Intro to Personality Exam 4
Know the factors that account for individual differences in personality from an evolutionary perspective?
331-333
Know the definition of behavioral genetics. What is evolutionary psychology? Know the fundamental difference between these concepts.
Behavioral genetics addresses howt traits are passed from parent to child and shared by biological relatives. Evolutionary psychology addresses how patterns of behavior that characterize all humans may have originated in the survivial value these characteristics provided over the history of the species. Behavioral genetics focuses on individual differences, whereas evolutionary psychology focuses on the inheritance of species-specific traits that all humans share.
What are the three levels of consciousness? Be comfortable applying these levels to real-world situations.
Conscious mind: the smallest, topmost, and least important layer, which is the part of your mental functioning you can observe when tou simply turn tour attention inward. Preconscious: a second layer, that consists of ideas you are not thinking about af the moment, but that you could bring into consciousness easily. For example, how is the wearher outside right now? What did to ave for breakfast? Unconscious: the third, biggest, and most important to Freud. It includes all of the id and superego, and most of the ego.
What is the role of variations of a given gene on personality development?
Different forms of the DRD4 gene are assocaited with variations in sensation seeking, and so concluded that the gene might affect this trait via its effect on dopaminergic systems. PAGE 311
Know the concepts of eugenics and cloning. What is the main reason that these practices are unlikely to be seriously considered for future use?
Eugenics is the belief that humanity could be improved through selective breeding. Cloning is the belief that it might be technologically possible to produce a complete duplicate of a human being. Because personality is the result of a complex interaction between an individual's genes and the environment, the chances of being able to breed people to specification or to duplicate someone is slim.
Know the concept of sociometer theory.
Feelings of self-esteem evolved to monitor the degree to which a person is accepted by others.
What are the major criticisms of Freud's theory?
Freud's theory is highly complex.. pages 381-382
Know the three internal structures of the mind. How do these three structures work with each other to produce one's personality?
Id, ego, and superego. It is the irrational and emotional part of the mind, the rational part, and the moral part.
Know the evolutionary explanation for mate selection. What qualities attract men to women and vice versa?
Men are more likely than women to place hogher value on physical attractiveness. Women are more likely to value economic security. Men are likely to desire mates several years younger than themselves, whereas women prefer mates who are somewhat older than themselves. Men and women seek essentially the same thing: the greatest likelihood of having healthy offspring who will survive to reproduce.
What kind of energy powers the mind? Explain this energy's main purpose. What is its counterpart? Explain the counterpart's main purpose.
Mental, or psychic energy, also known as libido. Only a fixed and finite amount is available at any given moment. Energy sepnt doing one thing, such as pushing uncomfortable thoughts out of memory, is unavailable for other purposes, such as having new and creative ideas. The assumption is that it is the mind's capacity for processing information, rather than its energy, that is limited. This discards the idea that unexpressed impulses build up over time, but retains the implication that capacity used up by one purpose is not available for anything else.
Know the definition of monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins. What are the similarity and differences between these kinds of twins? What is the typical study conducted involving these twins and the implications for genetic vs. environmental explanations for their development?
Monozygotic twins are identical twins. Monozygotic ("one-egg") twins come from the splitting of a single fertilized egg and therefore are gentically identical. Dizygotic twins are fraternal. Dizygotic ("two-egg") twins come from two eggs fertilized by two different sperm, and so, although born at the same time, they are no more genetically related than any other two full siblings. Page 304 . Twin studies show heritability coefficients about .40 when adjusted for age and gender.
Know the definition of epigenetics.
Nongenetic influences on a gene's expression, such as stress, nutrition, and so forth.
What is the concept of heritability? Know how to calculate its correlation coefficient for a real-world situation.
Page 303-305
What is the typical study conducted involving adopted children and its implication for genetic vs. environmental factors of development?
Page 305
What is the future of behavioral genetics?
Page 319
Know each of the defense mechanisms. Be comfortable applying them to real-world situations.
Page 377-378
What are some evolutionary functions of common human behaviors? Be comfortable applying this concept to real-world examples.
Pages 321-323
Know the four key ideas of psychoanalytic theory.
Psychic determinism, internal structure, psychic conflcit, mental energy.
What is psychosexual development? Know the four (five) main stages of this theory. What is the main physical focus, psychological theme, and potential fixations for each of the stages? Be comfortable explaining when the three internal structures of the mind appear in these four stages.
Psychosexual development is the story of how life energy, libido, becomes invested and thenredirected over an individual's early years. Oral Stage: Physical focus- mouth, lips, and tongue Psychological theme- dependency, passivity AT THE ORAL STAGE, THE BABY IS ALL ID. BECAUSE THE BABY WANTS TO BE FED, TO BE HELD, TO HAVE A DRY DIAPER, ETC. WANTING STUFF IS THE ID SPECIALTY. ANAL STAGE: PHYSICAL FOCUS: ANUS AND ORGANS OF ELMINATION CHILD DEVELOPS THE EGO. THE EGO'S JOB IS TO MEDIATE BETWEEN WHAT THE CHILD WANTS AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE. THE EGO MUST FIGURE OUT THAT BREAST FEEDING WILLMCONTINUE ONLY AS LONG AS BITING CEASES. PHALLIC STAGE THE SUPEREGO IS THE PART OF THE MIND THAT PASSES MORAL JUDGEMENT ON THE OTHER PARTS, JUDGEMENTS BASED ON A COMPLEX MIXTURE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT MORAL.... AN OVERDEVELOPED OR UNDERDEVELOPED SUPEREGO YIELDS THE ADULT TYPE OF THE PHALLIC CHARACTEF. GENITAL STAGE ALL THREE ARE WELL BALANCED. LOOK AT PAGE 362
Know the concept of regression. Be comfortable applying this concept to real-world situations.
Retreating to an earlier, more immature stage of psychosexual development, usually because of stress.
Know the concept of heritable propensities. What role do they play in explaining more complicated human behavior?
Sensation seeking, or lethargy, or even a craving for blue light. Pg. 310 Lethargy causes watching tv
Know the dominant criticism of Freud's theory during his time and now.
The Victorians looked at Freud's emphasis on sex and sexual energy, and complained that his theory was "dirty". People today look at his theory as what cannot be seen and cannot be conclusively proved, and complain his theory is unscientific.
What is the concept of psychic determinism? Be comfortable applying this concept to real-world situations.
The assumption that everything that happens in a person's ming, and therefore everything that a person thinks and does, aso has a speicfic cause.
What is the definition of sociosexuality?
The willingness to enagage in sexual relations in the absence of a serious relationship..
