits that signal fertility

How Mischel's critics responded

Unfair literature review -Mischel's review of the personality literature was selective Chose only a small portion relevant studies, specifically, those that supported his point Quality of research in the area is poor (and that's why we're not seeing relationships between personality and behavior) -Weak findings summarized by Mischel do not imply that personality is unimportant, but rather that psychologists must improve their research methods To improve quality, we should: Move research out of lab, into "real world" Most of the behavioral measurements that formed basis of Mischel's critique were performed in the lab These lab measures are often artificial Take into account types of people and types of situations we're studying Consistency of behavior may be different across different types of situations Strong situations Situations in which environmental cues clearly tell you what to do (therefore, everyone does the same thing) Stopping at a red light Not talking during a movie (lights down, voices shut) Giving the orchestra a standing ovation even if you thought the orchestra was not good Weak situations Situations in which how you should behave is unclear (therefore, people behave in different ways) College party (get drunk, dance, sit by yourself) Trip to the beach (lie in a towel, volleyball, swim, picnic) Personality predicts behavior in WEAK situation but not in STRONG situations Focus on behavioral TRENDS, rather than single actions that occur at particular moments -We can't predict single instances of behavior from personality or ability measures -Batting average is NOT a good predictor of whether someone will hit a single pitch -Aggression scores are NOT a good predictor of whether someone will be aggressive next Sunday -Intelligence is NOT a good predictor of whether someone will get a single true-false question right on an exam -Our behavior is affected by our personality... and ALSO MANY OTHER THINGS! -Whether someone will hit a single pitch is affected by -Batting ability -Weather -Injury status -How good the pitcher is -Distracted -Aggregation: Process of combining or averaging different measures of behavior -Personality does a good job at predicting aggregate data -Aggressiveness o

Brain stimulation studies

Using electrodes, electrically stimulate part of the brain and see how it affects behavior 1999 case study of woman with Parkinsons disease -Helped fix Parkinson's symptoms, but gave her symptoms of depression

How Mischel supported his arguments with studies which showed

Weak correlations between personality questionnaires and behavior in the laboratory Weak correlations between behaviors across time and situations Correlations between personality and behavior only .30-.40 -Correlations between personality and behavior and between behavior in 1 situation and behavior in another seldom exceed .3 (later raised to .4)

Evolutionary Psychology and Mate Selection

Women invest a lot of time in reproduction (pregnancy, birth, breast feeding, etc.) and are therefore motivated to be choosy about who they mate with Women want to mate with men who are healthy, have good genes, and can provide resources By doing this, they maximize chance of passing along genes Men do not invest a lot of time in reproduction and are therefore NOT choosy about who they mate with Could impregnate multiple women in same day -Men want to mate with as many people as possible -By doing this, they maximize chance of passing along genes

Tower of Hanoi

a problem in which you transfer a series of different-sized disks from one spindle to another following a specific set of rules Rings stacked. Move all rings from one peg to peg on far side of board. Can only remove top ring on given peg. No larger ring on top of smaller ring Planning ahead

What do we need to be careful of

attributing results of twin studies to genes, rather than environment Identical twins may be similar than fraternal twins is because: -They share more genes -They share more similar environments Identical twins reared apart: Share genes but not a common environment -Allow researchers to examine effects of genes independent of environment -The Jim twins

People with certain types of genes tend to ______ certain types of environments (environments we find ourselves in are not random)

choose (place themselves) People with dispositions, and environment exacerbates it (People who like to drink join a frat or sorority and it exacerbates it)

In ancient times, men who had sex with many people & women who were choosy about mates were ____ likely to pass along genes

most These behaviors were adaptive, passed from generation to generation, and STILL EXIST IN MEN AND WOMEN TODAY Evidence: Men are more likely than women to: -Have extramarital sex -Have casual sex -Desire more sexual partners -Buss and schmitt: How many sexual partners would you like to have in the next month, year, lifetime. Female: 1, 4-5. Male: 2, 17-18 -Have multiple partners at once -Many cultures accept polygamy (men with multiple wives) but almost none accept polyandry (woman with multiple husbands)