personality psychology midterm 2

define genome

refers to the complete set of genes an organism possesses

what is eugenics?

the notion that we can design the future of the human species by fostering the reproduction of people with certain traits and discouraging the reproduction of people without those traits

phenotypic variance vs genotypic variance

phenotypic variance refers to observed individual differences

genotypic variance refers to individual differences in the total collection of genes possessed by each person

what methods have behavioural geneticists developed for differentiating the contributions of genes and environments as causes of individual differences?

1. selective breeding 2.twin studies 3.family studies 4. adoption studies

monozygotic twins vs dizygotic twins

what formula is used to calculate the heritability from twin data?

heritability2= 2(rmz- rdz)

r refers to the correlation between the type of twins

what is the equal environments assumption?

the environments experienced by identical twins are no more similar to each other than the environments experiences by fraternal twins

what is genotype-environment interaction?

when individuals with different genotypes respond differently to the same environment

ex. introverts and extraverts in the same environment

what is genotype-environment correlation?

individuals with different genotypes are exposed to different environments

ex. parents might promote sports activities for children who are athletic more than for children less athletic

what are the 3 types of genotype environment correlations? and define them

1. passive: occurs when parents provide both genes and the environment to the children, yet the child has done nothing to obtain that environment

ex. parents like books so they pass that on to kids as well as have a lot of books in the house, not cause the kid asked for them though

2. reactive: occurs when parents respond to children differently depending on the child's genotype

ex. mother cuddles both kids in the beginning then realizes one kid doesn't like it, so she continues to cuddle the kid that likes it and stops with the other

3. active: occurs when a person with a particular genotype creates or seeks out a particular environment

ex. highly intellectual people are likely to attend lectures, read books, and engage others in verbal disclosure

what is the goal of molecular genetics?

identify the specific genes associated with personality traits

what is the most frequently examined gene?

DRD4 gene which is a dopamine receptor

why are people with long repeat versions of DRD4 found to be higher on novelty seeking than people with short versions?

people with long versions tend to be relatively unresponsive to dopamine which causes them to seek out experiences that give them a "dopamine buzz"

which 3 physiological measures are of particular interest to personality psychologists?

1. electrodermal activity

2. cardiovascular measures

3. activity in the brain ``

explain how researchers directly measure sympathetic nervous system activity

sweat conducts electricity and so the more sweat there is in the skin, the more easily the skin conducts electricity. two electrodes are placed on the palm of one hand. a very low voltage of electrivity is put through one electrode, and the researcher measures the electricity of the other electrode. the difference in the amount of electricity tells researchers how well the skin is conducting electricity.

systolic pressure vs diastolic pressure

blood pressure numbers

systolic: larger number; maximum pressure within the cardiovascular system produced when the heart contracts

diastolic: smaller number; resting pressure inside the system between heart contractions

which type of people is more likely to develop heart disease and have heart attacks and why?

Type A because these types of people are usually hostile and hostility has been shown to increase coronary artery disease

what did Eysenck believe about introverts and extraverts?

introverts are characterized by higher levels of activity in the brain's Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS- area responsible for controlling cortical arousal) introverts have higher resting levels of cortical arousal because their ARAS lets in too much stimulation therefore they act introvertedly because they need to keep their heightened level of arousal in check

explain Gray's BAS and BIS theory

BAS: Behaviour Activation System- is responsive to incentives/cues and regulates approach behaviour (accelerator)(impulsivity)

BIS: Behaviour Inhibition System- responsive to cues for punishment;cease/inhibit behaviour (brakes)(anxiety)v

monozygotic twins vs dizygotic twins

monozygotic: identical twins ; share 100% of genes

dizygotic: fraternal twins; share 50% of genes

explain Hebb's theory of optimal arousal and what was his questionnaire called?

states that people are motivated to reach an optimal level of arousal

if under aroused- an increase in arousal is rewarding

a questionnaire called the Sensation-Seeking Scale

what is the function of monoamine oxidase and how does it work?

MAO are responsible for maintaining the proper levels of neurotransmitters.

works by breaking down the neurotransmitter after it has allowed a nerve impulse to pass.

what happens if there's too much MAO present?

it would break down too much of the neurotransmitter and nerve transmission would be diminished

just right levels of MAO are needed for transmission to occur regularly

what kind of MAO levels do high sensation seekers have vs low sensation seekers?

high sensation seekers have low levels of MAO

low sensation seekers have high levels of MAO

according to Zuckerman, why do sensation seeking behaviours occur?

because there are too many little biochemical brakes in the synapse

how do medicines like Prozac work?

they block the reuptake of serotonin which leaves it in the synapse a little longer, leading depressed people to feel less depressed

explain Cloninger's tridimensional personality model

explained how 3 personality traits are tied to 3 levels of personality

1. novelty seeking- as a result of low levels of dopamine

2. harm avoidance- abnormalities in serotonin levels; people low in harm avoidance described as energetic high in hard avoidance are shy

3. reward dependence- related to low levels of norepinephrine

people high on this trait are persistent; will work hard for rewards

when does body temperature peak and trough?

peaks: mid evening around 8-9 pm

troughs: in the early morning around 6 am

what is a temporal- isolation design study and what is it used to study?

used to study circadian rhythms

participants are placed in an evironment entirely controlled by researcher. no windows, no radio, nothing that would indicate what time of day it is.

what are alpha waves? and what conclusions can be made from low alpha wave presence?

the relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, calm state

the less alpha waves, the less likely that part of the brain was active

what have studies found about frontal brain asymmetry?

the left side of the brain associated with pleasant emotions and the right side associated with unpleasant emotions. these findings have shown stability and consistency

what are Darwin's 2 theories?

natural selection- the process by which adaptions are created and change takes place over time

sexual selection- the evolution of characteristics because of their mating benefits, rather than survival benefits

what is intrasexual competition?

Competition between members of the same sex leading to increased access to mates of the opposite sex

what is intersexual competition?

members of one sex choose a mate based on their preferences for particular qualities in that mate

what is differential gene reproduction?

reproductive success relative to others

what is inclusive fitness theory?

one's personal reproductive success plus the effects you have on the reproduction of your genetic relatives, weighted by the degree of genetic relatedness

what are the 3 products of evolution?

1. adaptations

2. byproducts of adaptions

3. noise/random variations

what are byproducts of adaptations?

incidental effects that are not properly considered to be adaptations

ex. nose adaptation for smelling not holding up glasses

what is noise/random variation?

random variations that are neutral with respect to selection

what are the 3 key premises of evolutionary psychology?

1. domain specificity- adaptations are designed by the evolutionary process to solve a particular adaptive problem

2. numerousness- having numerous adaptive mechanisms

3. functionality- the notion that our psychological mechanisms are designed to accomplish particular adaptive goals

what is the deductive reasoning approach?

"top-down", theory driven method of emprirical research

what is the inductive reasoning approach?

"bottom-up", date-driven method of empirical research; phenomenon is first observed, then researchers develop a theory that fits the observations

what are the 3 key levels of personality analysis?

1. human nature

2. sex differences

3. individual differences

what are the components of human nature?

1. need to belong

2. helping and altruism

3. universal emotions

what was Hogan's theory?

the most basic human motivators are status and acceptance by the group

what are evolutionary predicted sex differences?

idea that the sexes will differ in precisely those domains where females and males have faced different sorts of adaptive problems

which 3 domains have the sexes been predicted to differ in?

1. aggression

2. jealousy

3. mate preferences

why are males more aggressive than females?

because of effective polygyny, males have always been in competition with other males because they may ruin their chances of getting with a female, aka the ultimate prize

another reason is because of their body types, females would rather chose a nice big strong mate than a scrawny little one.

what cues trigger males and females in regard to jealousy?

males are more likely to get jealous in response to cues to a sexual unloyal

females more likely to get jealous in response to cues to the long term diversion of a mate's commitment

what is the difference between restricted sexual strategy and unrestricted mating strategy?

restricted sexual strategy is when a woman is looking for a long-term partner; this comes with delayed intercourse and prolonged courtship

unrestricted mating strategy is when a woman doesn't care about long term just wants a short term thing so previous encounters don't matter and neither do future endeavours; less reason to delay sexual intercourse

what are 5 limitations of evolutionary psychology?

1. lack of precise knowledge about past environments that humans have evolved from

2. evolutionary psychologists have just scratched the surface of understanding the details of psychological adaptations

3. modern conditions are different from past conditions so what was adaptive in the past may not be adaptive now

4. it is easy to come up with different hypotheses for the same phenomenon

5. been accused of being untestable and unfalsifiable

What is effective polygyny?

some males gain more than other males who are shut off from reproducing

what does sexually dimorphic mean?

species that show high variance in reproduction within one sex

when babies cry, what side of the brain is more activated?

right hemisphere

where do Individual Differences come from?

1. a result of environmental differences

2. size and strength of one's body

3. frequency-dependent selection

4. optimum level of a personality trait can vary over time and space

what is frequency-dependent selection?

notion that causes the frequency of men and women to remain roughly equal

how are activity in the brain and moods related?

high activity in the left anterior hemisphere = positive mood

high activity in the right anterior hemisphere= negative mood

what are the 3 neurotransmitters that are connected to personality?

1. dopamine- associated with pleasure

2. serotonin- associated with depression and other mood disorders

3. norepinephrine- associated with fight or flight response

What is Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Model?

novelty seeking - low levels of dopamine

harm avoidance - low levels of serotonin

reward dependence - low levels of norepinephrine

What is genetic bottleneck?

when a population shrinks due to some random catastrophe

What is the parental investment theory?

theory that states in species in which females invest more heavily in offspring than males do

What is psychic energy?

a source of energy with each person that motivates all human activity

how does personality change in terms of Freud's psychic energy idea?

personality change occurs with redirection of a person's psychic energy

what did Freud believe were strong innate forces that provided all the energy in the psychic system?

instincts

libido vs thanatos

libido- life instinct

thanatos- death instinct

what are the 3 parts of the human mind according to Freud?

1. conscious- contains all the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that you are aware of

2. preconscious- information that you are not presently thinking of, but can be retrieved and made conscious

3. unconscious- largest part, stuff that you are unaware of

what is psychoanalytic theory?

Freud's theory that unconscious forces act as determinants of personality

what are the id, ego, and superego?

id: the source of all drive and urges; acts without thinking; immediate gratification

ego: balances between right and wrong; reality principle

superego: responsible for upholding social values and ideals

what are the 3 types of anxiety?

1. objective

2. neurotic

3. moral

define objective anxiety

anxiety that occurs in response to real, external threats to a person

define neurotic anxiety

anxiety that occurs when there is direct conflict between id and ego

define moral anxiety

anxiety caused by conflict between ego and superego

what is repression?

process whereby person forgets something they experienced because it is too painful

what is denial?

refusal to believe

what is regression?

revert to earlier stage of development

what is projection?

misattribute your feelings/thoughts to others

what is reaction formation?

to stifle the expression of an unacceptable urge; a person may continuously display a flurry of behaviour that indicates the opposite impulse

what is displacement?

a threatening or an unaccepted impulse is channeled or redirected from its original source to a nonthreatening target

what is rationalization?

generating acceptable reasons for outcomes that might otherwise appear socially unacceptable

what is sublimation?

channel feelings into acceptable outlets

what is psychosexual stage theory?

children seek sexual gratification at each stage by investing energy in a specific body part

what are the stages of psychosexual stage theory?

1. oral stage

2. anal stage

3. phallic stage

4. latency stage

5. genital stage

describe the oral stage

- occurs from birth- 18 months

- main source of pleasure from mouth

- main conflict: weaning off the breast or bottle

- fixation: may be overly dependent

describe the anal stage

- occurs at ages 18 months- 3 years

- obtains pleasure from behaviours around feces

- main conflict: child's ability to achieve self-control

- fixation: compulsive

describe the phallic stage

- occurs at ages 3-5

- obtains pleasure from can be derived from touching them

- main conflict: oedipal conflict

- fixation: overly dramatic and use partners for sex

describe the latency stage

- occurs at 6 until puberty

- not really any specific conflict or area of focus

describe the genital stage

- occurs around puberty for rest of life

- focus on genitals

- personality is dependent on how one deals with problems leading up until puberty

what is the goal of psychoanalysis

to bring out unresolved issues to free up psychic energy through different methods; make unconscious conscious

What is free association?

a method of exploring the unconscious by making the person relax and saying whatever comes to mind

what is the difference between manifest content and latent content in dream analysis?

manifest content: what the dream actually contains

latent content: what the elements of the dream represent

what is transference?

when the patient begins reacting to the analyst as if they were an important figure from the patient's life

what are some criticisms of Freud's psychoanalysis?

- focus on case studies

- emphasis on sexual drives is inappropriate

- historical value

what are Weston's five postulates of contemporary psychoanalysis?

1. unconscious plays a large role in life

2. behaviour is reflective of compromises in conflicts among mental processes

3. childhood plays an important part in personality development

4. mental representations of the self and relationships guide interactions

5. personality development involves moving from immature to mature relationship style

what are some effects that may lead to false memories?

1. imagination inflammation effect

2. confirmatory bias

what is the imagination inflation effect?

occurs when a memory is elaborated upon through imagination, leading a person to confuse the imagine event with events that actually happened

what is confirmatory bias?

the tendency to look only for evidence that confirms their previous hunch and to not look for evidence that might contradict with their belief

what is motivated unconscious?

something in the unconscious can motivate behaviour

what is cognitive unconscious?

information can get into our memories without us ever being aware of the information

what is subliminal perception?

perception that bypasses conscious awareness, usually achieve through very brief exposure times, typically less than 30 milliseconds

what is priming?

technique to make associated material more accessible to conscious awareness than material that is not primed