Chapter 7 - Physiological Approaches Flashcards
What is the core assumption of the biological domain?
-humans collections of biological systems
-these systems provide building blocks for behaviour, thought, and emotion
What are the focuses on personality of the biological domain?
-behavioural genetics
-psychophysiology
-evolutionary effects
What are the early physiological theories of personality?
-based on 4 humors: something with their body generated personality traits
-physiognomy: phenotype reveals personality traits (physical characteristics; racism)
-phrenology: what different brain regions control/represent
What is the story of Phineas Gage?
-damage to frontal lobe (executive functioning)
-prior to his accident: highly agreeable and conscientious (nice; easy-going)
-after his accident: obstinate and capricious (less inhibition; acting like a teenager)
What does the physiological approach to personality look at?
-connections among: environmental conditions; personality traits; responses
-links personality to specific situations in terms of evoking a certain psychological response (can be identifies and measure using specific physiological measures)
What are the physiological measures commonly used in personality research?
-Electrodermal Activity (skin conductance)
-cardiovascular activity
-brain activity
-other measures: biochemical analyses of blood and saliva (look at cortisol levels; stress)
How does Electrodermal Activity (EDA) work?
-most obtained by electrodes or sensors placed on the skin surface
-due to increased sweat with arousal, skin conductance of electricity increases
Which stimuli are presented during EDA?
-can measure responses to various stimuli (sudden noises, emotionally charged pictures, pain, anxiety, fear, guilt, etc.)
-some people display EDA in the absence of external stimuli (anxiety and neuroticism)
What are the advantages and disadvantage of EDA?
-advantages: noninvasive, no discomfort
-disadvantage: movement constrained (affects sweating, making results inaccurate)
What are the 2 things Cardiovascular Activity looks at?
-blood pressure: can measure stress reactivity
-heart rate: increases with anxiety, fear, arousal, cognitive effort
What is cardiac reactivity associated with?
-greater than normal increase in BP and HR when performing tasks (like backward serial subtraction) is associated with Type A personality (impatience, competitiveness, hostility)
-cardiac reactivity (and Type A) linked to coronary heart disease (high cortisol level; burnouts)
What is used to measure brain activity?
-brain spontaneously produces small amounts of electrical activity
-can be measured by electrodes on the scalp (electroencephalography (EEG))
How does a study looking at brain activity work?
-evoked potential technique: uses EEG, but the participant is given a stimulus and the researcher assesses specific brain response to stimulus
What are brain imaging techniques?
-computerized methods of detecting metabolic or chemical changes in the brain
-map structure and function of brain
–identify areas of brain associated with certain personality traits
What are the 2 types of brain imaging techniques?
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
-PET scans use radioactive tracers - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
-fMRIs track brain activity by monitoring glucose metabolism in the brain (has a higher resolution than PET scans)
