personality psyc chap 3+4 exam 1

What is heritability? How heritable is personality?

- proportion of observed variance in a group of individuals that can be accounted for by genetic variance 42-60%

What did Hippocrates and Galen propose about the four personality types and bodily humors?

-Choleric (irritable) - related urine -Melancholic (depressed) - related to black bile -Phlegmatic (calm) - phlegm -Sanguine (optimistic) - lots of blood -No evidence this is true;Brought idea that physical properties determine personality

What is the evidence for a relation between testosterone levels and aggression?

Animals injected with testosterone → increase in aggression; Correlational studies show higher levels of testosterone: Socially high-ranking male chimpanzees, Prisoners convicted of violent crimes, and College fraternities considered more rambunctious, cruder; Testosterone levels rise and fall according to whether the individual wins or loses in competition in sports

What are the behavioral approach system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS)?

BAS - regulates approach behaviors; is about that GO; SEEKING REWARD..When there's some incentive, that's more powerful, they would be very motivated and go for it High BAS - motivated to seek out and achieve pleasurable goals BIS - responsive to cues for punishment, frustration, uncertainty; is about avoiding/not approaching High BIS - wary, apprehensive Ppl high on BAS have more activation in LEFT-PFC (reward and approach-higher BAS scores); higher BIS associated with RPFC

Challenges to Evolutionary Psychology

Culture can be an argument against evolutionary psychology- culture driving men to be dominant rather than evolution. Also, People use Evolutionary Psychology to justify bad behavior such as men abandoning their wives. Although it is argued that Evolutionary Psychology explains behaviors, but does not predict them or cause them.

What are the implications of BAS and BIS for learning (i.e., using reward and punishment)?

Depends on high on BIS or BAS whether it's better to use punishments or rewards as motivation (BAS: rewards, BIS: punishments)

What is some evidence for differences in baseline arousal/alertness?

Difference in cortical arousal - Extraverts baseline of cortical is low thus they seek out stimulation, Introverts baseline is excessive so they get aroused and overwhelmed easily

How do dopamine and serotonin relate to personality?

Dopamine - involved in response to reward (Connected to BAS); Serotonin - low levels related to neuroticism (Implicated in BIS)

What is the evidence for the biological inheritance of inhibition?

Evidence for biologically inherited temperaments - Young children or infants are usually assumed to have a temperament due to biology, Extreme inhibited or uninhibited behaviors at age 2 or 3 can be related to long-term outcomes Evidence that people who start out as inhibited are shy as adults ; Uninhibited kids are opposite Inhibited more likely to devlop anxiety/ become withdrawn; Unhbited more likely to be aggressive

What was Klinesmith et al.'s (2006) study?

Experiment where participants were given either a gun (aggressive cue) or a mousetrap game (non-aggressive cue). Their saliva was tested for testosterone. They were told the purpose of the study was to pay attention to the item and write an "Instruction Manual." Afterwards, they were instructed to put whatever quantity of hot sauce that they wished to in the sample for the next participant. Male participants interacted with handgun or game Testosterone measured - saliva Aggression measured - amount of hot sauce

How did Eysenck explain introversion and extraversion (using biology)?

Eysenck - proposed that introverts normally have higher cortical arousal than extraverts → intro avoid social interaction because it causes overstimulation

The Big Five and the Brain-

Impaired Frontal lobe= low agreeableness, low conscientiousness High agreeableness= high activation in frontal lobe High neuroticism= higher responses in the amygdala, discrepancy detection takes longer, meaning it takes longer to recognize unusual things Low conscientious= found in ventral striatum (food and money)

What characterizes inhibited and uninhibited children?

Inhibited children - cautious about and at times fearful of new people and new situations; Uninhibited children - opposite; Anxiety to novelty: Not a general anxiety, just anxiety for new situations, spontaneously approach novel persons, objects, and situations.

Hormones and Behavior

Men are more attracted to women during the times their are fertile. Ex; female lap dances got $335 in tips when fertile Only recieved $260 when not, women on BC (Birth Control) were left out of the study, did not affect them. Women are more attracted to masculine men during fertility period, such as rugby players / football *Testosterone- weak correlation with high levels and aggression- they go up after winning a game. 2D and 4 D. When the two fingers , one on the right of ur middle finger and one on your left are basically the same length this means you have high testosterone, if the fingers are different lengths then you have a low level. Low levels= high testosterone Women on low levels are: more assertive, slam phones, less successful Men: Take more risks, skydiving, risky stocks, disagreeable

What are twin studies? How can they be used to estimate the relative contribution of genes to personality?

Monozygotic twins - identical (100% shared genes) Dizygotic twins - fraternal (average 50% shared genes) Compute correlation between sets of monozygotic twins and co-twins and dizygotic twins and co-twins on some characteristic

Are You a Morning Person or a Night Person?: Understanding Your Circadian Rhythm

Morning person is : high on agreeableness, lower in extraversion, and lower in openness to new experiences, also lower in neuroticism Neater More achievement oriented and more introverted, less anxious, and more caring.

How does evolutionary psychology explain men's aggression?

Sexual selection theory - unequal parental investment, Sexual competition for fertile females

What are shared and nonshared environments?

Shared environment - features of environment in common (Examples: socioeconomic status, nutrition, schooling) Nonshared environment - environmental factors that make people different (Examples: roles in the family, friends, treatment by parents)

What are the different reproductive challenges and advantages for men and women

Women: Limited # of offspring, More difficulty securing resources during pregnancy and lactation, Maternal certainty; Men: Unlimited # of offspring, Competition for fertile females, Paternal uncertainty How do these challenges and advantages predict different mate selection preferences and behaviors? Women: Will be selective, Want mate who has resources or prospects, Want mate who is willing to commit; Men: Will emphasize youth and fertility in prospective mates, Will be more sexually active, Will have higher levels of aggression and competitiveness, Will have higher levels of sexually jealousy and be more controlling because of paternal uncertainty What was found in Buss's (1994) and Hatfield and Sprecher's (1995) studies of mate preferences? Women more likely to emphasize earning capacity, ambition (get and attain resources), Men more likely to emphasize physical attractiveness (fertility)

What is reinforcement sensitivity theory?

behavioral approach system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) both reside in brain

What is the selfish gene

helping each other = protecting own genes More likely to save someone with more of their genes

Vigalence tasks

if given same tasks, long list of #'s and listen for odd #'s in a row, introverts do better than extraverts b/c extraverts tend to find it more boring and doze off, and are less vigilant. Introverts maintain focus better & more competent

What is the lemon juice test?

introverts tend to be more sensitive to stimulation, intro tend to salivate more in response to lemon juice, q-tip. Extraverts don't salivate in response to lemon juice; introverts are more sensitive to the stimulation of the sourness of the lemon juice than extraverts are; shows a physiological element to personality

What is the parental investment model?

is any parental expenditure (time, energy etc.) that benefits one offspring at a cost to parents' ability to invest in other components of fitness, and is thus a form of sexual selection. predicts sex differences in approaches to mate selection

What is inclusive fitness?

kin selection) - natural selection not only applies to individuals, but also involves behaviors that benefit other individuals with whom we share genes

What is the genetic determinism model?

proposes that behavior is driven by genetic attributes that evolved because they enhanced the probability of transmitting one's genes to subsequent generations

What is behavioral genetics?

study of genetic influences on behavioral qualities (including personality) Methods of behavioral genetics looks at How much is due to gene or environment but it doesnt take results to claim that certain ppl shouldnt reproduce b/c of certain genes

What is the challenge hypothesis?

testosterone rises in response to situational cues

What is the need to belong?

the desire to form and maintain close, lasting relationships with other individuals (Need to affiliate and belong according to evolutionary psychologists helps us to survive through the support of friends and family)

Drug effects on extraverts vs introverts

when take a stimulant drug, extraverts don't need to take much than introverts b.c they reach level of stimulation with less drugs, on their own naturally (physiologically difference) introverts need less of stimulant drugs to reach the same effect as extraverts while extraverts need more depressant drugs to calm them down

What are restricted and unrestricted sociosexuality

willingness to engage in sexual relations in the absence of a serious relationship: Unrestricted sociosexuality (Higher in men, Being willing to engage in sexual relationships casually; short-term sexual encounters), Restricted sociosexuality (Higher in women, Preference for not casual sexual relationships; long-term sexual commitment)

What are gene-environment interactions?

◦Situations might cause one reaction in a person with one genetic makeup and a different reaction in a person with a different genetic makeup Different situations might cause different outcomes in person with certain genetic makeup Ex: introverts vs extraverts (diff genetic makeup), behavior varies on environment