Biological perspective

Question 1

What is temperament in the biological perspective on personality?

Answer 1

Temperament could be boiled down to “how children act” in very simple terms.

somewhat more advanced its four aspects:
Activity - how much in motion
Emotionality - easy to trigger emotions
sociability - extroversion or introversion?
impulsivity - were you impulsive?

Question 1

What is a Biological perspective on personality?

Answer 1

A perspective where the focus is on the biological components of personality, an example could be Eysenck´s view on extroversion and introversion where its all boiled down to what environment they need to achieve optimal stimulation. verry “hard” science.

Its also important to keep heredity in mind when talking about personality here and how part of the person we become is derived from our genetical background and half is from our environment.

Question 2

Describe Eysenck’s model of temperament and the connections between introversion, extroversion and arousal.

Answer 2

The reason some people are extroverted or introverted is biological in nature. we have an optimal amount of arousal for cognitive functioning and our predispositions is the reason we need different methods to get there.

For extroverts they have a lower than optimal base arousal and therefore they need more stimulation to achieve Optimal functioning. this is the reason they seek out things to stimulate them

Introverts on the other hand have a higher than optimal base arousal and therefore they need to “calm down” to achieve optimal functioning. this is why they get “tired” from interacting with others since they are way further up the “arousal graph” at that point than their extrovert counterparts.

Question 3

Describe Gray´s reinforcement sensitivity theory

Answer 3

In short its two biological systems that regulate reinforcement/ punishment reactions

(BEST IN SLOT) Behavioral inhibition system (BIS):
Regulates response to punishment, if its overly active you can be neurotic and have a hart time making decisions or perhaps constantly worry something bad will happen.

(BASED) Behavioral activation system (BAS):
Regulates response to reward, if its overly active you can be impulsive and constantly seeking rewards (drugy and Ipad kids)

Question 4

Describe a nervous system-based model (sensation seeking) of individual differences in susceptibility to drug addiction

Answer 4

1. Party kid (weakness to dopamine regulation) goes to party
2. Perhaps pressured but in some way ingests (drugs) an opioid or euphoric
3. Active substance travels to the brain and affects our regular pathways responsible for our internal reward system creating biological purely biological pleasure (dopamine is the focus here)
4. Normal dopamine reuptake is hindered and that keeps the person feeling “high”
5. Over time the brain senses that homeostasis has been disturbed and wants to rectify this by for example decreasing dopamine receptors (we now need more dopamine to get the same affect)
6. Things that would normally trigger the reward system no longer works since the threshold is higher
7. Addiction start here since we can now only experience our own reward systems with the drug. its a dependency just to feel normal. This is something developed over time and becomes harder and harder to break since the threshold keeps getting higher and higher

Question 5

In what way has twin studies contributed to the understanding the role of genes to individual differences in personality, and what do the results show?

Answer 5

In short, Monozygotic twin studies that put them indifferent environments have showed us that personality with tests like “the big 5” is hereditary up to around .50

we can say that 50% of your personality is from genes while the other 50% is your environment

Question 6

What are the effects on personality of toxins, physical illness and drugs? Give examples.

Answer 6

Toxins: Lead
Lead paint turns you into a republican
exposure causes - lower conscientiousness, agreeableness and higher neuroticism (controversial, contrarian , conspiracy theorists)

Physical illness: Stroke
Stroke Damage to certain brain areas, like the frontal lobes, can result in personality changes such as apathy, irritability, or even a loss of inhibition

Drugs: Cocaine
taking cocaine acts like a purely biological pleasure that interferes with the pathways of our regular reward system. The long term effect can cause people to be more “thrill seeking” and perhaps even become addicted since they will have to seek out more and more “rewarding” activity to achieve the same level of rewards they did before hand.