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Personality Psychology > 9 - Biological Bases of Personality > Flashcards

9 - Biological Bases of Personality Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the biological aspects of the past theories?

A
  • Freud = development of the id, partly development of the ego
  • Jung = collective unconscious
  • Maslow = instinctoid motivation
  • Rogers = actualizing tendency and organismic valuing process
  • trait = mostly genetics
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2
Q

What are the factors involved in personality?

A
  • genetics
  • shared environmental factors
  • non-shared environmental factors
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3
Q

What are shared environment factors?

A
  • variables that people in various situations share
  • makes people more similar to each other
  • eg. family environment, school environments, broad-scale cultural conditions
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4
Q

What are non-shared environment factors

A
  • all the experiences unique to the individual
  • significantly more important in determining the nature of personality
  • eg. differential treatment by parents, different interactions with siblings, birth order, sibling age spacing, gender differences, different school experiences, different friends, different hobbies
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5
Q

What are phenotypes and genotypes?

A
  • genotype = specific collection of genes inherited from parents
  • phenotype = totality of visible or measurable characteristics
  • eg. hair color, eye color, IQ, personality
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6
Q

What are monozygotic and dizygotic twins?

A
  • monozygotic (identical twins) = 100% same genetic base pairs
  • develop from a single fertilized egg
  • dizygotic (fraternal twins) = 50% same genetic base pairs
  • develop from two simultaneously fertilized eggs, no more similar than any pair of siblings
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7
Q

What are the different types of twin studies?

A

MZ raised together, and MZ raised apart

  • assuming 100% genetic determination
  • correlation between MZ apart and MZ together should be 1.00

MZ and DZ twins (both raised apart, or both raised together)

  • assuming 100% genetic determination
  • MZ = 1.00 correlation
  • DZ = 0.50 correlation

MZ apart with MZ together, and DZ apart with DZ together

  • assuming 100% genetic determination
  • 1.00 correlation for MZ (together or apart)
  • 0.50 correlation for DZ (together or apart)
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8
Q

What are family studies?

A
  • compare the similarity of people with different degrees of genetic similarity
  • siblings = 0.50
  • parents = 0.50
  • uncles/aunts = 0.25
  • grandparents = 0.25
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9
Q

What are adoption studies?

A
  • we can compare the phenotypic similarity of children with their adoptive parents, and (for the same or other children) with their biological parents
  • assuming 100% genetic determination
  • 0.00 correlation for adoptive parents
  • 0.50 correlation for biological parents
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10
Q

What are the problems with twin studies?

A
  • DZ twins confused as MZ
  • selective placement
  • differences in environmental stability
  • assortative mating
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11
Q

What happens when DZ twins are confused as MZ?

A
  • this dilutes the MZ sample

- underestimate the importance of genetics

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12
Q

What is selective placement?

A
  • when comparing together vs. apart, environments should be uncorrelated
  • however, there is usually overlap in environments as adoption agency try to find a place similar to where they were born
  • overestimate the contribution of genetics
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13
Q

What are the differences in environmental similarity for MZ and DZ twins?

A
  • tendency to emphasize the similarity of MZ twins (assimilation effect)
  • tendency to emphasize the differences of DZ twins (contrast effect)
  • overestimate the contribution of genetics
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14
Q

What is assortative mating?

A
  • greater parent-child similarity
  • tendency to select mate with similar phenotypic preferences (eg. IQ)
  • so, individuals with like characteristics tend to marry and have kids
  • overestimates the contribution of genetics
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15
Q

How does assortative mating differ from random mating?

A

Random mating

  • no genes in common between parents
  • the genes that the child receives from Mom and Dad have no overlap
  • 50% from Mom, 50% from Dad

Assortative mating

  • parents share some genes in common
  • this makes the child more similar to one parent
  • eg. 50% from Dad, >80% from Mom
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16
Q

What is variance?

A
  • measure of the variability of scores around the mean score
  • VT = VG + VE
  • VT = total variance
  • VG = variance due to genetic differences
  • VE = variance due to differences in the environments
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17
Q

What is the heritability coefficient?

A
  • the proportion of variance in some characteristic or ability that is produced by genetic rather than environmental factors
  • h2=VG/VT
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18
Q

What are the different formulae for the heritability coefficient?

A
  • h2 = r (mza)
  • h2 = 2r (dza)
  • h2 = 2(r (mz) - r (dz))
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19
Q

What are the characteristics of the heritability coefficient?

A
  • applies only to groups, not individuals = how much of total variability is attributed to genetic variability within the sample
  • varies from population to population, and over time
  • eg. the heritability coefficient is higher now than in the 1800s as the sources of environmental factors are reduced
  • valid only if measures used to calculate it are valid
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20
Q

What is temperament?

A
  • something that shapes general behavioural tendencies
  • activity level, emotional responsiveness, social interactions with others
  • assumed to have a biological basis
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21
Q

What dimensions did Thomas, Chess, and Birch measure?

A
  • level of motor activity = how often they perform an activity
  • positive response to new object
  • regularity in biological functions
  • friendliness or good mood
  • adapts to changes in environment = those with autism tend to have a low tolerance for novelty in their routine and environment
  • usual degree of energy in responding = separate from motor activity, how they perform the activity
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22
Q

What are easy infants?

A
  • similar to stable extrovert
  • regular rhythms
  • good mood
  • accepts novelty
  • adapts well to change
  • low to moderate levels of energy
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23
Q

What are difficult infants?

A
  • similar to neurotic introvert
  • irregular rhythms
  • poor mood
  • dislikes novelty
    adapts poorly to change
  • high levels of energy
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24
Q

What happened in Thomas, Chess, and Birch’s 10-year follow up?

A
  • children tended to exhibit the same level of positive and negative responses
  • children that required psychological intervention in school = 70% of difficult children, 20% of easy children
  • difficult infants are more common in the clinical population
  • premature infants are at risk for a difficult temperament
  • with increased maternal responsiveness, more children tended to change from difficult to easy
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25
Q

What was Plomin and Rowe’s study?

A
  • studied MZ and DZ twins for their similarity in aspects of sociability
  • includes = looking at a stranger, approaching stranger, nearness to stranger, vocalizing to stranger
  • contrast effects
  • DZ correlations are much smaller than they should be
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26
Q

What was Buss and Plomin’s study?

A
  • developed a 20-item EAS survey to evaluate children on three important dimensions of temperament
  • E = emotionality
  • A = activity
  • S = sociability
  • their survey found high heritability coefficients for MZ, but was once again complicated by the contrast effect
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27
Q

What is non-additive variance?

A
  • effects on our phenotype that depends on interactions between genes
  • elements = dominant-recessive effects, epistatic effects
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28
Q

What are dominant-recessive effects?

A
  • same locus
  • relationship between the two different alleles of a single gene
  • although they are 50% similar in respect to eye colour genes, their eye colour with have 0% similarity, as brown is dominant
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29
Q

What are epistatic effects?

A
  • other loci
  • effects in which the expression of one gene is affected by a gene is some other location
  • interactive effect, as the activity depends on the activity of another gene
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30
Q

What are the problems with non-additive variance?

A
  • MZ twins share 100% of both additive and non-additive gene effects
  • however, DZ twins share 50% of additive effects, but only 25% of non-additive effects
  • the formula assumes only the existence of additive genetic variance
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31
Q

What are epigenetic effects?

A
  • the placement and removal of markers can be influenced by experiences
  • changes the activity of genes
  • can be inherited through at least three generations
  • part of the epigenome is a methyl group, so the epigenome goes through the process of methylation to shut off a gene
  • epigenetics also differentiate cell types in organs
  • since siblings and twins don’t experience life the same way, their epigenomes will be different
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32
Q

What is behavioural inhibition?

A
  • high risk for decreased performance school, and increased dropout rates
33
Q

What were the results of the behavioural inhibition study?

A
  • inhibited = show fear in most situations (10%)
  • uninhibited = show no fear in any situation (20%)
  • middling = show mixed reactions (70%)
34
Q

What are the behavioural differences in inhibited children?

A
  • slow to start conversation with unfamiliar adult or peer
  • seldom smile spontaneously with unfamiliar other
  • slow to relax in unfamiliar situations
  • memory impaired following stress
  • cautious decision makers
  • unusual fears or phobias
35
Q

What are the physiological differences in inhibited children?

A
  • HR up during stress, or when standing up
  • diastolic BP up when standing up
  • pupillary dilation under stress
  • higher muscle tension
  • higher right frontal cortex activation = related with emotional activity (fear, anxiety, concern, worry)
  • more allergies
  • more activities in HPA axis, RAS, ANS = similar to introverted neuroticism
36
Q

How is inhibition related to somatotype?

A
  • 60% of inhibited children have blue eyes
  • 60% of uninhibited children have brown eyes
  • more kin of inhibited children have blue eyes; of uninhibited have brown
  • inhibited boys have narrow faces, thin builds
37
Q

How can you predict inhibition?

A
  • low reactive = low distress, low motor
  • increased likelihood to be uninhibited
  • high reactive = high distress, high motor
  • increased likelihood to be inhibited
  • aroused = low distress, high motor
  • distressed = high distress, low motor
38
Q

What was the Loehlin and Nichols study?

A
  • studied correlations between DZ and MZ twins
  • they filled out personality and interest tests
  • parents completed questionnaires
  • males = high heritability coefficients, large contrast effect
  • females = low heritability coefficients, no/low contrast effect
39
Q

What did Tellegan study?

A

found an average heritability coefficient for personality variables of about 50%

40
Q

What did Scarr study?

A
  • compared groups of families
  • measured introversion, sociability, impulsivity, emotionality, and anxiety
  • heritability estimates (siblings) = 0.26
  • heritability estimates (parent-child) = 0.22
  • heritability decreases ages 55 and up
41
Q

What is SATSA?

A
  • Swedish Adoption/Twins Study on Aging
  • examined middle-aged twins
  • calculated heritability using a number of different formulae
  • conclusion = we are overestimating the heritability coefficient
  • should be closer to 0.25 and 0.30
  • 29% genetics
  • 9% shared environment
  • 62% non-shared environment and error
42
Q

What are the different research methods for studying the brain?

A
  • brain damage
  • brain stimulation = stimulation with electrodes, TMS
  • brain activity and imaging = EEG, MEG, PET, fMRI, DTI, MRS
  • neural context = studies don’t show which other areas may be active at the same time
43
Q

What is the amygdala?

A
  • links perceptions and thoughts with their emotional meaning
  • anger, fear, social attraction, sexual responsiveness, motivation
  • personality traits related to the insula and anterior cingulate = chronic anxiety, fearfulness, sociability, sexuality
  • however, to experience the emotions, other brain structures may be necessary
44
Q

What is the frontal lobe?

A
  • left frontal lobe = approach something pleasant, associated with emotional stability
  • right frontal lobe = withdraw from something unpleasant or frightening, associated with neuroticism
45
Q

What are the stories of Phineas Gage and Elliott?

A
  • Phineas Gage = inability to understand emotions of others and appropriately regulate impulses and feelings
  • Elliott = somatic marker hypothesis
  • emotions enable people to make decisions to maximize good outcomes and minimize bad outcomes, and to focus on what’s important
46
Q

How are cognition and emotion related?

A
  • Capgras = fail to feel any emotional response to facial recognition
  • emotional experience is an important part of thinking
47
Q

What is the anterior cingulate?

A
  • important for the experience of normal emotion
  • projects inhibitory circuits into the amygdala
  • controls emotional responses and impulsive behaviour
  • when it is chronically overactive, one result may be neuroticism
48
Q

What are brain systems?

A
  • systems or circuits may be more important than discrete areas
  • parts of the brain work together and constantly interact
49
Q

What is the biochemistry of personality?

A
  • central nervous system = norepinephrine, dopamine, oxytocin
  • peripheral nervous system = epinephrine, oxytocin
  • gut = serotonin
50
Q

What is dopamine?

A
  • traits = sociability, activity, extraversion, impulsivity, plasticity
  • lack of dopamine is the basis of Parkinson’s disease
  • behavioural activation system (dopamine and nucleus accumbens) = produces and reinforces motivation to seek rewards
51
Q

What is serotonin?

A
  • inhibition in behavioural impulses
  • Prozac = selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
  • more extraverted, lower neuroticism, happier
  • antineurotics = make negative emotions less severe while leaving positive emotions unaffected
52
Q

What is epinephrine and norepinephrine?

A
  • fight-or-flight response
  • for women = tend-and-befriend response
  • oxytocin promotes nurturant and sociable behaviour, relaxation, reduction of fear during the stress response
53
Q

What is testosterone?

A
  • traits = aggression, sexual motivation, sociability, impulsivity, lack of inhibition, lack of conformity
  • higher in stable extraversion
  • not just a cause of behaviour, but also an effect
54
Q

What is cortisol?

A
  • preparation for action, normal metabolic processes
  • severe stress, anxiety and depression are correlated with chronically high levels of cortisol
  • chronically low levels associated with PTSD, sensation seeking, and underreactivity
55
Q

What is oxytocin?

A
  • mother-child bonding, romantic attachment, sexual response, less fearful
  • facilitates all kinds of approach behaviour, both positive and negative
56
Q

How does neuroticism relate to biology?

A
  • serotonin, cortisol, norepinephrine

- right frontal lobe, left frontal lobe, amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate

57
Q

How does agreeableness relate to biology?

A
  • serotonin

- left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, posterior cingulate cortex

58
Q

How does conscientiousness relate to biology?

A
  • serotonin

- middle frontal gyrus

59
Q

How does extroversion relate to biology?

A
  • dopamine, endorphins

- medial orbito-frontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, striatum

60
Q

How does openness relate to biology?

A
  • dopamine

- left prefrontal cortex, posterior medial prefrontal cortex

61
Q

What are the controversies in behavioural genetics?

A
  • eugenics = belief that humanity could be improved through selective breeding
  • cloning = belief that it might be technologically possible to produce a complete duplicate (psychological and physical) of a human being
  • however, personality is a complex interaction between genes and environment, so chances are slim
62
Q

What can’t heritability tell you?

A
  • nature vs. nurture = a biologically determined trait can have zero heritability
  • how genes affect personality = not informative about the process by which genes affect personality and behaviour
63
Q

What does DRD4 do?

A
  • affects development of dopamine receptors

- associated with risk for ADHD

64
Q

What does 5-HTT do?

A
  • two alleles = short and long

- short allele = score higher on measures of neuroticism, prevalence varies across cultural groups

65
Q

What does COMT do?

A
  • associated with higher levels of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex
  • associated with extraversion and reasoning ability
66
Q

What are gene-environment interactions?

A
  • gene only provides the design, and so affects the behavioural phenotype indirectly
  • environment can even affect heritability
  • overall, the genotype is important, but only for people who have experienced a certain kind of environment
67
Q

What is GWA?

A
  • genome-wide association study
  • collect data on genes, patterns of genes, and personality
  • search to find which genes or patterns are associated with particular traits
68
Q

What is the evolutionary approach to personality?

A

evolutionary approach assumes that human behavioural patterns developed because they were helpful or necessary for survival

69
Q

What is altruism?

A
  • tendency to aid and protect other people

- might help ensure the survival of one’s own genes into succeeding generations (inclusive fitness)

70
Q

What is self-esteem?

A

evolved to monitor the degree to which a person is accepted by others

71
Q

What is depression?

A
  • two types = follows a social loss, follows failure
  • reactions may have promoted survival
  • pain = something has gone wrong and must be fixed
  • crying = seeking social support
  • fatigue and pessimism = prevent from wasting energy and resources on fruitless endeavours
72
Q

What are mating strategies?

A
  • differences stand out in mate selection and mating strategies
  • differences in mate preference may reflect practical considerations in the current context rather than just instinctive, evolved biases
73
Q

What is the Dark triad?

A
  • Dark Triad = narcissism, psychopathy, machiavellianism

- mating strategy in men

74
Q

What is sociosexuality?

A
  • willingness to engage in sexual relations in the absence of a serious relationship
  • for women, their accuracy of assessments of their own mate value and how often they were chosen was predicted by their agreeableness
75
Q

What is the sexy son hypothesis?

A

instead of mating with a stable male, they take their chances with an unstable but attractive one so the son will spread numerous children

76
Q

What are the two types of adaptation?

A
  • fast-life history = reproduces multiple times at a young age, but does not devote many or any resources to protecting offspring
  • live in dangerous circumstances and typically die young
  • slow-life history = does not reproduce until late in life, has fewer offspring, but invests more in each one
  • long-lived species
77
Q

How can you account for individual differences?

A
  • behavioural patterns evolve as reactions to particular environmental experiences
  • some biologically influenced behaviours may be frequency dependent
  • adjust according to how common they are in the population at large
78
Q

What are the criticisms of evolutionary psychology?

A
  • methodology = backwards speculation
  • reproductive instinct = tendencies toward sexual behaviour because of past generations’ outcomes
  • conservative bias = behavioural order is appropriate and inevitable
  • human flexibility = describes specific behaviour as genetically programmed
  • biological determinism or social structure

Personality Psychology (11 decks)

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