Psych 351 - SDSU - Saponjic - Exam 3 Study Guide

Biological Approach

importance of genetics (nature) rather than experience (nurture)

Decline of Behaviorism

used to be the idea that we were just the product of our experiences, now the belief that we are the product of both nature and nurture

Eysenck

- biosocial creatures

- trait theorist

- born with predispositions to respond in particular ways to the environment (traits)

- traits can be altered by socialization

- environment and our genes interact to produce behavior

- genes play a stronger role

main theory - Supertraits

3 Supertraits (Eysenck)

basic dimensions of personality

- extraversion

- neuroticism

- psychoticism

Extraversion

sociable, impulsive, excitable, active, lively

Neuroticism

(emotionality):emotionally unstable, high anxiety levels

Psychoticism

insensitive to others, hostile, cruel

structural model

super traits (types); traits; habitual responses; specific responses

- depending where you fall on these dimensions you will demonstrate different behavior and will also differ in biological make-up

Assessment Techniques

- self-report

- physiological measures: heart rate, EEG (brain activity), papillary response (changes in dilation of pupils associated w/ arousal))

- not much physiological support

Reason for belief in biological basis of personality (Eysenck)

same 3 personality super traits are found universally and are stable over time

Temperament

general behavioral predisposition: refers to a person's way of interacting with the world

Buss-Plomin Model

3 temperaments

- activity

- emotionality

- sociability

Activity

general level of energy output

Emotionality

intensity of emotional reactions

Sociability

tendency to affiliate & interaction w/ others

3 Ways to Measure Temperament

- frequency

- duration

- amplitude

Frequency

how many responses in a certain amount of time

Duration

how long each response is

Amplitude

how intense each response is

Kagan (Model of Temperament)

inhibited vs. uninhibited children

Inhibited Child

controlled; gentle; clingy to parents; explore new surroundings in a slow way; anxious about novelty

Uninhibited Child

outgoing behavior, energetic, fearless

Uninhibited/Inhibited Pattern

- seems to persist over time — but environment determines the degree to which this biological tendency shapes the development of adult personality

easy child

approaches new situations; positive mood; adaptive *most preferred (40% of children fit this pattern)

difficult child

withdrawn; negative mood; not very adaptive (10% of children)

slow to warm up child

similar to inhibited (15% of children)

Strengths of Biological Approach

- ties personality to biology (product of biology not just environment)

- quite a bit of empirical support

Weaknesses of Biological Approach

- ideas often difficult to test

- no agreed upon model for temperament

Matching Temperament and Teaching

- goodness of fit model: how well a child does in school is partly a function of how well the learning environment matches the child's capabilities, characteristics, and style of behaving

Problems with Biological Research

studying parents & children or siblings - they share genetics and also environment - difficult to disentangle nature from nurture

Monozygotic

(identical) - 1 egg, share 100% of their genetic makeup

Dizygotic

(fraternal) - 2 eggs, share 50% of their genetic makeup

Twin Studies

- to support importance of genetics monozygotic twins should be more similar in personality traits (preferably 100% if biology is more important than environment)

Problems w/ Twin Studies

separating contribution of genes and environment, researchers assume that MZ & DZ twins have equally similar environments but there is evidence that MZ twins share more of their environment than DZ twins, MZ twins are treated like 1 unit

Eysenck's Introversion/Extraversion Dimension

- introverts have more inborn arousal = more sensitive to stimulation - prefer lower levels (opposite for extraverts)

study habits example

- extraverts: choose to study in library locations that provide external stimulation (open spaces)

- introverts: individual study carrels (bc of inborn arousal)

Parental Investment

- in evolutionary terms, the investment in selecting a mate is larger for women than for men

- women bear and in most cases raise the offspring

what men look for in women

- high reproductive value

- youthfulness

- physical attraction

what women look for in men

- provide financial resources required to raise children

- high socioeconomic status & ambition

- dominant nature

Humanistic Approach

optimistic approach to understanding people- vs Psychoanalytic & Behaviorisms pessimistic approaches

4 Important Aspects of Humanistic Approach

- personal responsibility

- the here & now

- you know yourself best

- personal growth

Rogers

- fully functioning

- open to new experiences

- here & now (live in the moment)

- trust own feelings, creative

- clear picture of reality, less likely to conform

- live life

Self Concept

beliefs about self

- need to match up with actual current experiences

Incongruence

discrepancy between self concept & actual experience

Subception

perception at a lower level

Distortion

- distort the perception until it fits their self-concept

Unconditional Positive Regard

a caring, accepting, nonjudgmental attitude, which Carl Rogers believed would help clients to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance

Maslow

what motivates our behavior?

main theory - Hierarchy of Needs

Hierarchy of Needs

- physiological

- safety,

- love/belongingness

- esteem

- self-actualization

Therapeutic Climate

- genuineness,

- unconditional positive regard

- empathy

Q-sort

- assessment technique used to measure progress of therapy

- measures a person's self-concept (actual vs. ideal self)

Weakness of Humanistic Approach

- poorly defined concepts

- limited applicability of psychotherapy techniques

- overly naive assumptions

Strength of Humanistic Approach

- positive approach

- therapy

- application in disciplines other than psychology

*beneficial for changing behaviors

Deficiency Motives

results from a lack of needed object

- satisfied when obtained

Misconceptions about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

- lower needs don't need to be satisfied 100% before turning to higher needs

- at any given moment our behavior is potentially influenced by needs from all 5 levels, we rarely satisfy any of the 5 levels of need for very long

- most behavior is the result of multiple motivations not just a single need

Self-Disclosure

revealing intimate aspects of oneself to others

- discloser considers info personal

- choice of who to disclose to is selective

- important step in our personal growth & happiness

Jourard

- responsible for promoting self-disclosure as a key concept in Humanistic Psychology

- key to becoming fully functioning is to make ourselves transparent

- most people are not transparent

Disclosure Reciprocity

- conversation partners tend to match each other's intimacy level

- one person discloses, the other almost always reciprocates

- men vs. women: women disclose more intimately & to more people than men

Loneliness

- not the same as isolation

- can be surrounded by people and still be lonely, can be by self and not lonely

- perception of how much social interaction we have & the quality of that interaction

**prevalent on college campuses

- high scores on loneliness scales related to high scores on social anxiety & self-consciousness

2 important characteristics of lonely people

- tend to approach social interactions w/ overly pessimistic expectations

- lack basic social skills

* have difficulty initiating conversations not holding them

Self Esteem

refers to evaluation of your self-concept, or the way we feel about ourselves

Reaction to Failure

how we respond often depends on our level of self-esteem