* Personality = unique variation of human nature * Personality develops across one’s life course vs. * Human nature has developed through evolution and history Human nature’s beginning: humans were intelligent, bipedal, and lived together in social groups ## ^^The Evolution of Big Brains and Human Sociality^^ * Features of human nature that differentiate us from different species: * Tremendous cognitive power/ intelligence * Eg: language, reason, creativity, innovation, imagination, tool use, advances in science and technology * Social nature; we naturally group together * Eg: pair-bonding, family formation, group identification, cooperation, altruism, competition, warfare, religion, government, culture * Personality is expressed through behavior, thought, and feeling that occur in __social contexts__ * Big brains + intense social relationships go together * Eg: species with the biggest brains relative to body size tend to form monogamous pair-bond * Primates = big brains + the neocortex occupies a big part of their brain * Neocortex = responsible for governing conscious thought, planning, and decision making * The bigger the groups in which individuals live, the bigger their neocortex is Eg: humans live in the largest groups and our neocortex accounts for 80% of our whole brain * Eusociality: members of eusocial species live in coordinated and multigenerational groups using division of labor * Evolution: 1- Bipedalism: free hands - manipulate objects and food 2- Tools: use of tools 3- Meat: the harvesting of meat became one of many social tasks requiring coordination and cooperation → led to the formation of highly organized groups 4- Fire: learned to control fire - used to cook - led to social activity such as sharing cooked meals, which enhanced social bonding 5- Campsites: establishment of campsites created a greater division of labor and more complex organizations 6- Culture: the development of language led to human creativity 7- Agriculture: led to an increase in group size and eventually the creation of small towns and cities * Shared intentionality: sharing with others our intentions to work more efficiently to accomplish a joint task * The development of this trait led to the establishment of shared morality, ethical codes, religious sensibilities, and human government * Prefrontal cortex: complex decision-making + social behavior * Temporal lobes: language ## ^^It’s All About the Group^^ * Autrey’s story: he saved a man having a seizure from being crushed by a subway - selfless heroism * __Mother-infant attachment__: a bond of love that forms in the first year of the infant’s life to serve the evolutionary demand of protecting the helpless infant from predators and other dangers in the environment * __Kin selection__: individuals may show altruism toward those with whom they share a significant allotment of genes * __Reciprocal altruism__: helping other individual human beings in your group and expecting them to return the favor eventually * __Inclusive fitness__: someone’s survival and overall reproductive chances * People cooperate because group members cannot survive without each other * __Multilevel selection__: evolution works at many different levels * Eg: evolved tendencies that directly benefit groups may exist simultaneously with evolved tendencies that directly benefit selfish behavior within the group * Humans have a natural *need to belong* to all sorts of social groupings * Condition to belong to a group = prosocial behavior * __Group identification__: people naturally identify with social groups and experience the group’s triumphs and setbacks as if they were their own * __Minimal group paradigm__: people in a random group start to believe their group is superior to another opposing group and develop a prejudice against the “other” group * Eg: allegiance to sports teams * __Social identity__: someone’s own thoughts and feelings regarding how they fit into a group, their role, and function in the group, and what membership in the group means more generally for their life * Groups * In-groups: groups to which one belongs * Out-groups: groups that are in direct opposition to the groups to which you belong → Parents, teachers, and other socializers of a group teach children the group’s customs, traditions, moral codes, valued technologies, and history * Humans hold strong moral intuitions regarding: 1. physical harm 2. fairness and reciprocity 3. respect for legitimate authority 4. loyalty to in-groups 5. purity or sanctity * Religion: shared beliefs and feelings of kinship - leads to subordination * It has given motivation for some of the greatest achievements and acts of infamy ## ^^Exhibit A For a Eusocial Species: Charles Darwin, Himself^^ * __Natural selection__: theory of evolution * The problem of balance: how do humans achieve both social acceptance and social status? how to win both power and love in one’s group? how to get along with others while also getting ahead of them? ## ^^Getting Along And Getting Ahead^^ * These 2 challenges have been around for over 100,000 years ago * __Socioanalytic theory of personality__ (by Robert Hogan): human beings are biologically wired to live in social groups that are organized into status hierarchies * It is in human nature to seek social acceptance and social status * Group life = social performance * We are all actors playing our roles and trying to manage the impressions of other group members * Self-presentation + Impression management * Importance of reputation: how you are perceived by your group. It is mainly conveyed by gossip, which often promotes cooperation in groups * Personality begins with the different reputations that humans achieve in their social groups * The variations in personality mattered throughout evolution for getting along and getting ahead in social groups * __Personality__: depends on recognizable variation in social performance → Human beings can have social relationships with a maximum of 150 other human beings at a given time in their lives (beyond 150, we can’t keep track of who is who) * Personality: * Behavioral attributions that other people make about you as they observe your social performances * The attributions you make about yourself as you observe yourself in social action and as you observe others observing you

Importance of reputation

________: how you are perceived by your group.

Social identity

________: someones own thoughts and feelings regarding how they fit into a group, their role, and function in the group, and what membership in the group means more generally for their life.

Socioanalytic theory of personality

________ (by Robert Hogan): human beings are biologically wired to live in social groups that are organized into status hierarchies.

Religion

________: shared beliefs and feelings of kinship- leads to subordination.

Prefrontal cortex

________: complex decision- making + social behavior.

Inclusive fitness

________: someones survival and overall reproductive chances.

Personality

________ is expressed through behavior, thought, and feeling that occur in social contexts.

monogamous pair bond

Eg: species with the biggest brains relative to body size tend to form ________.

Humans

________ have a natural need to belong to all sorts of social groupings.

Reciprocal altruism

________: helping other individual human beings in your group and expecting them to return the favor eventually.

Natural selection

________: theory of evolution.

Multilevel selection

________: evolution works at many different levels.

Kin selection

________: individuals may show altruism toward those with whom they share a significant allotment of genes.

Human nature

________ has developed through evolution and history.

group identification

Eg: pair- bonding, family formation, ________, cooperation, altruism, competition, warfare, religion, government, culture.

Meat

________: the harvesting of meat became one of many social tasks requiring coordination and cooperation → led to the formation of highly organized groups.

Eusociality

________: members of eusocial species live in coordinated and multigenerational groups using division of labor.

Personality

________: depends on recognizable variation in social performance.

Personality

________ begins with the different reputations that humans achieve in their social groups.

Primates

________= big brains + the neocortex occupies a big part of their brain.

Human natures beginning

humans were intelligent, bipedal, and lived together in social groups

Eg

language, reason, creativity, innovation, imagination, tool use, advances in science and technology

Eg

pair-bonding, family formation, group identification, cooperation, altruism, competition, warfare, religion, government, culture

Eg

species with the biggest brains relative to body size tend to form monogamous pair-bond

Eg

humans live in the largest groups and our neocortex accounts for 80% of our whole brain

Eusociality

members of eusocial species live in coordinated and multigenerational groups using division of labor

Shared intentionality

sharing with others our intentions to work more efficiently to accomplish a joint task

Prefrontal cortex

complex decision-making + social behavior

Temporal lobes

language

Mother-infant attachment

a bond of love that forms in the first year of the infants life to serve the evolutionary demand of protecting the helpless infant from predators and other dangers in the environment

Kin selection

individuals may show altruism toward those with whom they share a significant allotment of genes

Reciprocal altruism

helping other individual human beings in your group and expecting them to return the favor eventually

Inclusive fitness

someones survival and overall reproductive chances

Multilevel selection

evolution works at many different levels

Eg

evolved tendencies that directly benefit groups may exist simultaneously with evolved tendencies that directly benefit selfish behavior within the group

Group identification

people naturally identify with social groups and experience the groups triumphs and setbacks as if they were their own

Minimal group paradigm

people in a random group start to believe their group is superior to another opposing group and develop a prejudice against the "other" group

Eg

allegiance to sports teams

Social identity

someones own thoughts and feelings regarding how they fit into a group, their role, and function in the group, and what membership in the group means more generally for their life

In-groups

groups to which one belongs

Out-groups

groups that are in direct opposition to the groups to which you belong

Natural selection

theory of evolution

The problem of balance

how do humans achieve both social acceptance and social status

Socioanalytic theory of personality (by Robert Hogan)

human beings are biologically wired to live in social groups that are organized into status hierarchies

Importance of reputation

how you are perceived by your group

Personality

depends on recognizable variation in social performance