Psychology of Personality Exam #2

1-23 (physiology lecture), 24-

How do we measure neuroticism?

Skin conductance tests; electrodes placed on palm

• More sweat = better conductance of electricity = more neurotic

• Extraverts have a _____ arousal response and they seek out arousal in the environment.

• Introverts have a _______ arousal response and they don’t need as much arousal from the environment.

weaker, stronger

What is the ARAS? What is it responsible for?

Ascending reticular activating system, responsible for arousability

The Geen, 1984 task showed us what?

What introverts find “just right”, extraverts find boring (and vise versa)

Ex. Introverts chose quieter music, while extraverts chose louder music.

What is the reinforcement sensitivity theory?

• Sensitive to reward and punishment

• Based on 2 reward systems in the brain: BIS and BAS

What is the behavioral inhibition system (BIS)?

Regulates the strength of response to punishment, frustration, uncertainty, etc. It leads to avoidance behavior (like a brake system or stop sign)

Stronger BIS than BAS is associated with what?

Anxiety

What is the behavioral activation system (BAS)?

Regulates the strength of response to incentives and rewards. Leads to approach behavior (like an accelerator or green light).

Stronger BAS than BIS is associated with what?

Impulsivity

What are the implications of the Larson et al., 2003 study?

The two types of learning (reinforcement and punishment) may be controlled by separate brain systems

E.g. stronger BAS → impulsivity → learn well from reward

E.g. stronger BIS → anxiety → learn well from punishment

You find it strange that people around you often seem so

relaxed; even when you are just sitting in the quiet of your

room, you can feel your heart racing, and it has been that way

for as long as you can remember. Which of the following is

likely true of you, physiologically?

a. High extraversion

b. High introversion

c. High neuroticism

C

You find it strange that people around you often seem so

relaxed; when you enter a brightly-lit, loud room, you can feel

your heart rate go up, and it has been that way for as long as

you can remember. Which of the following is likely true of

you, physiologically?

a. High extraversion

b. High introversion

c. High neuroticism

B

When your family visited Times Square, you felt energized and

excited by all the sights, sounds, and commotion! Your

brother, on the other hand, felt completely overwhelmed.

Knowing how he reacted in this situation, which of the

following would your brother need to do to reach Hebb's

"optimal level of arousal" in his daily life?

a. Put himself in loud, busy, fast-paced environments

b. Put himself in quiet, calm, slow-paced environments

c. Increase his skin conductance

d. Decrease his skin conductance

B

Carly tends to seek out exciting, rewarding activities. At the

physiological level, what might explain this?

A. BIS stronger than BAS

B. BAS stronger than BIS

B

When you enter a brightly-lit, loud, crowded room, you

usually feel overwhelmed and anxious. What does this say

about you?

A. Introvert/strong arousal response

B. Introvert/weak arousal response

C. Extravert/strong arousal response

D. Extravert/weak arousal response

A

Define sensation seeking

Tendency to seek out thrilling an exciting activities, take risks, and avoid boredom

What is the physiology behind sensation seeking

Neurotransmitters, specifically the release and breakdown of MAO (monoamine oxidase)

People who are LOW sensation seeking and have MORE CONTROL over thoughts and behaviors (less impulsive) have…

Too much MAO

People who are HIGH sensation seeking and have LESS CONTROL over thoughts and behaviors (more impulsive) have…

Too little MAO

What is Cloninger’s Tri-dimensional Model? Why is it important?

• Dopamine → novelty seeking

• Serotonin → harm avoidance

• Norepinephrine → reward dependence

This theory might be important for addictive behaviors

Ex. alcoholism may be related to novelty seeking in some people and harm avoidance in others.

What is important to know about dopamine?

• Dopamine is the NT most associated with pleasure

• Low dopamine creates an urge to obtain thrills/excitement to increase dopamine

What is important to know about serotonin?

• This NT is linked to depression and anxiety

• Low serotonin is linked to harm avoidance (always on the lookout for something thats harmful)

What is important to know about norepinepherine?

• Influences learning through reward systems

• People with low norepinephrine levels might be more reward-dependent ie social rewards

• People with high norepinephrine levels might be less reward-dependent and tend to be socially detached

How do we measure sex differences?

Cohen’s d

• 0.2 = small difference

• 0.5 - medium diffeence

• 0.8 = large difference

NEGATIVE d =

Women score HIGHER than men on that trait

POSITIVE d =

Men score HIGHER than women on that trait

What is the major takeaway regarding sex differences and cognitive ability?

They’re generally equal

Over a decade, ______ may help many more people than the opposite sex does.

Women

How do sex and gender differences develop?

• Socialization theories

• Hormonal theories

• Evolutionary theories

What are the societal impacts (socialization) on sex/gender?

• Boys

  • Encouraged to be masculine

  • Encouraged to be more competitive

  • “Breadwinner”

• Girls

  • Encouraged to be feminine

  • Given more housework

  • “Homemaker”

True/False: Bandura, 1977 studying social learning theory showed us that children learn by watching adult behavior

True

Do social roles impact behavior?

Yes

What are the hormonal theories on sex/gender?

Males have more testosterone than women, which is related to dominance/aggression in males and sexual desire in females.

You, a male, notice that your female partner seems

to react emotionally to things more often and

more strongly than you do. How might social role

theory explain this?

A. a child, she watched older females act like this

B.She developed these tendencies in order to fulfill society’s expectations of her

C.She has different hormone levels than you

D.Emotionality may be more adaptive for females

B

You, a male, notice that your female partner seems

to react emotionally to things more often and

more strongly than you do. How might social

learning theory explain this?

A. a child, she watched older females act like this

B.She developed these tendencies in order to fulfill society’s expectations of her

C.She has different hormone levels than you

D.Emotionality may be more adaptive for females

A

What are the evolutionary theories on sex/gender differences?

• Males

  • Needs a fertile mate to pass on genes

  • Less choosy

  • May have INTRASEX competition between males

  • Afraid of being misidentified as gay because of stigma and losing out on potential mates

• Females

  • Needs resources to the baby through pregnancy and after

  • More choosy

An effect size of 0.51 would indicate _____ difference between two groups.

A. a small

B. a medium

C. a large

D. no

B

The d statistic is used to express:

A. a difference in standard deviation units.

B. the standard deviation of a sample.

C. the mean difference between samples.

D. a difference in scores between two samples.

A

Women are more…

• AGREEABLE

• CONSCIENTIOUS

• NEUROTIC

• Women feel emotions more frequently and intensely

• AFFECTIONATE

• Post-puberty, women are more likely to be DEPRESSED

Men are more…

• EXTRAVERTED

• Men have higher SELF-ESTEEM

What are the grey areas of sex differences (e.g. no differences, changes over time, etc.)?

• Self esteem differences become smaller with age

• No gender differences in pride

• No gender differences with depression in childhood

What is a theory regarding gender differences and depression?

Women have less power, status, and control over their lives. Rather than making changes, they ruminate on problems and their depression becomes worse.

What is an EVOLUTIONARY theory regarding gender differences and depression?

Because depression onset happens after puberty and men value physical appearance, this may put pressure on women and make them dissatisfied with their bodies.

The average woman might experience emotions _____ than the average man.

A. less frequently and less intensely

B. more frequently and more intensely

C. less frequently and more intensely

D. more frequently and less intensely

B

Evolutionary theory would argue that _____ is a key contributor to women's greater experience of depressive symptoms.

A. hormonal imbalance

B. the concern of one’s physical attractiveness

C. rumination

D. gender difference in the trait of trust

B

What is natural selection?

Changes within a distribution of traits within a population

What is an adaptation?

Something that evolves as a solution to an adaptive problem

What is the purpose of natural selection?

Select personality traits to help us survive and reproduce

Evolutionarily, the need to belong provides:

• Status/acceptance

• Protection of the group

• Food

• Desireable mates

• Social anxiety disorders

What is altruism?

Helping others when we don’t get anything in return

Define kin selection

Natural selection in favor of behaviors that help relatives

How are emotions adaptations?

• Pleasure - being liked

• Fear - ostracism/abuse

• Emotions as manipulation

• Emotions are universal components of personality

_____ are inherited solutions to survival and reproductive problems.

A. The hostile forces of nature

B. Adaptations

C. Mate competitions

D. Adaptive problems

B

Who’s reproductive output contributes to your inclive fitness the most?

A. Parent

B. Grandparent

C. Cousin

D. Uncle/aunt

C

Individual differences can come from what?

• Environmental differences (more independent if you had distant parents)

• Contingencies among traits (if small/weak, it’s not adaptive to have a strong temper)

Individual differences = ____ ____ + ____________ ________

human nature + environmental differences

What is the sexual strategies theory?

Father is absent during childhood:

• Does not expect resorces

• Short-term mating strategy Sexually active earlier

Father is present during childhood:

• The OPPOSITE of above stated

True/False: Traits are not contingent on other traits

FALSE

What are some evolutionary sex differences?

• Females must birth and support child

• Men

  • Paternity uncertainty, investing resources in a child that doesn’t have your genes

True/False: Males are more aggressive than women (specifically male vs. males) due to intrasexual competition

True

What percentage of males said they would sleep with a random person?

75

Which of the following is NOT an adaptive

problem faced by women?

A. Finding a good mate

B. Securing resources

C. Parental uncertainty

D. Mate guarding

C

According to evolutionary perspectives, because males invest less than females in reproduction, they are predicted to:

A. highly value emotional attachments in their mates

B. think about sex less often than their mates

C. be more discriminating in their selection of mates

D. be more inclined to seek multiple mates

D

What are the evolutionary sex differences with jealousy?

• Males: More jealous when they suspect sexual infidelity

• Females: Should be more jealous when they suspect emotional involvement

What are women’s mate preferences?

• Males have financial resources

• High social status

What are men’s mate preferences?

• Values a female’s physical appearance

• Youth and health = fertility

Regarding the Big 5, why are some certain traits important to personality more than others?

Some argue that we care about the traits that predict social behavior

Fill in the blank with the Big 5 trait that best fits.

Who can I rely on for resource provision?

Who will climb the hierarchy and get the most status/resources?

Who will be sympathetic to my problems?

Who is going to burden me with their problems?

Who will come up with a creative solution?

Who will be friendly to newcomers?

Who will start conflicts?

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

• Openness

• Extraversion, agreeableness

• Agreeableness (low)

According to research, which variable is most predictive of interest in casual sex?

A. Biological sex, i.e., male versus female

B. Safety concern

C. Relationship status (single or not)

D. The manner in which the question is asked

A

A study conducted by Clark and Hatfield found that about _____ percent of men agreed to have sex with an attractive stranger of the opposite sex.

A. 10

B. 25

C. 75

D. 100

C

What are the 3 states of mind?

1. conscious

2. preconscious

3. unconscious

Define the conscious mind

Current awareness

Ex. what I am going to have for dinner

Ex. it’s cold in here

Define the preconscious mind

Potential awareness

Ex. What is your earliest memory?

Ex. What did you have for dinner last night?

Define the unconscious mind

What you can’t access; repressed, socially unacceptable thoughts

Ex. WHY you’re attracted to your partner

Ex. WHY you like certain foods

What do we know about the unconscious mind, according to empirical research?

Unconscious information is not repressed, it is simply information that we don’t think about. We CAN access unconscious information.

What do studies show us regarding subliminal perception?

Information can get into our minds without us being aware of the information. Subliminal messages don’t make us do things, but make us quicker to think about related information.

Ryan just finished watching a video in which the phrase “shop at Publix” was presented subliminally. How might this affect Ryan?

a) It will make him shop at Publix

b) It will make him not shop at Publix

c) When asked to make a list of grocery stores, he will think of Publix quickly

d) When asked to make a list of grocery stores, he will forget about Publix

C

Assuming you're ONLY thinking about this question right now, which of the following pieces of information is currently in your conscious mind?

a) This question

b) Who you voted for in the last election

c) Why you like doing adventurous things (something you’ve never thought about before)

d) A conversation you had with a friend last night

A

Assuming you're ONLY thinking about this question right now, which of the following pieces of information are currently in your preconscious mind?

a) This question

b) Who you voted for in the last election

c) Why you like doing adventurous things (something you’ve never thought about before)

d) A conversation you had with a friend last night

B and D

Assuming you're ONLY thinking about this question right now, which of the following pieces of information is currently in your unconscious mind?

a) This question

b) Who you voted for in the last election

c) Why you like doing adventurous things (something you’ve never thought about before)

d) A conversation you had with a friend last night

C

What are the major takeaways regarding repressed memories?

• Repressors are dispositionally anxious and defensive

• And they repress both pleasant and unpleasant experiences

• Dampen emotion while unpleasant experiences are happening

What are false memories?

Memories created that never occured

How do false memories occur?

Concepts that are similar are stored together, which forms a network of associations (spreading activation). This causes people to have constructive memories, meaning we don’t always remember events accurately. False memories result of repeated associations.

Match the definition to it’s defense mechanism:

1. Refusing to see the facts; the goal is to reduce anxiety and maintain self-esteem

2. Redirecting impulses to someone/something “safer”; attempts to avoid recognizing your inappropriate feelings

3. Attributing own unacceptable qualities onto others; assuming people are similar to you in order to rationalize your traits or behavior

1. Denial

2. Displacement

3. Projection

What do defense mechanisms do? Are they helpful?

• They help us cope with difficulties in life.

• Not if they keep you from being productive or harm your relationships

In 2020, you went to several big group events in spite of the pandemic. You told yourself it was okay because everyone else was doing it. Which defense mechanism were you using?

a) False memory

b) Displacement

c) Repressed memory

d) False consensus effect

D

Your beloved pet fish died when you were 5 years old. This was very difficult for you. As an adult, you no longer remember this having happened. Which of the following is this scenario illustrating?

a) A false memory

b) The false consensus effect

c) The conscious mind

d) A repressed memory

D