McAdams Ch. 1-5 Flashcards
McAdams layers of personality
- Actor: dispositional traits
- Agent: goals and values
- Author: life stories
Temperament
- unique presentational style
- how the infant regulates and expresses feelings
- gradually morphs into basic dispositional traits of human personality
Gordon Allport
- founding father of personality psychology
- personality development is best understood as interplay between nomothetic and idiographic approaches
- nomothetic: generalizing discourse of science
- idiographic: particular dynamics of the individual case
Two primary factors that distinguish humans from other species
- cognitive power (cog. accomplishments of smartest fellow species fall short of what we expect from 4yo human child)
- social nature (big brains and intense social relationships go together)
According to McAdams, where does personality most powerfully reveal itself?
in the social arena
Neocortex
- mainly responsible for conscious thought, planning, and decision making
- theorized that expanded neocortex evolved to cope w complexity of primate social life
Eusocial species
- individuals engage in altruistic acts and other prosocial behaviors to benefit the group (even at detriment to self)
Key steps in evolutionary “sprint” to eusociality
- bipedalism: australopithecine species
- tools and
- hunting: homo habilis made tools for hunting, hunting requires cooperation
- controlling fire for domestic use: homo erectus, cooking
- campsites: “nest” –> “home”
- culture: larger prefrontal cortex (decision-making, social behavior) and temporal lobes (langauge): homo sapiens!, increase in size of human groups and intergroup contact
Genes and evolution
- genetic evolution has sped up in last 40, 000 years
- genes began to co-evolve with cultural innovations (ie agriculture!)
Wesley Autrey story
- man who saved life of guy having a seizure who fell onto train tracks
- extraordinary example of human eusociality
- goes against kin selection as explanation for human altruism
Reciprocal altruism
- helping members of your group might lead to them helping you in the future
- group members who are especially agreeable/altruistic might garner more resources from the group
Multilevel selection as cause of ultrasocial behavior
- highly controversial! (bc individuals, not groups, pass down genes)
- egotists win out over altruists within the group, but groups of cooperating altruists win out when competing with other groups
- proponents of theory suggest that evolution works on many different levels and sometimes selects for tendencies that benefit group as a whole
Group identification
- we identify w group and experience wins and setbacks as our own
- ex minimal group paradigm: ppl assigned to arbitrary groupings and show ingroup preferences and biases against outgroup members
Religion as one of evolution’s greatest inventions
- fosters group solidarity, provides members w common transcendent meaning for their lives
- groups w stronger religious bonds might have tended to outcompete less cohesive groups
- especially good at motivating self-sacrificial acts aimed at helping in-group
Charles Darwin story
- as a young man was highly religious and passionate about botany and entomology
- joined Cap. FitzRoy on HMS Beagle for 5 years to examine geology of South American coast and Australia
- came up with idea of natural selection and didn’t publish for 21 years (bc he was so humble and bc he knew he would get lots of resistance)
- viewed as humble and self-effacing, always thought he was gonna die
- while he waited he collected scientific evidence and built up his relationships in scientific community (likely why he is credited w theory and not Wallace)
- he tried to have Wallace’s work published so he would have all the credit, but let his friends orchestrate a ‘coup’
- highlights problem: how can we get along AND get ahead
What does McAdams refer to as the ‘primal conundrum’?
how to get along and get ahead
Robert Hogan
- first personality psychologist who recognized importance of primal conundrum
- socioanalytic theory of personality: humans are biologically wired to live in social groups that are variously organized into status hierarchies
- group life as social performance (reputation is key in getting along and getting ahead)
Benefits of gossip
- promotes cooperation in groups
- people display their best behaviors bc they are scared of what will be said behind their backs
Robert Dunbar
- evolutionary biologist
- humans are capable of max 150 social relationships at a time
- groups of this size probably constituted clans (related clans – tribes – of up to 2500 ppl)
According to McAdams, acting is largely about…
the performance of emotion
How did Erving Goffman describe human social behavior?
- as a series of performances through which actors play roles and enact scripts in order to manage the impressions of other characters in the social scene
- life is filled with routines, but each routine has room for improvisation
- this unique manner or style of acting is called a personal front (McAdams calls this rudiments of personality)
According to McAdams, why are babies social actors long before they realize they are?
- because we, the social audience, observe them to be actors
4 basic emotions that can be seen in newborns
- general distress
- general contentment
- interest
- disgust
New observable emotions from 2-7mo
- joy
- surprise
- anger
- sadness
- fear
Facial expressions and attachment development
- 2mo: broad social smiles
- 3mo: stronger smiles in response to people
- 6/7mo: biggest smiles for primary caregiver (attachment bond is beginning to solidify); start showing stranger anxiety and separation anxiety
Secure attachment
- ideal scenario
- caregiver is safe-haven during periods of distress
- caregiver is secure base from which to explore when emotions are positive
Internalized working model of attachment
- 2yo
- implicit memory of significant attachment experiences
- can be updated and changed w new experience
Beginnings of self-awareness
- around 18mo
- also start using self-referential words (me, mine)
- start expressing emotions like pride and embarrassment
-the “I” begins to recognize the “me” (William James) - only by 3/4yo can child identify self in video taken a few minutes earlier (shows consolidation of sense of self as continuous social actor)
Positive emotionality
- basic temperamental tendency to feel positive affect
- at 2mo smile and laugh more
- spills over into later social relationships, enjoy and seek out more interaction (extraversion!!!)
- often experience anger/aggression when frustrated
Behavioral approach system (BAS)
- motivates us to approach potentially rewarding situations (often social) and experience positive emotion associated w pursuit/attainment of rewards
- dopamine very involved (anticipation can be as good as – and might trump – consummation)
- drugs that increase dopamine (meth and cocaine) increase seeking behavior (opiates increase pleasure but do not motivate approach behavior)
- BAS might work with opioid system
Opioid system
- releases endogenous neuropeptides when organism achieves rewards, producing feelings of joy and pleasure
- BAS is more about wanting rewards (and anger when you can’t get it), opioid system more involved in liking achieved reward
Dimensions of infant temperament do NOT…
morph naturally and predictably into corresponding personality traits in mature adults
6 facets of E (Costa&McCrae)
DRIVE & SOCIAL DOMINANCE:
- excitement seeking
- activity
- assertiveness
SOCIABILITY:
- gregariousness
- positive emotions
- warmth
E and positive emotion findings
- high E show higher ratings of positive emotions for pleasant interactions (sometimes even when not involving active pursuit of social rewards)
- show higher positive emotion ratings for nonsocial pleasant situations
Consistent variations in E are associated with important differences in…
- social behavior
- emotion regulation
- learning and memory
- vocational interests and identity
- various indices of risk and psychopathology
Negative correlates of high E
- failure to take negative feedback into consideration and learn from mistakes
- moderately associated w risky behaviors (gambling, alcohol)
- more likely to exhibit externalizing disorders (aggression, narcissism, substance abuse)
Michael Ashton argued that extraversion’s prime evolutionary function is to…
attract and hold attention of other social actors
George W. Bush story
- child: energetic, enthusiastic, gregarious, very funny
- also aggressive, clown in schoolroom, popular
- 20 year career in alcohol abuse started in frat, ended at 40 bc it started undermining good times + threatened his marriage
- as president, had relentless drive and unflagging optimism (strength and weakness)
- very low O, life goal to defend father, redemptive life story
Negative emotionality in infancy and childhood
- not opposite of positive emotionality!
- infants: fearful, inhibited, irritable, prone to frustration, more easily upset, hard to soothe
- children: esp. vulnerable to stress, prone to worry and guilt, tense and moody
- more intense physiological responses to stress
- higher morning cortisol (higher arousal)
2 regions of N in infancy/childhood
- emotional fearfulness and behavioral inhibition
- irritability and strong responses to frustration
Neuroticism in adolescence and adulthood
- fear, anxiety, sadness, frustration, guilt, shame, hostility
- chronically worried, nervous, insecure
- low self-esteem, lower life satisfaction
- strong risk factor for mental illness (esp depression and anxiety)
- predicts bad interpersonal experiences and negative life outcomes
Suls&Martin neurotic cascade of 5 processes
- more reactive to signs of threat/negative emotion
- exposed to more negative events
- reinforces tendency to appraise neutral or positive events as negative
- all 3 combined lead to mood spillover (rumination)
- sting of familiar problems (negative events bring back old unresolved issues)
fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS)
- related to fear
- negative emotionality in childhood can be result of overactive/sensitive FFFS
behavioral inhibition system (BIS)
- related to anxiety
- alerts actor of potential threats (esp uncertainty)
- motivates us to scan environment and avoid threats
- strongly shaped by learning and experience
- modern life puts a lot of pressure on BIS
Amygdala and fear/anxiety
- key brain structure implicated in fear and anxiety
- certain parts of it activate emotional and behavioral response to danger
- sends signals to hypothalamus when danger is detected
- N is correlated w amygdala activity in response to negative stimuli
Hypothalamus and fear/anxiety
- receives signals from amygdala
- stimulates release of cortisol, elevates BP, activates autonomic nervous system to prepare for fight flight or freeze
Hippocampus and fear/anxiety
- amygdala will send signal to hippocampus in case of milder threats/ambiguous social situations
- involved in formation of memories (consolidation)
BIS, BAS, and sadness
- sadness might be both high BIS (higher sensitivity to punishing experiences) and low BAS (reduced ability to experience reward)
Mary Karr story
- parents have very little self-control, dad is violent and mom acts immediately upon emotions (story of burning children’s toys and threatening them with a knife)
- ancient Greeks describe this kind of behavior as ‘ate’
- little Mary is suspended twice for being aggressive
- “I was not given to restraint”
- theme is problem of self-regulation
According to McAdams, what is the worst thing that can happen to a person in a eusocial species?
- being excluded from the group (so we need to regulate ourselves to behave in socially desirable ways!)
Freud’s solution to the problem of self-regulation
- resolution of the Oedipus complex (internalized parents become superego)
George Herbert Mead and self-regulation
- as child becomes increasingly aware of how social world sees them, they will monitor behavior and act in ways that meet approval of generalized other
- so, like Freud, self-regulation depends on the observation of the actor by an audience
Seeing oneself reflected in a mirror induces a heightened feeling of…..
This effect can be moderated by……
- objective self-awareness (self as object of perception)
- cultural factors! (ex higher in Japan)
William James speculated that ______ serve the same socializing purpose as do social psyc reflecting devices
human conceptions of an omnipresent god (here god is the ideal spectator)
Roy Beaumeister has noted that self-regulation is like…
a muscle that becomes tired with overuse
Ego depletion
- we have an inner resource of self-regulatory energy that can be used up
- a kind of self-observational fatigue (we eventually have to shift our attention to something else)
McAdams as a kindergartner story
- got an N in ‘practices self-control’, parents laughed because this wasn’t very representative of him
- thinks it was bc he tried to cry to get teachers attention like a little girl did, and gender norms mean he was seen as deficient in regulation of emotion
Jonathan Gross: “the most important adaptive property of emotions is the degree to which….
they are (usually) advisory rather than obligatory”
(to regulate emotions is to render them more advisory)
Individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures and positive emotions
- individualistic cultures tend to encourage high-arousal positive emotions (ie intense joy or excitement)
- collectivistic cultures tend to encourage low-arousal positive emotions (ie mild joy, relaxed calm, and serenity) bc strong emotional displays may be seen as threatening the collective harmony
Development of self-regulation in infants
- 6mo: begin to use primitive strategies for regulating emotions (ie turning away from unpleasant stimuli)
- 12mo: try to calm selves by rocking, chewing on objects, or moving away from upsetting ppl or events
- 2yo: talk to companions, play w toys, distract selves
-2/3yo: become more strategic (ie look sad to elicit support when angry or frustrated)
Secure attachment and development of emotion regulation
- caregiver may play role of moral guide
- effective working models may act kinda like superego
Effortful control (EC)
- voluntary capacity to withhold a dominant response to enact a subordinate response given situational demands
- control of impulses, allows to stay focused on long-term goal in presence of alluring short-term distraction
- ex Odysseus and the sirens
- girls have higher EC
- low SES have lower EC
- chinese and korean preschoolers show higher EC vs north americans
- provides temperament foundation for development of conscience in 4th or 5th year of life
Two key components of conscience (per Kochanska)
- rule-compatible conduct
- moral emotions
____ is an especially powerful motivator of moral behavior
guilt (and anticipation of guilt)
Executive attention network
- EC and dev. of conscience depend on this
- neurocognitive system activated in situations in which a person needs to detect errors in environment/cope with conflicting cognitive appraisals/overcome automatic response patterns/monitor behavior when there are competing demands
- works to inhibit thoughts, feelings, or impulses that could cloud efforts to analyze a problematic situation
- mostly in PFC and anterior cingulate cortex
Brain region most implicated in planning complex social behavior
- prefrontal cortex (PFC)
- Phineas Gage’s injury reduced self-regulation
- uses top-down regulating process
Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
- roles in reg. BP and heart rate, mediation of reward-seeking behavior, control of empathy, rational decisions
- spindle cells in ACC address difficult cognitive problems
- ACC involved in predicting outcomes of planned actions
Serotonin and self-regulation
- variations in serotonergic functioning exert effects on thinking, feeling, and behaving
- affects relation between impulses and rational decision-making (self-regulation!)
- high serotonergic functioning enhances power of secondary system (logical/rational)
- experimentally increasing serotonergic function reduces responsiveness to negative emotional stimuli
- low sf linked to impulsivity, delinquency, ADHD, (BPD or aggression in adults)
EC in childhood is most important temperament precursor to which two personality traits?
agreeableness and conscientiousness
Common outcomes of C and A
- more secure attachment relationships
- better marriages and lower divorce rates
- stronger personal investment in family roles
- high quality of love relationships
- better health and well-being (esp. C)
both C and A be traced back to development of self-regulatory mechanisms in childhood (id and ego)
Difficulty coping w unemployment is a correlate of which trait?
C (might be bc they see work as central to their identity)
Lower earnings, esp among men, is a correlate of which trait?
A (can be a slight disadvantage at work bc they hesitate to advocate for themselves in situations of conflict)
Strongest trait predictor of mortality
C (less risk-taking behavior, healthier lifestyle)
According to McAdams, what poses the greatest threat to a group’s well-being and survival
aggression!
Externalizing behaviors
- acting out against the external world (aggression!)
Common risk factors that form a sequence toward aggression
- early temperament high anger/hostility +low EC
- +ineffective parenting (physical punishment)
- produces poorly regulated behavior
- leads to poor school performance
- and peer rejection
- results in alliance w other aggressive children
- which reinforces aggressive/antisocial behavior
Overt expression of anger may signal low levels of…
EC
Trait profile most likely to act out against society in violent and destructive ways (resistant to socialization)
- men and boys
- low C
- low A
- high N
- high E (reward-seeking)
- low intelligence
Parents’ role in aggression in children
- cold and rejecting parents who apply harsh discipline in an erratic fashion most likely to raise aggressive children
- aggressive parents pass on genes to children
- low SES and lack of parental monitoring also factors in
Mary-Ann Cromwell story (HS reunion)
- at 18 was very introverted and awkward, rejected by peers
- at 28 was poised, confidant, friendly, beautiful
Robert Amundson story (HS reunion)
- at 18 one of most popular guys in the class
- at 28 still very socially dominant
Gordon Allport and words relating to personality
- 18,000 words ab human differences in psychological functioning
- 4,500 words ab enduring personality traits
- now psychologists say these can be summarized by 2-7 main traits
Correlates of O
- cognitive ability
- less about emotion and more ab cognition
- relates to motivation, values, and life narration
Rank-order stability
- extent to which individual differences in a given trait hold steady over time
- indiv. diff. in personality traits show substantial rank-order stability (strongest in short intervals, lower in childhood)
At least half of variance in personality traits is accounted for by….
genetic differences between people (but genetic effects can change over the life course)
6 mechanisms that reinforce preexisting personality traits
- evocation
- responsivity (respond favorably to things that fit with tendencies, reinforces tendencies)
- attraction (attracted to scenes that fit w tendencies)
- avoidance (avoid scenes that conflict w tendencies)
- manipulation (alter scenes to fit w tendencies)
- role selection (select and selected into roles that correspond w tendencies)
The most powerful way whereby genes conspire w env. to undergrid stability in personal traits may be…..
the selection of social roles (instrumental ie job or expressive ie relational)
Parenting styles
- authoritative (warm and strict, children likely to be high on C and O)
- authoritarian (cold and strict)
- indulgent (warm and permissive)
- neglectful (cold and permissive)
Effect of shared environment on personality
- basically zero
Nonshared environmental effects
- factors unique to one family member
- part of this is that parents raise diff children differently
Epigenetics and personality
- epigenetics: factors outside genome that influence how genes are expressed
- parenting might do this
- DNA methylation can reduce likelihood that part of sequence will be expressed (influenced by aging, infections, and broader social environment)
Augustine of Hippo (St. Augustine) story
- shows an arc of maturation
- christian mother, abandoned teachings and got obsessed with sex
- had an affair (and a son), and then had more and broke off an engagement
- read a bible passage and decided to go back to christianity and was chaste
- argued root of human failings was sexual desire and self-centeredness
Karen Horney story
- later in life reinterpreted Oedipus complex as allegory ab power (revolutionized freudian theory ab women)
- as a young woman was afraid her sexual desires would rage out of control
- had lots of affairs, never felt fulfilled by relationships w men
Jane Fonda story
- arc of maturation about finding self-acceptance
- rambunctious little girl, feared her father but always wanted to please him
- mother died of suicide at 11
- did not have faith in own goodness or in validity of feelings
- 30 years of bulimia and anorexia during hollywood career
- in 50s accepted she is not perfect but good enough
Shawn Corey Carter/Jay-Z story
- shot his older brother, sold coke, accused of stabbing
- discovered music and began to associate w other talented kids
- expressed public regret for actions as a teenager
Mean-level change in personality
- extent to which members of group, on average, tend to increase/decrease on a given dispositional trait over time
Mean level change for C
- increase gradually across age span
Mean level change for A
- increase slowly until 50, sharp increase at 50-60, level off again
Mean level change for E
- social dominance: increase through age 30
- social vitality: decrease after age 50
Mean level change for O
- increase up to age 20, decrease after 50
Mean level change for N
- decrease up to middle age
Factors of mean-level changes in personality
- PFC (planning/rationality) not fully developed before 20 (might b linked to increase in A and C and decrease in N)
- taking on adult social roles
- in societies where ppl take on family roles sooner there is a faster increase in A and C and decrease in N
Age 5-7 shift
- host of cognitive and social changes that result in newfound sense of maturity and rationality
- self-esteem becomes normally distributed
- full emergence of motivated agency (ownership of personal experience and organizing behavior for future)
Self-efficacy
- belief that you can execute goal-directed behavior in a successful manner
Intentionality
- step towards agency, at around 9mo
- understand what others are trying to do (get less mad when desired object is dropped than withheld)
- also engage in joint attention (basis for cultural cognition)
- toddlers attribute intentionality to objects too
Theory of mind
- developed at 3-4yo
- understanding others have their own beliefs and desires
- ex false-belief task (nearly always pass by age 5-6)
- God holds special appeal at this age as ultimate motivated agent
Aristotle and becoming good
- we learn by doing, habits lead to traits
- need to deliberately do actions for them to lead to traits
Concrete operations (Piaget)
- starts at 7
- ability to think ab world as logically organized, rule-governed reality
- able to consider laws and norms that pertain to broader social collectives
- can compare self to others
Kohlberg’s ‘moral development’ theory and concrete operations
- concrete operations catalyze shift from preconventional to conventional stage of moral reasoning (broader consideration of interpersonal and societal standards when deciding what is right and wrong)
Erikson psychosocial stage during middle childhood
- industry vs inferiority
Age by which children show motivational tendencies (affiliation vs power)
- 8 or 9yo (girls more affiliation, boys more power)
Finnish study on motivation in children (3 factors of affiliation & power)
- affiliation and power break into 3 factors:
social development (improving relationships)
demonstration-approach (status and +feedback)
demonstration-avoid (avoiding neg judgement)
Is self-esteem universal or domain-specific
domain-specific
William James ratio for self-esteem
self-esteem= success/pretensions (goals)
Individual differences in self-esteem
- girls score lower esp in adolescence
- east asia scores lower than u.s.
- african-americans score higher than european-am.
- raise gradually, peak at 60, decline around 70
Narcissism
- grandiosity and sense of entitlement
- men more than women
- excessively high self-esteem
- often high E
- expression of unmitigated agency
- “the narcissist is a motivated agent on steroids”
Steve Jobs story
- raging narcissist
- eagerness to put others down
- shows how drive to enhance self-esteem can lead to narcissism
- shows narcissism cant just be explained by Big 5
Shared intentionality
- Michael Tomasello argued this helped develop theory of mind/empathy in human evolution
