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openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
the big 5
natural language to describe personality
five factor theorists use ___ to ___
heritability coefficient
represents proportion of observed variance in scores that can be attributed to genetic factors (h²)
limitations of big 5 model
translating english into another language instead of using naturally occurring traits
traits differ based on individualistic or collectivist cultures (Tsiname 2 vs triguna)
openness high score traits
curious, broad interests, creative, imaginative
conscientiousness high score traits
organized, reliable, hard working, punctual
extroversion high score traits
sociable, active, talkative, optimistic
agreeableness high score traits
kind, cooperative, good natured, trusting
neuroticism high score traits
worrying, nervous, emotional, insecure
openness low score traits
conventional, unimaginative, narrow interests, unartisitic
conscientiousness low score traits
aimless, unreliable, lazy, negligent
extroversion low score traits
reserved, aloof, quiet, task oriented
agreeableness low score traits
cynical, rude, suspicious, uncooperative
neuroticism low score traits
calm, relaxed, unemotional, secure
five factor theory
trait psychologists view as purely descriptive constructs
everyone has to varying degrees
psychological development
traits causally influence ___ and causes certain behaviors, thoughts, feelings that are consistent throughout life
biologically based- nature only argument
based in ___
gives us ability to predict and control
being able to reference human differences between us ___
larger brain volumes in frontal cortex related to processing information about environmental rewards
Higher extroversion had ___
greater brain volume in brain region associated with processing of environmental threats
higher neuroticism correlated with ___
brain volume in regions of the brain that contribute to people’s ability to understand others’ mental states
agreeableness scores correlated with ___
volume in a region of frontal cortex known to be active when people plan events and follow rules
conscientiousness correlated with ___
not significantly related to any examined brain regions
openness to experience was ___
NEO- Personality Inventory Revised (NEO-PI-R)
developed by Costa and McCrae
correlates well with other personality questionnaires
big 5 factors broken into 6 additional facets (based in Cattell’s 16 source traits)
includes self and observer report options
O data more accurate
S better for more intrinsic traits
gregariousness, activity level, assertiveness, excitement seeking, positive emotions, warmth
extraversion under NEO-PI-R
straightforwardness, trust, altruism, modesty, tendermindedness, compliance
agreeableness under NEO-PI-R
self discipline, dutifulness, competence, order, deliberation, achievement striving
conscientiousness under NEO-PI-R
anxiety, self consciousness, depression, vulnerability, impulsiveness, angry hostility
neuroticism under NEO-PI-R
fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, ideas, actions, values
openness under NEO-PI-R
in N, E, O and _ in A and C
older adults score significantly lower in —, —, and — and higher in — and — than younger people
higher in N,E,O and lower in A,C
teens score higher in —, —, and — and lower in — and —
fairly culturally universal (biological basis?)
big 5 trends are __
changing social norms/cultural shifts
changes in Big 5 can occur in some groups based on ___
short periods than over long periods (stable in adulthood than in childhood)
personality more stable over __ than over _
big 5 practical applications
vocational, health and well being, clinical diagnosis
honesty/humility
what is the 6th trait that could be apart of OCEAN?
universality of 5 factor theory
cross cultural research involves translating questionnaires originally written in English
translation may impose certain psychological factors onto respondents
Hofstede and colleagues
identified 126 trait related words and translated English, Dutch, German
found congruence across 3 languages except for O factor
Di Blas and Forzi
explored structure of personality terms in Italian and applied factor analysis
3 factors tracked: E, A, and C (not O or N)
trait theory research in South Africa
studied 1000 people representing each of 11 different languages/ethnic groups of South Africa
black south africans more likely to use social relational personality descriptions- terms referring to qualities that promote social harmony and close personal relationships
white south africans more likely to use concepts that either
referred to personal growth (C and A terms)
referred to personal qualities without referencing concrete circumstances in which these qualities come into play
findings of trait theory studies in south africa
raise possibility that trait perspective in general has underestimated the ways natural language of personality description involves (at least some cultural or ethnic groups) a language of concrete situated actions rather than abstract trait terms
Tsiname study
people of Tsiname culture familiar with contemporary industrialized world, but live in village communities isolated from it
researchers identified Big 2- reflected patterns of social life specific to that culture
Singh, Mishra, De Road study in Hindi
no big 5 traits replicated
individual differences aligned with the triguna- 3 personal qualities that have long been recognized in Hindu philosophy that don’t correlate to Western personality traits
results combined qualities of restlessness, arrogance, prudishness, and disorganization
Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST)
seeks to first identify fundamental properties of brain behavioral systems and then relate variations in these systems to known measure of personality
attempts to identify neural subsystems that play a role in psychological functions related to emotion and motivation
differences in these systems can help explain individual differences in personality
1) traits are actually possessed by individual
2) have causal force that contribute to personality style
2 goals of personality theory
top down: higher order traits explain lower level behaviors and tendencies and influence development
McCrae- big 5 fits __ approach
high level individual difference variables won’t correspond in any consistent manner to psychological structures that individuals actually possess
risk of topdown approach
agreeableness doesn’t fully explain why person has become that way
bottom up theory (critical of big 5 theory)
Behavioral Approach System (BAS), Flight Fight Freeze System (FFFS), and Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)
3 neural subsystems identified by Gray and colleagues
Behavioral Approach System (BAS)
responds to pleasurable, desired, appetitive stimuli (fulfills needs)
related to classical conditioning
procedures the tendency to move toward pleasure, rewarding stimuli
produced emotional experiences including “anticipatory pleasure”
anticipatory pleasure
positive feeling that one has when looking forward to an upcoming positive activity
Fight Flight Freeze System (FFFS)
responds to aversive stimuli (potentially harmful to us)
3 types of responses
generates feeling of fear
Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)
resolves goal conflicts between other systems
generates anxiety and a defensive approach (will pursue reward but with caution)
personality differences
differences in 3 neural subsystems would account for ___
differences in neural subsystems
people with particularly active BAS would be expected to be more impulsive than others
people with highly sensitive and active FFFS would be prone to fear related clinical disorders such as phobias
people with more active BIS would be prone to experiencing anxiety
RST vs Big 5
biological underpinnings more understood than big 5
responses can be linked to each system- big may not allow for one to one mapping
takes into account influence of person situation interaction (environmental cues etc)
Person Situation controversy
can traits be center of personality theory given level of consistency/inconsistency?
looks at longitudinal and cross situational consistency
definition of consistent matters
research suggests evidence of trait consistency but more so within domains of situations (school, work, home) rather than across domain
longitudinal stability
high in trait across 2 points in time
cross situational consistency
high in trait across different situations
theorists claim we are relatively consistent, people differ in average display of trait related behavior
strengths of trait theory
interesting hypothesis
potential ties to biology
active research effort
limitations of trait theory
only uses factor analysis
what a trait includes can be different
only what you add is included so what is left out or neglected
temperament
biologically based individual differences in emotional and motivational tendencies that are evident early in life
tendency toward positive or negative moods
how responsive one is to stimuli
ability to calm self
phrenology
founded by 19th century biologist Franz Joseph Gall
claimed that specific areas of the brain are responsible for specific emotional and behavioral functions
bumps on the head, differences in brain tissue were examinated
New York Longitudinal Study
followed 100+ children from birth to adolescence
used parental reports of infant’s activity levels, mood, attention span, and persistence
developed 3 temperament types
found link between early temperament and later personality characteristics
easy (playful, adaptable)
difficult (negative, unadaptable)
slow to warm (low in reactivity and mild)
3 temperament types from NY longitudinal studies
difficult babies= difficulty adjusting later in life
easy babies= least likely to have adjustment problems later in life
goodness of fit between parents and babies play a role
NY study link between early temperament and later personality characteristics
Buss and Plomin study
used parental ratings to measure:
emotionality (ease of arousal in upsetting situation/general distress
activity (tempo and vigor of motor movements)
sociability (responsiveness to others, makes friends easily)
individual differences in these temperament characteristics were stable across time
identical twins highly similar across temperament dimensions
Jerome Kagan
Harvard psychologist, conducted temperament research from mid 90s and 2010s; used direct observations through lab studies as opposed to relying solely on parental reports (found children neither uninhibited or inhibited)
inhibited
reacts to unfamiliar situations with restraint, avoidance, and distress, takes a longer time to relax in a new situation, has more unusual fears and phobias; timid and cautious, may become quiet, seek parental comfort or run and cry
uninhibted
enjoys and seeks out novelty, new situations; responds with spontaneity in novel situations; laughs and smiles easily
how early do differences in temperament emerge
how stable are differences in temperament over time
is there a biological basis to these differences
Kagan’s temperament study questions
infants inherit differences in biological functioning that lead them to be more or less reactive to novelty and it remains stable throughout development (infants born highly reactive should become inhibited and vice versa)
Kagan’s hypothesis for the temperament study
videotaped 4 month old infants responses to familiar and novel stimuli in lab setting (mother’s face, stranger’s voice, balloon popping etc)
classified infants as high or low reactive based on emotional responses
studied children at 14 months, 21 months, 4.5 years, and 8 years and repeated lab observations
method for Kagan’s temperament study
high reactive infants were more fearful in behavior, had higher heart acceleration, and increased blood pressure in response to the unfamiliar at 14 and 21 months
smiled and talked less than low reactive children during social interactions at 4.5 years
majority of children remained consistent in temperament at 8 years
results of Kagan’s temperament study
changes in temperament?
overall consistent, some evidence it can shift especially in response to environmental factors
some high reactive infants didn’t become consistently fearful
result of mothers who were not overly protective and placed reasonable demands on them
some low reactive infants became less relaxed but rare to completely switch groups
brain regions may contribute to inhibited and uninhibited tendencies
amygdala (fear response), frontal cortex (regulate emotional responses- influences amygdala)
regions influenced by social experiences
brain involvement in temperament
Schwartz and colleagues study
studied group of young adults that were or weren’t highly inhibited at 2 years
while in fMRI scanner, viewed familiar or novel faces
imaging results show that uninhibited vs inhibited people differ in amygdala functioning, inhibited children had higher levels of amygdala activity when viewing new faces
Shumyatsky and colleagues study
identified a gene that contributes to levels of a protein stathmin that influences the functioning of amygdala
mice with and without stathmin gene differed in behavioral measures of fear
proximate causes
biological processes operating in the organism at the time of behavior is observed
ultimate causes
why do we respond to the environment in a particular way (darwinian theory is example)
they have been adaptive to survival and reproductive success
our psychological mechanisms exist and endure because __
fundamental motives and emotions; how they help us to adapt
certain aspects of human nature like our — and — can be understood in terms of —
those that solve problems to reproductive success
which features of the mind are evolved?
mental mechanisms; adaptive; we may have evolved psychological tendencies that are no longer good for us
some evolved — are — to the way of life hundreds of centuries ago; what is the implication of this?
mental modules
special purpose mechanisms that carry out a domain specific mental function
information processing devices; processes information
mind contains multiple — — —, each of which — — from one specific domain of life
Leda Cosmides research
conducted research involving exchange of goods and services (social exchange) which had been part of social interaction throughout evolution
Hypothesis- cheating detection had been so important to survival that a distinct mechanism for cheating has evolved
method- presented people with difficult abstract logic problems
results- majority could more easily solve if an element of cheating was added
repeated in US with college students and with nonliterate people in cultures isolated from industrialized world
amygdala and frontal cortex
injuries to — and — can negatively impact reasoning related to social exchange
differences in sex in evolutionary theory
biological differences between sexes are cause for different roles and behaviors
different problems that males and females have faced lead to differences in brain development → distinct thoughts, feelings, emotions
parental investment theory
biological investment makes parenting more costly for women
age, fertility limits, 9 months of pregnancy
women more selective with mates- focused on resources and protection
parenthood probability theory
women carry their fertilized eggs, can be more sure that their offspring are own
males can’t be as sure and are motivated to ensure that their resources are directed to own offspring
suggestions that males have greater concerns about sexual rivals and chastity
her reproductive capacity (youth/attractiveness) and chastity (increased probability of paternity)
woman’s mate value for a man determined by
more evidence of resources he can supply (income/ambition)
man’s mate value for a woman determined by
what men and women consider cheating
men- sexual infidelity and threat to paternal probability
women- emotional attachments (threat to resources)
alternative explanations to sexual differences
differences also product of features of society (gender equality/opportunities)
smaller differences in societies where men and women had similar roles
more support for biosocial perspective sexual differences result from interactions between biology and social factors (economic conditions and division of labor)
when skewed ratings of jealousy and mate choices is corrected- less differences
behavioral genetics
study of how genes contribute to behavior
genes don’t directly determine traits- they’re biological functioning of body and genes interact with environment
3 primary research methods
selective breeding studies
twin studies
adoption studies
3 primary research methods for behavioral genetics
selective breeding
animals with a desired trait for are selected and mated; repeated until a consistent strain of animals with that trait are achieved
researchers then subject the different strains to different experimentally controlled developmental conditions to study the impact of environment and genes
aggressive dogs
alcoholism
twin studies
using monozygotic (MZ, identical) and or dizygotic (DZ, fraternal) twins to study the degree to which genetic factors explain person to person variations in personality
MZ twins genetically identical, so difference would be from environment
difference in similarity between MZ twin pairs and DZ twin pairs that can help estimate the effects of genetics
more similar
if genetics influence a personality characteristic more, then MZ twins should be — on given characteristic than DZ twins;