Chapter 9: The Biological Approach Flashcards
how did Eysenck identify supertraits?
through factor analysis
Eysenck on personality traits
concluded that all traits can be subsumed within 3 basic personality dimensions
Eysenck’s 3 dimensions of personality
- extraversion
- neuroticism
- psychoticism
extraversion
characterized by a tendency to be outgoing, impulsive, and uninhibited
neuroticism
characterized by a tendency to respond emotionally
psychoticism
characterized by a lack of concern for the rights and welfare of other people
how did Eysenck organize elements of personality?
into units that can be arranged hierarchically
Eysenck’s personality hierarchy
- supertrait level (st)
- trait level (tl)
- habitual response level (hr)
- specific response level (sr)
specific response level (Eysenck)
consists of specific behaviours
habitual response (Eysenck)
consistent specific responses
trait (Eysenck)
an important aspect of one’ s personality
supertrait (Eysenck)
one of Eysenck’s 3 basic personality dimensions
why did Eysenck believe that individual personality differences are based on biology
- the consistency of introversion-extraversion over time
- cross-cultural research
- several studies indicate that genetics play an important role in determining one’s placement in each of the three personality dimensions
the consistency of introversion-extraversion over time and the biological basis of personality
Participants’ scores of introversion-extraversion remained fairly consistent over 45 years
cross-cultural research and the biological basis of personality
- Investigators often find the same three dimensions of personality in many different countries and cultures
- Eysenck maintains that this would be unlikely unless biological factors were largely responsible for personality
how much variance in personality development did Eysenck attribute to biology?
about 2/3 of the variance
Eysenck’s cortical arousal hypothesis
Eysenck argued that extraverts have lower levels of cortical arousal, causing them to seek out highly arousing social behaviour, while introverts have cortical arousal levels that are near or perhaps even above the optimal amount
has research found evidence for Eysenck’s cortical arousal hypothesis?
no
differences in neural responses of introverts and extraverts
- Introverts and extraverts differ in how certain parts of their brains respond to emotional stimuli
- Introverts are more sensitive to stimulation than extraverts (both external and chemical stimuli)
similarities in the neural responses of introverts and extraverts
Introverts and extraverts show no differences in brain-wave activity when at rest or when asleep
reinforcement sensitvity theory
argues that individuals differ in the strength of the BAS & BIS and that these individual differences are relatively stable over time
Behavioural approach system (BAS)
A hypothetical biological system that is focused on seeking out and achieving pleasurable goals.
Behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
A hypothetical biological system that is focused on avoiding dangerous and unpleasant experiences.
People with a highly active BAS
- Are motivated to seek out and achieve pleasurable goals
- Get pleasure out of rewards and anticipate those rewards
- Experience more anger and frustration when they fall short of reaching anticipated sources of pleasure
People with a highly active BIS
- Tend to be more apprehensive
- Approach new situations warily, are on a constant lookout for signs of danger, and are quick to retreat from a situation that they sense might lead to problems
- Are more likely to experience anxiety
reinforcement sensitvity theory and Eysenck’s supertraits
- Most researchers see a connection between BAS & extraversion and BIS & neuroticism
- Scales measuring extraversion and neuroticism are correlated with scales measuring BAS & BIS respectively. Thus, they are related, but not the same
how does reinforcement sensitivity theory view extraverts?
- extraverts can be viewed as those who are more aware of and more attracted to situations that promise rewards
- extraverts aren’t necessarily attracted to all social situations, but only those that are likely to be enjoyable
extraverts and nonsocial situations study
Extraverts preferred nonsocial situations more than introverts did if they thought the experience would be pleasant
Temperaments
general behavioural dispositions
how many basic temperaments are there?
- Researchers often disagree on the number of basic temperaments
- One model identifies three basic temperaments
3 main temperaments
emotionality
activity
sociability
emotionality
the intensity of emotional reactions
activity
a person’s general level of energy
sociability
a general tendency to affiliate and interact with others
basis of temperaments
Temperaments are largely inherited because we can identify them in babies
gender differences in temperament
- Gender differences in temperament can be found in children as young as 3 months
- Research finds that girls are more likely than boys to exhibit an effortful control temperament
- Boys are more likely than girls to be identified with a surgency temperament
efforful control temperament
the ability to focus attention and exercise control over impulsive urges
surgency temperament
high levels of activity and sociability
temperament in childhood vs. adulthood
Temperament levels in preschool children predict adult personality
3 categories of temperament used in longitudinal studies
- well-adjusted
- undercontrolled
- inhibited
well-adjusted children
exhibited self-control and self-confidence and approached new people and situations with little difficulty
undercontrolled children
impulsive, restless, and easily distracted
well-adjusted children in adulthood
well-adjusted children became relatively healthy and well-adjusted adults
undercontrolled children in adulthood
- were more likely to have problems during adolescence with fighting, lying, and disobeying both at home and at school.
- As young adults, they were more likely to experience legal, employment, and relationship problems.
- By the time they reached 32, they were twice as likely to have a problem with excessive gambling than well-adjusted participants
inhibited children in adulthood
- less socially engaged
- more likely to suffer from depression
development of temperament
The process through which temperament develops into personality traits is complex and influenced by many factors
temperament and the environment
- the child’s temperament influences the type of environment they live in
- Temperament generates expectations that can affect the way people treat a child
shyness over time
found that children who were passive and cautious at 2-3 years old usually grew up to be adults who showed similar patterns of shyness around strangers
how did Kagan & Moss explain their finding of shyness over time
They argue that these differences are the result of inherited dispositions
inhibited children
- Controlled and gentle
- Cling to their parents when meeting new children
- Are slow to explore new toys or equipment and may go for several minutes without saying a word
prevalence of inhibited children
around 10% of children
uninhibited children
- jump right in to play with a new toy or piece of playground equipment
- Start talking soon after they enter a play area, even if they don’t know the other children playing there
prevalence of uninhibited children
around 25% of children
what distinguishes inhibited children from uninhibited children
anxiety to novelty
anxiety to novelty
cautious and at times fearful of new people and new situations
anxiety to novelty over time
How they express this anxiety changes as they mature, but it is present throughout childhood and into adulthood
physiological differences in inhibited children
- They differ in terms of their body build, susceptibility to allergies, and eye colour (more likely to have blue eyes)
- They are more likely to show signs of irritability, sleep disturbances, and chronic constipation during the first few months of life
- They respond to unfamiliar stimuli with increased heart rate and pupil dilation
brain responses of inhibited vs. uninhibited children
- 10-12-year-old inhibited children reacted to noises with different brain stem responses than unhibited children
- Inhibited children have abnormally high amygdala responses and increased striatum activity when presented with a novel or uncertain stimulus
inhibited infants at 14 and 21 months
40% of inhibited children showed signs of fear in response to unfamiliar events at 14 and 21 months, but none of the uninhibited children did
inhibited infants at 5.5 years
showed similar inhibited behaviour patterns
inhibited behavour patterns of 5.5 year olds
their scores at 5.5 years were correlated with their scores at 21 months in the following domains:
- playing with unfamiliar children
- laboratory level activity
- looking at the experimenter
- playing with new toys
- spontaneous falling
- ball-toss riskiness
- social interaction at school
- mother’s rating of shyness
inhibited children and shyness
Inhibited children are significantly more likely than uninhibited children to become shy teenagers
inhibited children and social anxiety
Inhibited children are 7 times more likely to suffer from social anxiety in adolescence than children not identified as inhibited
inhibition over time
researchers measured inhibition in a group of children between 8-12 and then again 10 years later. Found a high correlation of .57 between the two measures
inhibition and adult anxiety
being an inhibited child was a risk factor for adult anxiety disorders, especially social phobia
how can parents of inhibited children help their child?
becoming sensitive to the child’s discomfort in unfamiliar situations and teaching the child how to deal with new situations
inhibited children in China
In Chinese children, toddlers identified as inhibited at age 2 had better social relationships at age 7 than the average child
uninhibited children and behaviour
Uninhibited children are more likely to exhibit disruptive behavioural disorders, including aggressiveness, and to have attention problems
Evolutionary personality psychology
a theory of personality based on the theory of evolution
Natural selection
some members of a species possess inherited characteristics that help them meet and survive the threats from the natural environment. These survivors are more likely to reproduce and pass their inherited characteristics off to their offspring. The net result over many generations is the evolution of species-specific features
Psychological mechanisms
characteristically human functions that allow us to effectively deal with common human problems or needs
natural selection and psychological mechanisms
Through natural selection, mechanisms that increase the chance of human survival have been retained
examples of psychological mechanisms
- fear of strangers
- anger
- need to belong to a group and form attachments
- compassion
how is a fear of strangers evolutionarily adaptive?
evolved to meet the problem of attack by those not belonging to our group or tribe
how is anger evolutionarily adaptive?
might have assisted our ancestors in survival behaviours like asserting authority and overcoming enemies
how is the need to belong to groups and form attachments evolutionarily adaptive?
species that worked together survived better than those that did not
how is compassion evolutionarily adaptive?
helps the species survive because it leads to the protection of individuals in need
what is one of the main causes of anxiety?
a fear of social exclusion
why is anxiety evolutionarily adaptive?
- Social exclusion was evolutionarily very harmful, so a fear of it would help one survive
- Behaviours that lead to social exclusion are typically those that impair the survival of the species
anxiety across cultures
anxiety is found in nearly all cultures
strengths of the biological approach
- Provides a bridge between the study of personality and biology
- Identifies some realistic parameters for psychologists interested in behaviour change
- Most of its advocates are academic psychologists with a strong interest in testing their ideas through research
criticisms of the biological approach
- Difficulties testing these ideas
- Researchers have not agreed upon a single model for temperament
- Provides very little information about behavioural change
what did initial factor research reveal about supertraits?
yielded two dimensions (extraversion & neuroticism)
how do Eysenck’s supertraits relate to each other?
they’re independent
emotionality in children vs. adults
- Children high on emotionality frequently express anger
- As adults, they are easily upset and have quick temper
activity in children
Highly active children move around a lot and prefer games that require running and jumping
sociability in children vs. adults
- Social children seek out other children to play
- As adults, they have a lot of friends and enjoy social gatherings
surgency in adults
Similar to extraversion
what do inhibited vs. uninhibited styles represent?
inherited biological temperaments
