PSY 236 exam 3

Individual differences in behavior are caused not by personality traits, but
by if... then contingencies

What is the CAPS Theory?

If Then Contingencies

reliable patterns of thinking and feeling that cause a
specific person’s behavior in a specific situation

• IF [certain situation] THEN [certain behavior]
• IF someone holds their hand out, THEN I give them a high five

what is an example of if then contingencies

Nomothetic

theories and findings that apply across people
• The average person... tends to

idiographic

theories and findings that apply to one person

• What do you do when

gather data on one person MANY times

what does idiographic research look like

Gather data on MANY people

what does nomothetic research look like

cybernetics

the study of goal-directed organisms

The Big Five describe individual

differences in five major cognitive goals

what is cybernetics theory?

Reward seeking (I want to have fun)

What is extraversions goal in cybernetics?

Cooperation (I want to minimize conflict)

What is agreeableness goal in cybernetics?

Self-regulation (I want to achieve my goals)

What is contentiousness goal in cybernetics?

Punishment avoidance (I want to be safe)

What is neuroticism goal in cybernetics?

Information gathering (I want to learn)

What is openness goal in cybernetics?

Motivation:

the study of goals, desires, dreams, and wishes

Fixed mindset

we believe our traits are unchangeable

Growth mindset:

we believe our traits are malleable over time

Failure is a sign you can’t succeed.

You should give up

what is a fixed mindset response to failure?

Failure is a sign you didn’t

succeed. Maybe you can in the future. Don’t give up

what is a growth mindset response to failure?

But interventions that change mindsets barely (or don’t)

change grades

• These results indicate that growth mindsets aren’t the main

cause of grades – it is traits that correlate with a growth

mindset, but aren’t changed by the intervention

Do interventions to give people a growth mindset improve grades?

People who have growth mindsets tend to have better grades

than those who have fixed mindsets.

what is the reality of growth mindset?

• Appraising something as emotionally relevant

• MSU won a football game! Finally!

• Physiological responses

• Blood pressure raises, pulse quickens

• Nonverbal behavior

• Fist pump, yelp

• Facial expressions

• Big smile, “relieved eyebrows”

• Motives

• Look around to say “lets go” to each other

What is the five-part recipe for emotions?

No, Recipe can be

put together in

any order

Is there an order for the recipe for emotions?

The synthetic emotions

perspective

Across cultures, a few basic

dimensions of emotions

combine into many different

emotions

when studying/comparing multiple emotions

When is The synthetic perspective is most useful?

most useful for single-emotion research

When is The discrete emotions perspective is most useful?

Discrete emotions perspective

A few common emotions exist across all human cultures

• These emotions are separate from one another

• Each emotion has its own facial expression, evolved to

communicate an important message

1) Culture can shape our expectations for normative patterns
of thinking, feeling, and behaving (ex: should you say hello to a stranger)

2) Culture shapes the consequences of
personality traits

3) Acculturation and enculturation can affect our personality traits

• Our culture influences the way we think, feel, and behave

What are the three ways culture can shape personality?

tight cultures is is not okay to deviate from norms, loos cutlture it is okay;there are many norms

What is the difference between tight and loose cultures?

Denser population typically

leads to tighter culture

• Diversity leads to a looser culture

What can cause cultures to be tight or loose?

in individualistic, the individual is more important than the group. In collectivistic, the group is more important

What is the difference between individualistic and collectivistic cultures?

tend to be more self focused emotions (anger, desire)

What are some of the consequences of living in an individualistic culture?

avoid loss of respect

What are some of the consequences of living in an collectivistic

culture?

Yes, personality matters in collectivist cultures, but it is expressed and valued differently than in individualistic cultures. Personality traits are important worldwide

Does personality matter in collectivistic cultures? What is the evidence for or against this?

compare themselves to others around them

When we rate our personality traits, who do we usually compare ourselves to?

We CANNOT compare personality trait scores between western and

non-western cultures. We can compare between more similar cultures

According to measurement invariance tests, which cultures can you compare on personality, and which cultures can you not compare on personality?

Means they have multiple functions. If natural selection increases/decreases a gene, it will increase/decrease every trait caused by that gene.

Genes that cause schizophrenia likely also cause curiosity and

intelligence, which increase survival/reproduction

What does it mean when traits co-evolve? How does this explain psychiatric disorders?

There isn;t must natural selection in modern times. Much of our evolution happened in the past, when

survival and reproduction were more variable

• Some traits that we have evolved are no longer

adaptive

Why is evolution calibrated to the past? What does this mean about traits in the present?

Helping genetic relatives survive

and reproduce will also lead to

successful gene reproduction

Why does evolution increase helping others?

Yes, Natural selection only works if there is genetic

variation

• DNA isn’t passed down perfectly (by design) DNA varies

• Variation is essential for evolution

Do all heritable traits vary? Why or why not?

in humans dominance isnt very important but openess is (opposite for chimpanzees)

What is the major difference between personality in humans and chimpanzees? Why?

Differences in approach versus avoidance are

seen in nearly all animals because Different species evolve to suit their own specific needs

What traits are seen in nearly all animals? Why?

Yes, if a 1 millimeter long nematode with 302 neurons has

personality, all animals have personality

Do C. Elegans have personality traits? What does this say about animal personality more broadly?

Balancing selection maintains variation in squirrel personality by fluctuating over time and differing by context, ensuring that no single personality type (e.g., exclusively bold or shy) dominates. Example: Too bold: get eaten by a hawk

Not bold enough: miss out on acorns needed

to survive winter

How does balancing selection affect squirrel personality?

No Because personality traits are shaped by evolution,

all living beings exhibit personality variation

Do all non-human animals have the same personality traits? Why or why not?

No

Do family studies actually measure DNA?

scientists compare pairs of

people across different levels of relatedness

How do twin studies measure heritability? (what is the method, not the equation)

Yes 40-60% hertiable no meaningful differences between traits

Are the Big Five heritable? How heritable?

About 40-60% of personality differences across people

are due to the environment

Are the Big Five caused by the environment? How much?

Twins raised apart and together are equally similar

Are twins raised separate still similar in their personality traits?

Through twin studies and adoption studies by testing similarities between twins raised apart. They found that similarity must be caused by genetics because they have different environments

How do psychologists separate genetic from environmental effects? What do they find?

1) large sample sizes 2) study the whole genome. 3) have a really strict/low p –value (.00000005)

What were the three changes scientists made to study DNA properly?

Effects above line: p < .00000005

Where in the genome are genetic effects on personality found?

Using local dictionaries to study culturally-

specific traits

Which is typical of emic research?

eMic = Mini; eTic = Total

eMic= note

no

is the Big five applicable worldwide?

Measurement Invariance tests:

we can compare scores across

western cultures, but we can’t compare across more different

cultures