Chapter 5 - Biological Aspects of Personality Flashcards
what is natural selection
certain adaptive individual characteristics that emerge over generations
attention is drawn to the ____ of a characteristic in survival
function
what is an evolutionary personality theory
modern application of Darwins’ ideas to individual differences
-differences are due to different adaptive strategy
limitation of evolutionary personality theory
hard to check genes?
what is williams syndrome
change in personality due to missing 2 dozen genes from chromosome 7; characterized by excessively social, limited intellect
what is behavioral genomics
study of how genes affect behavior
what is quantitative genetics
study of phenotypes that change/vary in people
ex. height, weight
what is temperament?
stable individual differences in emotional reactivity
what are the 4 aspects of temperament
activity (vigorous motion vs. passivity), emotionality, sociability (approaches others vs. aloof), impulsivity
what is emotionality?
(easily aroused vs. calm + stable)
what is impulsivity?
(aggressive + cold vs. friendly)
measures of temperament?
Eysenck’s model (nervous system of temperament; introversion/extroversion) and Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory and Zuckermann’s theory (sensation seeking)
what is extroversion according to Eysenck
having low levels of brain arousal so these ppl seek stimulation
what is introversion according to Eysenck
having high levels of internal arousal so they avoid stimulating social environments
Eysenck’s nervous system temperament theory combines the activity element with social dimension and links it to the ___ which creates ___
nervous system; introversion-extroversion dimension
what are some problems with testing a nervous system based theory?
a. difficult to define + measure nervous arousal
b. human body attempts to maintain equilibrium so it varies in baseline, duration, etc.
what is the behavioral inhibition system?
provides a response to situations and responds to things that are punishing
overactive -> anxiety
what is the behavioral activation system?
regulates response to rewards
overactive -> impulsivity
sensation seeking people seek out _____
highly stimulating activities
what are neurotransmitters
chemical nerves used to communicate
how does dopamine affect personality
ppl can have natural defects in dopamine systems; can lead them to be more susceptible to addiction
prozac?
can have short-term or long-term effects on personality
what is hemispheric activity
difference between activation of left/right cerebral hemispheres
over-reaction to a negative stimulus is due to greater activation on the ____ side
right
what is the nervous-system drug addition model and how does it effect personality
BIS and BAS; nervous system can affect how easily affected we are by rewards or avoiding situations/punishments
twin studies
what, why
what is eugenics
thought that eminent families should have lots of children to improve human race
what is non-shared environmental variance
features of the environment that children raised in the same home experience differently
comparing identical twins to fraternal twins
the detection of genetic influences on personality
what is schizophrenia
person who loses touch with reality; has delusions, becomes paranoid
look at research limitations in the book please :D
what is bipolar disorder
who knows
what is concordance
the probability of a match
twin studies have shown that ___ has genetic influence from ____
homosexuality; evidence of difference in brain structure and function
What is Bern’s Exotic Becomes Erotic theory
people are attracted to genders that are unfamiliar to them in childhood
what is the kin selection theory
if nieces and nephews of LGBT+ ppl are likely to survive then the genetic tendency toward homosexuality will survive
what are the effects of environmental toxins on personality
lead poisoning leads to poisoning of child’s nervous system;
what is biological determinism
our biology determines our actions
what are tropisms
motivational forces; can originate from temperamental differences
what are physical attractiveness stereotypes
ppl expect attractive people to do good and be good; adults have higher expectations for attractive children
what is sociobiology
scientific study of influence of evolutionary biology on responses to social matters
what is attachment
relationship to parents? look at book babes
what is the cinderella effect
parents giving preference to biological children over step-children
-results from natural selection, parents just love their biological children more whoops
survival of the fittest led to the incorrect assumption that this is a __ world
“dog-eat-dog”; weak creatures and cultures shouldn’t survive
what is the human genome project
tried to identify the function of genes; first, it was to develop treatments, but then they found genes that influence personality
what is the ethical issues of the human genome project
they were trying to genetically engineer healthy genes
