Chapter 4 - Reading

Question 1

`O

Answer 1

Is the quality and breadth of a person’s thoughts, interests and values
High O people are imaginative, artistic and non-traditional
Low O are traditional and down to earth
Tied up with the development of intellect and more involved with the development f lever 2 and 3 personalities

Question 2

Rank Order Stability

Answer 2

Substantially, people retain their ranks
More stable over short time
Less in childhood relative to midlife
By 50s, stubbornly stable
Not so stable over a whole lifespan but reasonably consistent

Question 3

Nature colludes with nurture to keep rank order stable

Answer 3

50% of the variance in persoanlity change is accounted for by DNA
MZ twins are more similar than DZ teins personalities, even if not raised together
The rest is environment
Heritability drops with age as environmental factors mount
Social actors evoke environments:

Smile, people smile back, more likely to smile etc

Question 4

Genes

Answer 4

Multiple genes code for personality

Multiple combinations can have the same effect

Question 5

Mechanisms reinforcing tendencies

Answer 5

Mechanisms reinforce preexisting tendencies in personality. Through responsivity, actors respond positively to those features in their environment which are consistent with their dispositions, thus, reinforcing those predispositions.

As actors grow, they employ manipulation - actively altering their environments, tailoring them to their pre-existing tendencies.

Moat powerful mechanism: The selection of social roles. Roles are the positions we occupy in societies and their associated behaviors. We may be assigned these early in life that fit our dispositions and may then seek them out later. These can reinforce tendencies.

Question 6

What can parents do?

Answer 6

Authoritative parenting style is good
Increased schools achievement
Might be biased cos middle class and western
Also, might be gene mediated - Probs high C parents, passing it on

Question 7

Does parenting haver much of an effect on personality

Answer 7

No

Question 8

Non shared efffects

Answer 8

Non shared factors are the other 50%
Might include parenting as parents may treat kids differently
MZ twins with different stress = different N scores

Question 9

Epigenetics

Answer 9

Stress/environment may impact the expressing on genes

Question 10

Normative change

Answer 10

up C, upA, down N
from adolescence to late middle age

C goes up across lifespan
A goes up after 50
N Decreased through 40 and levels off
E (dominance) goes up through 30, E vitality drops after 50
O goes up to 20, drops after 50

Why? Maybe genetic, PFC not mature until 20
Also social roles
Work after High school = increase C
Uni = increase A