Chapter 12

Question 1

characteristic pattern of thinking, interacting, and reacting that is unique to each in individual and remains relatively consistent over time and situations

Answer 1

Personality

Question 2

– focus on creating detailed descriptions of individuals and their unique personality characteristics
o Might involve a rare type of individual
o i.e. a profile of someone with exceptionally creative talent

Answer 2

• Idiographic approach

Question 3

examines personality groups of people; aims to make generalizations about personality structure
o Advantage: allows psycholgoists to ask questions about genetic and cultural basis of personality traits
o i.e. shy vs outgoing, optimistic vs pessimistic, etc

Answer 3

• Nomothetic approach

Question 4

labels specific to attributes of personality (shy, cheerful, outgoing, adventurous)

Answer 4

Personality traits

Question 5

stats show that there are similarities among a wide variety of items; broad personality labels
• i.e. friendly, kind, warm
• clusters = factors

Answer 5

Factor analysis

Question 6

Raymond Cattell narrowed the list of 18k traits to 16
McCrae and Costa found that personality could be reduced to five major dimensions
• The Five Factor Model (The Big Five personality factors) – trait-based approach to personality measurement; includes
o Extraversion
o emotional stability
o conscientiousness
o agreeableness
o openness

Answer 6

The Five Factor Model (440-441)

Question 7

• Fixed or do they change?
• Infants vs adults

• Temperament – represent innate, biological basis of personality

Answer 7

Personality Traits over the Life Span

Question 8

a temporary physical or psychological engagement that influences behaviour
• i.e. lashing out at the waiter bc of hunger

Answer 8

State

Question 9

Aspects of Situations that influence Behaviour:

Answer 9

• Locations (work, school, home)
• Associations (friend, alone, with family)
• Activities (awake, rushed, studying)
• Subjective states (mad, happy, drunk, sick)

Question 10

Normal and Abnormal Personality:

Answer 10

The MMPI-2 aka Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Question 11

multiple-question personality inventory that is used to characterize both normal personality dimensions and profiles that fit various psychological disorders
• Main purpose is to discriminate bt normal and abnormal characteristics

Answer 11

The MMPI-2 aka Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Question 12

Other Methods for Measuring Personality

Answer 12

• Interviews
• Behavioural assessments
o Create a profile by observing an individual in a specific context or situation
o Drawback of knowing you’re being observed can alter behaviour
• Projective tests

Question 13

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 13

idea that behavior, internal (personal) factors, and external factors interact to determine one another and are based on interactions among these three aspects

Question 14

Culture and Personality

Answer 14

Cultural Variations in the Big Five
• Challenge to find a standardized measure across cultures
• WEIRD places (USA, Canada, Europe)
• Traits may differ among cultures
• Many findings defy cultural stereotypes

Question 15

Culturally Unique Personality Traits

Answer 15

• Issue with using Big Five for research: it poses a structure of personality on other cultures
• Members of other cultures may have more than just the Big Five
• China and interpersonal relatedness (harmony, tradition, relationships) not covered in the Big Five
• Overall, research using the Big Five measures does show cross-cultural consistency

Question 16

the view that personal identity, goals, and attributes are of greater value than group identity, goals and attributes

Answer 16

Individualism

Question 17

a view that places greater value on defining self in terms of group membership and goals

Answer 17

Collectivism

Question 18

The distinction bt invidualism and collectivism found in the brain

Answer 18

• Different brain patterns

Question 19

• Using the Big Five, identical (monozygotic) twins showed a stronger correlation in personality traits than fraternal (dizygotic twins)
o Identical twins: treated in similar ways; could be due to similar environment
• Heredity plays an important role but we should also consider environment and parenting among other factors that affect personality

Answer 19

Twin Studies

Question 20

– regulates mood and emotion; found on chromosome 17

Answer 20

• Serotonin

Question 21

• Codes for proteins that transport serotonin molecules within synapses (tiny spaces) between nerve cells

Answer 21

From Molecules to Personality

Question 22

• Genes are _______; there are different versions of the same gene that can lead to different physical or behavioural characteristics

Answer 22

polymorphic

Question 23

• Two variations of the serotonin transporter gene: long and short copy

Answer 23

o Short copy – predisposed to anxiety, shyness, negative emotional reactions to interpersonal situations
• Genes interact w the environment to produce behaviour

Question 24

• Personality evolved to promote survival and reproductive success
• i.e. jealousy as a means to advertise that their mate is unavailable (455)

Answer 24

The Role of Evolution in Personality

Question 25

• Big Five personality traits found in a variety of secies including hedgehogs, ants, rhinos, primates (456)

Answer 25

Animal Behaviour: The Evolutionary Roots of Personality

Question 26

Evolution and Individual Differences in Personality traits

Answer 26

• Personality varies form individual to individual
• Evolutionary noise – individual differences (bc evolution occurs at the size of a population)
• “opposites attract”
• assortative mating – choosing sexual partners who are similar to the individual doing the searching
• personality is flexible

Question 27

• Women generally report higher ratings of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism
• Countries with the largest gender difference also have greater access to resources (health care, education, wealth)
• Prosperity gives members of either gender to diverge

Answer 27

Men are from Venus, Women are from Mars

Question 28

Ancient medicine guided by the:

•	Body consisted of four humors:
o	Blood
o	Phlegm
o	Black bile
o	Yellow bile
•	Illness and disorders due to an imbalance (i.e. too much black bile leading to melancholy)

Answer 28

theory of humorism

Question 29

Later decided that the skull was a better place to understand personality
• Franz Gall (1700) developed

• Personality characteristics corresponded to individual differences in brain structure; assessed by measuring shape and contours of skull surface
• Shape of the skull had little to nothing to do with personality

Answer 29

phrenology

Question 30

Personality linked to specific ______

• Hans Eysenck
• Proposed arousal states of the brain as basis of extraversion and reactivity of limbic system (emotional circuits), reticular activating system, and cortex
• Decreased reactivity = unaroused
o Seek out social and emotional stimulation
• Introverts have higher reactivity so they don’t seek out stimulation as much as extraverts

Answer 30

brain regions

Question 31

Two hemispheres of the brain

Answer 31

• Left and right differ in processing of positive and negative emotions
o Activity in left prefrontal cortex is associated with positive responses; whereas activity in right responds to threat and unfamiliar stimuli
o Individuals differ by which side dominates

• Left – more positive emotions
• Right – more anxious

Question 32

• MRI

Answer 32

Contemporary Research: Images of Personality in the Brain