4.5 - Psychobiological + Lexical Approaches

Question 1

list the assumptions of the trait approach

Answer 1

• personality exists (heuristic realism)
• personality = probabilistic, dynamic
• personality quantitative + qualitative properties
• personality research aims to systematically describe psychological differences + similarities of individuals across time + space
• emphasises need for useful scientific taxonomy

Question 2

another definition of personality

Answer 2

Personality is the dynamic & organised set of psychological characteristics possessed by every person that uniquely influences their cognitions, motivations, attitudes, behaviour, and
psychobiology as a whole

Question 3

what are the building blocks of personality called

Answer 3

traits

Question 4

define traits

Answer 4

general dispositions that people possess that uniquely influence their psychology. they are probabilistic, every human possess all, not at same intensity. relatively stable over time + situation

Question 5

differentiate between a state + trait

Answer 5

STATE = temporary, current thoughts, behaviours, feeling (e.g. anxiety before public speaking)
TRAIT = more stable, enduring pattern of behaviour, (e.g. anxious person)

Question 6

cognition

Answer 6

mental process of acquring knowledge + understanding through thoughts, experiences + senses. memory, perception, thought, language, intelligence

Question 7

temperament definition

Answer 7

nature as it permanently affects behaviour: biologially-based reaction patterns, present from an early age

Question 8

hierarchy of assumptions from less stable to more stable + complex

Answer 8

• situational responses
• habitual responses
• temperament
• traits (pessimistic, active)
• personality dimensions (neurotic, psychotic)

Question 9

the lexical taxonomy: the big-5 PURPOSE

Answer 9

seeks to iden

Question 10

the lexical taxonomy (big-5), COMPOSITION

Answer 10

openness
conscientiousness
extraversion
agreeableness
neuroticism

Question 11

openness

Answer 11

person’s artistic tendencies, intellect, acceptance of new ideas/change

Question 12

conscientiousness

Answer 12

degree of person’s responsibility, dutifulness, will to achieve

Question 13

extraversion

Answer 13

degree of person’s social/interpersonal impact

Question 14

agreeableness

Answer 14

quality of person’s social/interpersonal impact

Question 15

neuroticism

Answer 15

degree of person’s emotional stability

Question 16

psychobiological taxonomy (eysenck’s big-3): purpose

Answer 16

seeks to identify biological/genetic markers of personality traits

Question 17

psychobiological taxonomy (eysenck’s big 3): composition

Answer 17

neuroticism - predisposition to mood + anxiety disorders
extraversion - predisposition to accidents, injuries, substance abuse, mediates psychopathological effects of other two dimensions
- psychoticism - predisposition to psychotic disorders, antisocial/psychopathic tendencies

Question 18

neuroticism related temperament

Answer 18

emotionality

Question 19

extraversion related temperament

Answer 19

activityp

Question 20

psychoticism mindedness aspects

Answer 20

tough vs tender-mindedness

Question 21

who recognised problem of definition in personality

Answer 21

Allport (1897-1967), sought a descriptive account of personality.

Question 22

who said: “those individual differences that are of the most significance in the daily transactions of persons with each other will eventually become encoded into their language”

Answer 22

goldberg

Question 23

Allport + Odbert research

Answer 23

LEXICAL METHODOLOGIES: identifying terms in dictionary, grouping

Question 24

4 columns that they divided the words into

Answer 24

• neutral (aggressive, introverted, social)
• mood, emotion (abashed, gibbering, rejoicing)
• censorial, evaluative (insignificant, worthy)
• metaphorical (read-headed, lean)

Question 25

what do lexical accounts of personality do

Answer 25

describe traits, don’t explain them

Question 26

Hans Eysenck

Answer 26

FATHER OF BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY
* created PEN model of personality –> psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism

Question 28

extraversion

Answer 28

• associated with CORTICAL AROUSAL
• LESS easily aroused, need MORE stimulation

Question 29

introversion

Answer 29

• MORE easily aroused, need LESS stimulation

Question 30

neuroticism

Answer 30

• visceral brain (or limbic system)
• MORE easily aroused, so MORE easily panicked
• emotionally stable LESS easily aroused, LESS easily panicked

Question 32

jeffrey gray reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST)

Answer 32

• traits explained by individual differences in sensitivity to reward, punishment + threat

Question 33

behavioural activation ststem

Answer 33

sensitivity to reward

Question 34

behavioural inhibition system

Answer 34

sensitivity to punishment

Question 35

fight, flight, freeze

Answer 35

sensitive to unconditioned stimuli

Question 36

differences in systems lead to differences across which 4 traits?

Answer 36

impulsivity, anxiety, approach, avoidance

Question 37

which methods test biological models

Answer 37

eeg, mri + fmri, genetic testing, brain trauma
* inconsistent results

Question 39

CONTRIBUTIONS of psychobiological + lexical approaches

Answer 39

• EVIDENCE-BASED
• TESTABLE, probabilistic
• cross-cultural, gender validity
• psychopathology, inspired formal classification of personality disorders
• criminal profiling, adaptive interrogation

Question 40

LIMITATIONS

Answer 40

• can’t manage complex, dynamic interactions between elements of personality - stats assume linearity + independence
• can’t identify what personality traits are
• biological generally unreliable
• how to account for changes in personality through adulthood