Chapter 9 Biological Foundations of Personality Flashcards
Adoption studies
p280
Studies of children who grow up with caregivers other than their biological parents are called adoption studies. (Adoption studies sometimes involve identical twins, but commonly may involve nontwin siblings.)
Behavioural genetics
p278
- The study of genetic contributions to behavior is called the field of behavioral genetics.
- Behavioral geneticists estimate the degree to which variation in psychological characteristics is due to genetic factors.
- The methods of behavioral genetics provide evidence of environmental effects on personality.
- Behavioral geneticists employ three primary research methods: selective breeding studies, twin studies, and adoption studies.
Evolved psychological mechanisms
p270
- Have adaptive value in terms of survival and reproductive success.
- Such aspects of human nature, as our fundamental motives and emotions, can thereby be understood in terms of their adaptive value.
fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
p296
- Enables researchers to identify specific regions of the brain that are active when people perform a given task.
- This technique involves analyzing changes in blood flow during task performance.
- If there is a particularly large change in blood flow in a given brain region during task performance, this provides evidence that the brain region is somehow involved in the performance of that task.
Heritability coefficient
p282
- h2
- Represents the proportion of observed variance in scores on personality characteristics that can be attributed to genetic factors.
Inhibited-uninhibited temperaments
p266
- Kagan noticed two clearly defined behavioral profiles in temperament: inhibited and uninhibited profiles. -Relative to the uninhibited child, the inhibited child reacts to unfamiliar persons or events with restraint, avoidance, and distress, takes a longer time to relax in new situations, and has more unusual fears and phobias. Such a child behaves timidly and cautiously, the initial reaction to novelty being to become quiet, seek parental comfort, or run and hide.
- The uninhibited child seems to enjoy these very same situations that seem so stressful to the inhibited child. Rather than being timid and fearful, the uninhibited child responds with spontaneity in novel situations, laughing and smiling easily.
Neurotransmitters
p292
-The brain’s neurons communicate using neurotransmitters, chemical substances that transmit information from one neuron to another.
Parental investment theory
p274
- Two ideas underlie the contemporary evolutionary psychologist’s analysis of sex differences.
- One is called parental investment theory and the other parenthood probability theories.
- The theory is an analysis of the different costs, or investments, that men versus women have made in parenting throughout the ages.
Phrenology
p263
- 19th‐century biologist Franz Joseph Gall.
- Founded the field of phrenology, which posited that specific areas of the brain are responsible for specific emotional and behavioral functions (Figure 9.1). -Through postmortem inspections of brains - relate differences in brain tissue to individuals’ capacities, dispositions, and traits before death.
- Bumps on the head were examined, since they might be indicative of the development of underlying brain tissue.
Plasticity
p295
- The capacity of biological systems to change as a result of experience is called plasticity. Like plastic, biology can be shaped and molded.
- Both neural systems and neurotransmitter systems display plasticity.
Proximate causes
p269
- When explaining the biological causes of a behavior, two types of causes can be cited; they often are labeled “proximate” and “ultimate” causes.
- Proximate causes refer to biological processes operating in the organism at the time the behavior is observed.
BLAH 1
Psychologists have long been interested in individual differences in temperament, relating such differences to constitutional factors. Advances in temperament research have come in the form of longitudinal studies and objective measures of behavior and constitutional‐biological variables. Kagan’s research on inhibited and uninhibited children is illustrative of such developments.
BLAH 2
Evolutionary theory concerns ultimate causes of behavior—that is, why the behavior of interest evolved and the adaptive function it served. Work in the area of male–female mate preferences, emphasizing sex differences in parental investment and parenthood probability, and in male– female differences in causes of jealousy illustrate research associated with evolutionary interpretations of human behavioral characteristics.
BLAH 3
Three methods used to establish genetic‐ behavior relationships are selective breeding, twin studies, and adoption studies. Twin and adoption studies lead to significant heritability estimates for intelligence and most personality characteristics. The overall heritability for personality has been estimated to be .4 to .5; that is, 40 to 50% of the variance in personality characteristics is due to genetic factors. However, there is evidence that heritability estimates are influenced by the population studied, personality characteristics studied, and measures used.
BLAH 4
Associations between findings in neuroscience and personality have focused on the functioning of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, on individual differences in hemispheric lateralization and emotional style, demonstrated in the work of Davidson, and on the functioning of parts of the brain such as the amygdala in relation to the processing of emotional stimuli and emotional memories. The three‐dimensional temperament model proposed by Clark and Watson represents one attempt to systematize relations between the findings in neuroscience and personality. Many such links are suggested, although at this time a comprehensive model of biological processes and personality traits remains to be formulated.
