PSY 227 TEST #2

Briefly describe the young male syndrome and its evolutionary pressures/roots.

"When there is competition for scarce resources (females), the result is confrontational behavior and potentially serious violence." This pattern is known as the young male syndrome. It may partly be the consequence of longago evolutionary pressures and partly a response to situational demands. Although the pattern of behavior may be coded in every man's makeup, it is likely to appear among men whose present situations predict reproductive failure, e.g., unmarried and unemployed males.

Identify the BAS and the behavioral inhibition system. Then briefly describe each 145) system's function.

(1) BAS: Arouses person to move toward desired incentives; involved in any approach tendency and responsible for positive emotions. (2) Behavioral inhibition system: Causes person to inhibit movement toward goals; responsive to cues of punishment and responsible for feelings of anxiety; involved in any avoidance or inhibition tendency.

Describe what people who are high in need for affiliation are like.

HIGH IN NEED FOR AFFILIATION: 1. always wanting to be with others, don't like to be considered an outsider 2. get nervous when they think others are judging them 3. initiate friendships 4. nominated for group leader 5. spend more time doing social activities

Describe some of the findings that support the link between prenatal exposure to 153) male hormones and aggression.

(1) Both boys and girls who have been exposed to synthetic hormones (that act like male hormones) report that they would use physical aggression in an interpersonal conflict more than boys and girls not exposed to such hormones. (2) Girls who were prenatally exposed to androgens (masculinizing hormones) spent more time playing with boys' toys and less time with girls' toys than did girls not exposed to the hormones. (3) Higher testosterone levels at birth in boys were related to more boldness for 18 months after birth.

Describe one of the assessment techniques theorists who research 160) biological processes commonly use.

(1) Electroencephalogram, or EEG. An EEG uses electrodes to assess changes in electrical activity in the cerebral cortex. The use of this tool is based on the idea that different psychological states produce different patterns of brain activity. (2) Positron emission topography, or PET. PET derives a picture of brain functioning based on metabolic activity. PET is often used to measure neurotransmitter functioning. (3) Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. MRI translates the magnetic resonances of a person's brain into a visual image. MRI is primarily used to examine structural damage in the brain. (4) Dexamethasone suppression test, or DST. DST measures the body's sensitivity to cortisol suppression. People who show a shortened suppression effect may have a biological predisposition to depression.

Briefly explain the steps involved in conducting twin studies.

-Pairs of identical twins/fraternal twins are compared with each other on a particular characteristic -these two correlations are compared with each other. -If identical twins are more similar to each other than fraternal twins, it must be due to the differences in genetic similarity. (This conclusion could not be drawn if parents treated fraternal twins differently from identical twins.)

How is the BAS similar to extraversion? In what ways does BAS differ from 147) extraversion?

Both BAS-impulsivity and extraversion incorporate incentive seeking and the tendency to experience positive emotions. Gray's BAS differs from the concept extraversion in two ways. First, unlike the concept extraversion, the BAS does not include a sociability component. Second, the BAS encompasses the notion of impulsivity, which the concept of extraversion does not.

Briefly define what is meant by need and press

Both are motivational influences. NEED: a lack of something needed for well being PRESS: An external condition that creates a desire to obtain (or avoid) something

Briefly explain how level of responsibility can affect the behavioral manifestations of the need for power.

HIGH IN RESPONSIBILITY: always try to make others think highly of them from socially acceptable ways LOW IN RESPONSIBILITY: less acceptable ways of influencing others such as impulsive aggressiveness, sexual exploitation, alcohol/drug use

What are the implications of mapping the human genome for dealing with disease?

Having a map of the human genome will make it easier to locate the genes that cause a specific disorder. People could be warned if they carry a gene for a disorder they might pass on to a child. Extensive "gene therapy" could actually alter genetic instructions to eliminate defects. In addition, by permitting identification of a person's genetic weaknesses, a map of the genome will usher in a new era of preventive medicine, which will dramatically change the way we deal with disease.

Explain the different circumstances for which men and women experience jealousy. Why do these differences exist (from an evolutionary psychology viewpoint)?

Men are more jealous about acts of sexual infidelity because it is evolutionarily important for men to be concerned about paternity so that they are not supporting someone else's children. Women are more jealous about acts of emotional infidelity because women are theoretically more concerned with whether the man will be there to support her and her children.

Briefly define the need for intimacy. How does need for intimacy differ from need for affiliation?

NEED FOR INTIMACY: desire to experience a closeness with another person -need for intimacy goes way beyond affiliation on the emphasis of closeness and being open with another person -need for affiliation is more actively doing things for another whereas, need for intimacy is more uncontrolling

Choose two traits from the five-factor model of personality and describe how they relate to the different temperament categories.

NEUROTICISM: same concept as the temperament of emotionality. EXTRAVERSION: linked to sociability and activity level. AGREEABLENESS: has overtones of sociability CONSCIENTIOUSNESS: partly defined by lack of impulsiveness. OPENNESS or INTELLECT: linked with intelligence.

Briefly explain how people who are high in need for achievement differ from people low in need for achievement in terms of their approaches to achievement-related situations. Why are their approaches different?

People low in need for achievement choose tasks that are either very easy or very hard, -doesn't give good indication of one's abilities people with a high need for achievement choose tasks that are moderately difficult -gives good indication of one's abilities

Describe three ways in which high and low sensation seekers have been found to 148) differ.

People who are high in sensation seeking are continually in search of new, complex, varied, exciting, and often arousing experiences. Compared with people lower on this dimension, sensation seekers are: (1) faster drivers; (2) more likely to use various drugs; (3) more likely to engage in high-risk sports such as sky-diving.

Briefly describe the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and why its developers thought it would be effective.

TAT: viewing a photo and writing a story about it -stories are coded to determine a theme Morgan and Murray thought it would be effective because they thought people's needs would be projected onto the stories.

How does Eysenck use activity occurring in the cerebral cortex to explain the difference between introverts and extraverts?

When the cerebral cortex is highly activated, the person is alert. When it's only slightly activated, the person may feel sluggish or drowsy. Eysenck argued that introverts have higher base levels of cerebral cortex activity, and that they may become overstimulated quite easily because of this. They may avoid social interaction to avoid such overstimulation. Extraverts (who have lower base levels of cerebral cortex activity), on the other hand, may seek out social contact to increase their level of arousal.

According to Barash, behavior problems reflect the fact that:

cultural evolution has progressed faster than biological evolution.

The interaction between genetic susceptibility for schizophrenia and an environmental context that touches it off resembles the _________ model.

diathesis-stress

According to Zuckerman, people high in sensation seeking tend to have a difficult time:

inhibiting behavior in the service of social adaptation.

Booth and Dabbs found that men with higher testosterone were:

more likely to have engaged in extramarital sex and domestic abuse.

Both sociobiology and evolutionary psychology have been criticized because:

their statements have disturbing political overtones.