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PSYC 332 > Chapter 9: The Biological Approach > Flashcards

Chapter 9: The Biological Approach Flashcards

1
Q

how did Eysenck identify supertraits?

A

through factor analysis

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2
Q

Eysenck on personality traits

A

concluded that all traits can be subsumed within 3 basic personality dimensions

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3
Q

Eysenck’s 3 dimensions of personality

A
  • extraversion
  • neuroticism
  • psychoticism
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4
Q

extraversion

A

characterized by a tendency to be outgoing, impulsive, and uninhibited

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5
Q

neuroticism

A

characterized by a tendency to respond emotionally

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6
Q

psychoticism

A

characterized by a lack of concern for the rights and welfare of other people

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7
Q

how did Eysenck organize elements of personality?

A

into units that can be arranged hierarchically

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8
Q

Eysenck’s personality hierarchy

A
  1. supertrait level (st)
  2. trait level (tl)
  3. habitual response level (hr)
  4. specific response level (sr)
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9
Q

specific response level (Eysenck)

A

consists of specific behaviours

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10
Q

habitual response (Eysenck)

A

consistent specific responses

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11
Q

trait (Eysenck)

A

an important aspect of one’ s personality

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12
Q

supertrait (Eysenck)

A

one of Eysenck’s 3 basic personality dimensions

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13
Q

why did Eysenck believe that individual personality differences are based on biology

A
  1. the consistency of introversion-extraversion over time
  2. cross-cultural research
  3. several studies indicate that genetics play an important role in determining one’s placement in each of the three personality dimensions
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14
Q

the consistency of introversion-extraversion over time and the biological basis of personality

A

Participants’ scores of introversion-extraversion remained fairly consistent over 45 years

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15
Q

cross-cultural research and the biological basis of personality

A
  • 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
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16
Q

how much variance in personality development did Eysenck attribute to biology?

A

about 2/3 of the variance

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17
Q

Eysenck’s cortical arousal hypothesis

A

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

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18
Q

has research found evidence for Eysenck’s cortical arousal hypothesis?

A

no

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19
Q

differences in neural responses of introverts and extraverts

A
  • 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)
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20
Q

similarities in the neural responses of introverts and extraverts

A

Introverts and extraverts show no differences in brain-wave activity when at rest or when asleep

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21
Q

reinforcement sensitvity theory

A

argues that individuals differ in the strength of the BAS & BIS and that these individual differences are relatively stable over time

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22
Q

Behavioural approach system (BAS)

A

A hypothetical biological system that is focused on seeking out and achieving pleasurable goals.

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23
Q

Behavioural inhibition system (BIS)

A

A hypothetical biological system that is focused on avoiding dangerous and unpleasant experiences.

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24
Q

People with a highly active BAS

A
  • 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
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25
Q

People with a highly active BIS

A
  • 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
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26
Q

reinforcement sensitvity theory and Eysenck’s supertraits

A
  • 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
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27
Q

how does reinforcement sensitivity theory view extraverts?

A
  • 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
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28
Q

extraverts and nonsocial situations study

A

Extraverts preferred nonsocial situations more than introverts did if they thought the experience would be pleasant

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29
Q

Temperaments

A

general behavioural dispositions

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30
Q

how many basic temperaments are there?

A
  • Researchers often disagree on the number of basic temperaments
  • One model identifies three basic temperaments
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31
Q

3 main temperaments

A

emotionality
activity
sociability

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32
Q

emotionality

A

the intensity of emotional reactions

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33
Q

activity

A

a person’s general level of energy

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34
Q

sociability

A

a general tendency to affiliate and interact with others

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35
Q

basis of temperaments

A

Temperaments are largely inherited because we can identify them in babies

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36
Q

gender differences in temperament

A
  • 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
37
Q

efforful control temperament

A

the ability to focus attention and exercise control over impulsive urges

38
Q

surgency temperament

A

high levels of activity and sociability

39
Q

temperament in childhood vs. adulthood

A

Temperament levels in preschool children predict adult personality

40
Q

3 categories of temperament used in longitudinal studies

A
  • well-adjusted
  • undercontrolled
  • inhibited
41
Q

well-adjusted children

A

exhibited self-control and self-confidence and approached new people and situations with little difficulty

42
Q

undercontrolled children

A

impulsive, restless, and easily distracted

43
Q

well-adjusted children in adulthood

A

well-adjusted children became relatively healthy and well-adjusted adults

44
Q

undercontrolled children in adulthood

A
  • 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
45
Q

inhibited children in adulthood

A
  • less socially engaged
  • more likely to suffer from depression
46
Q

development of temperament

A

The process through which temperament develops into personality traits is complex and influenced by many factors

47
Q

temperament and the environment

A
  • the child’s temperament influences the type of environment they live in
  • Temperament generates expectations that can affect the way people treat a child
48
Q

shyness over time

A

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

49
Q

how did Kagan & Moss explain their finding of shyness over time

A

They argue that these differences are the result of inherited dispositions

50
Q

inhibited children

A
  • 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
51
Q

prevalence of inhibited children

A

around 10% of children

52
Q

uninhibited children

A
  • 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
53
Q

prevalence of uninhibited children

A

around 25% of children

54
Q

what distinguishes inhibited children from uninhibited children

A

anxiety to novelty

55
Q

anxiety to novelty

A

cautious and at times fearful of new people and new situations

56
Q

anxiety to novelty over time

A

How they express this anxiety changes as they mature, but it is present throughout childhood and into adulthood

57
Q

physiological differences in inhibited children

A
  • 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
58
Q

brain responses of inhibited vs. uninhibited children

A
  • 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
59
Q

inhibited infants at 14 and 21 months

A

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

60
Q

inhibited infants at 5.5 years

A

showed similar inhibited behaviour patterns

61
Q

inhibited behavour patterns of 5.5 year olds

A

their scores at 5.5 years were correlated with their scores at 21 months in the following domains:

  1. playing with unfamiliar children
  2. laboratory level activity
  3. looking at the experimenter
  4. playing with new toys
  5. spontaneous falling
  6. ball-toss riskiness
  7. social interaction at school
  8. mother’s rating of shyness
62
Q

inhibited children and shyness

A

Inhibited children are significantly more likely than uninhibited children to become shy teenagers

63
Q

inhibited children and social anxiety

A

Inhibited children are 7 times more likely to suffer from social anxiety in adolescence than children not identified as inhibited

64
Q

inhibition over time

A

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

65
Q

inhibition and adult anxiety

A

being an inhibited child was a risk factor for adult anxiety disorders, especially social phobia

66
Q

how can parents of inhibited children help their child?

A

becoming sensitive to the child’s discomfort in unfamiliar situations and teaching the child how to deal with new situations

67
Q

inhibited children in China

A

In Chinese children, toddlers identified as inhibited at age 2 had better social relationships at age 7 than the average child

68
Q

uninhibited children and behaviour

A

Uninhibited children are more likely to exhibit disruptive behavioural disorders, including aggressiveness, and to have attention problems

69
Q

Evolutionary personality psychology

A

a theory of personality based on the theory of evolution

70
Q

Natural selection

A

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

71
Q

Psychological mechanisms

A

characteristically human functions that allow us to effectively deal with common human problems or needs

72
Q

natural selection and psychological mechanisms

A

Through natural selection, mechanisms that increase the chance of human survival have been retained

73
Q

examples of psychological mechanisms

A
  • fear of strangers
  • anger
  • need to belong to a group and form attachments
  • compassion
74
Q

how is a fear of strangers evolutionarily adaptive?

A

evolved to meet the problem of attack by those not belonging to our group or tribe

75
Q

how is anger evolutionarily adaptive?

A

might have assisted our ancestors in survival behaviours like asserting authority and overcoming enemies

76
Q

how is the need to belong to groups and form attachments evolutionarily adaptive?

A

species that worked together survived better than those that did not

77
Q

how is compassion evolutionarily adaptive?

A

helps the species survive because it leads to the protection of individuals in need

78
Q

what is one of the main causes of anxiety?

A

a fear of social exclusion

79
Q

why is anxiety evolutionarily adaptive?

A
  • 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
80
Q

anxiety across cultures

A

anxiety is found in nearly all cultures

81
Q

strengths of the biological approach

A
  • 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
82
Q

criticisms of the biological approach

A
  • Difficulties testing these ideas
  • Researchers have not agreed upon a single model for temperament
  • Provides very little information about behavioural change
83
Q

what did initial factor research reveal about supertraits?

A

yielded two dimensions (extraversion & neuroticism)

84
Q

how do Eysenck’s supertraits relate to each other?

A

they’re independent

85
Q

emotionality in children vs. adults

A
  • Children high on emotionality frequently express anger
  • As adults, they are easily upset and have quick temper
86
Q

activity in children

A

Highly active children move around a lot and prefer games that require running and jumping

87
Q

sociability in children vs. adults

A
  • Social children seek out other children to play
  • As adults, they have a lot of friends and enjoy social gatherings
88
Q

surgency in adults

A

Similar to extraversion

89
Q

what do inhibited vs. uninhibited styles represent?

A

inherited biological temperaments

PSYC 332 (12 decks)

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