Midterm 1 Flashcards by Sydney Lockhart

Define personality

The set of psychological traits and mechanisms within an individual that are enduring

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What are 3 reasons psychological traits are useful

Describe people and how they differ from others
Explain behaviour
Predict future behaviour

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What are psychological mechanisms and list their 3 key ingredients

Mechanisms refer to more of the process of personality

They consist of input, decision rules (if-then), and outputs

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What are the 3 levels of personality analysis?

How were are like all other
How we are like some other
How we like are no others

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List the 6 domains of knowledge about human nature

dispositional
biological (genetics, psychophysiology, evolution)
intrapsychic (internal mental mechanisms - freud)
Cognitive-experimental (cognition and subjective experiences)
social and cultural
adjustment (coping, adapting, and adjusting)

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List the 3 purposes a good theory fulfils

provides a guide for researchers
organizes/accounts for known findings
makes predictions

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Describe the 5 standards for evaluating personality theories

Comprehensiveness - explains most or all known facts
heuristic value - guides research to important new discoveries
testability - makes predictions that can be tested
parsimony - contains few premises or assumptions
compatibility and integration - consistent across domains

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How can a researcher obtain personality data?

self report data
observer-report data
test data (mechanical recording devices, physiological data, projective techniques)
life outcome data

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Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the 4 sources of personality data.

Self report data
A: easy to administer, can give to many people, can ask things that cannot be observed
D: People lie or lack accurate self-knowledge

Observer-report data
A: may access info not attainable through other sources, multiple observers can be used (increased inter-rate reliability)
D: bias, cannot control the events in naturalistic observation, and decreased external validity when in artificial observation

Test Data
A: unhampered by bias, objective
D: People may alter their behaviour if they know what you are testing, artificial settings, researcher may inadvertently influence participant behaviour

Life outcome Data
A: objective, verifiable, intrinsic important, relevant
D: multi-determination, possible lack of psychological relevance

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Define reliability and validity and explain why they are important considerations in the evaluation of personality measures

Reliability refers to consistence or stability of a measure

Validity refers to the degree to which the test measures what it claims

A test must be reliable before it can be valid

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What are 3 types of reliability?

Test-retest reliability

Inter-rater reliability

Internal consistence reliability - the statement measures the construct

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Define generalizability? Is it always necessary to have a high degree of generalizability?

Generalizability is the degree to which the measure retains its validity across various contexts and populations.

Greater generalizability is not always better; what is important is to identify empirical contexts in which a measure is and is not applicable

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Describe the main differences between experimental and correlational methods

Correlational studies do not impose manipulations and measure variables as they naturally occur but cannot infer causality

Experimental studies maniple variables to see if it influences another variable. You can infer causation

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What is the third variable problem?

The third variable problem is an unknown variable that may cause the observed relationship

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Which format of self-report data is more common?

Structured (yes/no, likert scale) is more common that unstructured (open- ended)

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What are different types of validity?

Face validity - does the test appear to measure what it is supposed to measure

Predictive/Criterion validity - does the test predict criteria external to the test or predicts what it should predict

Convergent validity - does a test correlate with other measures that it should

Discriminant validity - does a does correlate with measures it should not

construct validity - the broadest type that considers all types

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Distinguish between the formulations of traits as (a) internal causal properties and (b) purely descriptive summaries

Traits are presumed to be internal (carry desires, needs, and wants), they are presumed to be casual (explain behaviour), traits can lie dormant (act outside your traits)

Descriptive summaries describe expressed behaviour that does not consider internality or cusuality

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Describe the act frequency approach

The act frequency approach starts with the notion that traits are categories of acts

Act nomination: a procedure to identify which act belongs in which trait category
Prototypically judgement: identifying which acts are most central to or prototypical of each category

Recording of act performance: securing info on the actual performance of individual in their lives

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Consider the trait category of friendliness according to the act frequency approach. Which acts would you look for? which acts would be prototypical>

Act nomination of friendliness: Approachable, kind, giving, extraverted, positive, happy, etc.

Prototypically: Kind

According of act performance: secure information on actual performance

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Discuss some advantages and disadvantages of Act Frequency Approach

A: makes explicit the phenomena to which most trait terms refer, identities behavioural regularities, explores meaning of some traits that are difficult to study, and identified cultural similarities and differences

D: no rooms for the consideration of context, does not account for failure to act or acts that are not observable, and may not successfully capture complex traits

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What are the 3 primary approaches used to identify the most important traits that make up personality?

Lexical approach - all important individual differences have been encoded within natural language
Statistical approach - identify major dimensions of personality by starting with a pool of personality items and rating them (factor analysis identifies groups that covary together)
Theoretical approach - starts with a theory that determines which variables are important to measure then research develop a measure for the results

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What are the 2 criteria used by the lexical approach to identify important traits?

Synonym frequency and cross-cultural universality

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Describe how the statistical approach and the theoretical approach differ

The theoretical approach starts with prejudged/ predetermined variables

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How are the theoretical approaches often used in combination?

Many researchers use a combination of all.

People may start with a lexical approach to get an idea of trait words then turn to a statistical approach to provide structure and order

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What does it mean when personality psychologists describe trait taxonines as a hierarchical nature? Consider the example of extraversion

Eyesenck proposed a hierarchical model of 3 super traits: (P)sychoticism, (E)xtraversion, (N)euroticism Each super trait has small narrower traits as a second level and then habitual or specific acts as a third level Ex. Extraversion -> Sociable -> Has a lot of parties

Compare and contrast the 5-factor model with the HEXACO model, naming the broad traits or factors contained in each. How does the HEXACO model improve upon the big 5

Big 5: CANOE - Conscientiousness - Agreeableness - Neuroticism - Openess - Extraversion HEXACO: - Honest-Humility - Emotionality - Extraversion - Agreeableness - Conscientiousness - Openness to experience HEXACO adds a 5th factor of personality that is not included allowing it to be more comprehensive

What are the criticisms of the big 5?

That it is not comprehensive and there is some disagreement on the 5th factor (O)

What are the key 'dark' traits identified by personality psychologists?

1. Machiavellianism 2. Narcissim 3. Subclincial psychopathy

Describe Cattell's Taxonomy

Cattle developed a 16 factor system with the goal to identify and measure basic units of personality It is used to develop a personality assessment tool

What are the 2 dimensions of the circumplex taxonomies of personality?

Love and Status

What are they 3 types of relationships in the circumplex taxonomies of personality?

1. Adjacent: traits that are adjacent are positively correlated 2. Bipolarity: traits that are located at opposite sides are negatively correlated 3. Orthogonality: Traits that are perpendicular to each other are unrelated

What are the key advantages to used a circumplex?

1. Provides explicit definition of what constitutes behaviour 2. Specifies relationships between each trait and every other trait in the model 3. Alerts investigators to 'gaps' in work on interpersonal behaviour

What are the two biological underpinnings of Eysenck's hierarchical model?

Heritability - personality traits need to be highly heritable Identifiable substrates - one can identify properties in the brain and CNS that are presumed to produce personality traits

What is the difference between rank order and mean level stability? What about rank order and mean level change? Provide an example of each

Rank order stability is the maintenance of individual position within a group (ex. Ron is more dominant than Todd and continues to be over time) Mean level stability is the stability of personality scores over time (ex. A group stays political over time) The difference is that rank order refers to stability of one in comparison with others whereas mean level is discussing stability of an entire group Mean level change is when a trait in a group changes

Define personality coherence and provide an example

Personality coherence is maintaining rank order for a trait relative to others but changing in the behavioural expression of the trait Ex. Someone who is disagreeable might cry a lot as a baby but as they are older they get into a lot of fights

At what levels of analysis can we examine personality over time?

We can examine personality changes over all levels: population, group differences, and individual differences However, personality changes specific to the individual can only be seen at the individual difference level

Describe some of the ways personality remains stable over time. What traits seem to be more stable that others?

- Temperament is stable and becomes more stable during the end of infancy - Personality traits appear to be modernity stable during childhood (rank order stability retained for aggression over many years) - All big 5 factors show moderate to high levels of stability in adulthood (O, E, N decline with age until 50; A and C gradually increase with age)

Which of the following is NOT a defining descriptor of personality? a) Traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring b) Traits and mechanisms within an individual that are rapidly fluctuating and different in the same social situation each time c) The organized and relatively enduring traits influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments

b) Traits and mechanisms within an individual that are rapidly fluctuating and different in the same social situation each time is NOT a defining descriptor

The human nature level of analysis says that every human being is… a) like no other b) like some others c) like all others d) none of the above

C) Like all others

The level of personality analysis that states that no two individuals have the exact same personalities is… a) Human nature b) Individual uniqueness c) Individual and group differences d) All of the above

b) Individual uniqueness

What type of research typically involves the statistical comparisons of individuals or groups, requiring samples of subjects on which to conduct research, and can be applied to identify universal human characteristics and dimensions of individual or group differences? a) Case study b) Idiographic c) Nomothetic d) Group differences

c) Nomothetic

What type of research typically focuses on a single subject, trying to observe general principles that are manifest in a single life over time, and often results in case studies or the psychological biography of a single person? a) Idiographic b) Nomothetic c) Human nature d) None of the above

a) Idiographic

Which of the following domains of knowledge about human nature deals with the ways in which individuals differ from one another? a) The social and cultural domain b) the intrapsychic domain c) The biological domain d) The dispositional domain

d) The dispositional domain

______ are testable by other researchers, comprehensive, and provide a guide for future research, whereas ______ are not necessarily based on facts and testable observations. a) Approaches ; domains b) Domains ; approaches c) Theories ; beliefs d) Beliefs ; theories

c) Theories ; beliefs

Which of the following domains of knowledge about human nature focuses on subjective experience, such as conscious thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself and others? a) Biological domain b) Intrapsychic domain c) Cognitive-experiential domain d) Psycho-social domain

c) Cognitive-experiential domain

Which of the following best describes a good theory? a) A good theory provides a guide for researchers, organizes known findings, and makes predictions. b) A good theory does not take into account previous theories and research findings c) A good theory does not need further testing and predictions, because it has already been researched d) A good theory provides a comprehensive review of the literature in a particular research area, and clearly outlines the methods of the researcher, but it does not need to provide a guide for researchers or make any particular predictions

a) A good theory provides a guide for researchers, organizes known findings, and makes predictions.

Which of the following refers to a person’s interactions with situations, including perceptions, selections, evocations, and manipulations? a) Psychological mechanisms b) Human nature level of analysis c) Intrapsychic domain d) Person-environment interaction

d) Person-environment interaction

Megan always chooses to go shopping early in the morning when the stores are still quiet, uncrowded, and have a subdued atmosphere. She does not like shops such as Sirens with loud blaring music. In the context of person-environment interaction, this scenario illustrates _______. a) Suggestion b) Avoidance c) Succession d) Selection

d) Selection

Kiara and her research team are studying a small group of 5 year old children in their school classrooms to see how they interact with each other. The researchers do not intervene in any way but do take extensive notes about the children’s’ interactions which they will analyze and assess. This best describes what type of data? a) Case study data b) Self-report data c) Observer-report data d) Test data

c) Observer-report data

Ahmed is conducting personality psychology research at his university. He has recruited 10 participants to see if different people behave differently in identical situations. Each situation is designed to elicit behaviours from the participants that are indicative of their personality. This best describes what type of data? a) Observer-report data b) Individual differences c) Nomothetic d) Test-data

d) Test-data

Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of projective tests? a) They are difficult to score b) They may have uncertain validity and reliability c) They provide too much information about a person’s desires, fantasies and wishes d) Both a and b

c) They provide too much information about a person’s desires, fantasies and wishes

Four researchers are conducting observer data and are attempting to analyze some of their observations; however, the researchers are failing to agree with one another. When this happens, the measure is said to have… a) Low inter-rater reliability b) Low face validity c) High inter-rater reliability d) High test-retest reliability

a) Low inter-rater reliability

Dr. Smith is conducting a study on how people feel after being left out in a social context. In his experiment, the participants are put in a group with confederates (people helping the researcher in an experiment), and in some conditions the confederates ignore the participant during an activity. He wants to measure the participant’s mood after the activity, and so he gives the participants a questionnaire after the experiment that asks them how they felt. What type of data is Dr. Smith collecting? a) O-data b) T-data c) S-data d) L-data

c) S-data

Sara and her research team are working on a study to identify important trait differences among people. They know that over time, differences among people that are important are noticed, and words are invented to talk about those differences such as dominant or creative. The usage of the trait descriptors spreads and becomes common within the group. Which approach are Sara and the research team emphasizing here? a) The statistical approach b) The case study approach c) The theoretical approach d) The lexical approach

d) The lexical approach

Dr. Jones is beginning a new personality research study that will look at individual differences and is first attempting to determine which variables are important and will be the focus of the study. Dr. Jones is also trying to determine the framework for the identification of key traits and their measurement. What approach is Dr. Jones trying to figure out to finalize all of the details of her study? a) The nomothetic approach b) The statistical approach c) The theoretical approach d) The lexical approach

b) The statistical approach

James is a young adult struggling to complete his last year of high school and is therefore currently attending an alternative school for adult learning. He was asked to leave his former high school where he often got into fights with the other students and showed a lack of remorse for his actions. He had a difficult time making friends as he wasn’t a conversationalist and didn’t really enjoy the company of others, often being cold or impersonal towards others. At his new school he is still not interested in socializing with others but is trying to channel his impulses into art, like drawing and painting. James has also had a lack of supportive family members to turn to, as his Father is currently in prison for assault with a weapon. Based on Eysenck’s model of personality, which trait best describes James scenario? a) Neuroticism-emotional stability b) Psychoticism c) Psychoticism-neuroticism d) Neuroticism

b) Psychoticism

Dr. Ming is a personality psychologist who has worked on a study for a large international private law firm to examine leadership, dominance, ambition, and autonomy in both males and females. Dr. Ming decides to test the youngest new hires for her study; those that are in their twenties to early thirties. Dr. Ming follows up with them periodically over a 20-year time span to note any personality changes, such as changes in ambition. Although this study was very costly, it provided very in-depth information about how personality may change over time. This study is an example of a… a) Case study b) A group study c) A socio-ethnographic study d) A longitudinal study

d) A longitudinal study

Jen is a master’s student in psychology doing a small-scale study about how Canadian male’s trait scores on assertiveness have changed depending on the social time in which they have lived. She has seen the scores on assertiveness for males have not always been the same. Jen has also learned that social change and cultural messages can affect people’s personalities. This is an example of which of the following? a) Test retest b) Temperament c) Cohort effects d) Social change

c) Cohort effects

Dr. Huong is researching aspects of genetics and has recruited a group of participants to analyze the degree to which their genetic differences cause differences in their height and various aspects of personality such as sensation seeking. She is very interested to see how genetics and the environment have affected the participants personalities. This is a description of which of the following? a) Heritability b) Genetics c) Genotypic variance d) Environmentality

a) Heritability

A group of researchers at Carleton are studying the differences in accountability between the environment and genes on a particular population group. Researcher Cole is confident that the environment is a much larger and more important determinant of personality, while Researcher Daya believes that genes are better determinants. Some of the other researchers are uncertain and would rather wait for the findings of the study. They are asking “which is more important in accounting for individual differences in trait X-genetic differences or environmental differences?” What does this scenario exemplify? a) The genetics hypothesis b) Nature-nurture debate c) Natural selection d) Theory of evolution

b) Nature-nurture debate

Jess and Trevor are both writing their psychology exams in the same small classroom environment. Jess is an introvert and appreciates that the classroom is silent and chose to sit at a desk in the corner so no one could walk past her and disturb her concentration. Trevor is an extrovert and is having a hard time concentrating because the room is too silent. Trevor can’t sit still and stop tapping his pencil loudly and is finding the exam extremely boring, all of this causing him to make errors on his exam. Jess and Trevor are often in the same environment together but are affected by it differently. This is an example of which of the following? a) Genotype-Environment Interaction b) Genotype-Environment Correlation c) Reactive Genotype-Environment Correlation d) None of the above

a) Genotype-Environment Interaction

Clara is an extrovert who manages to convince her very introverted friend Mindy to go to a party with her Saturday night. This is typical of Clara, who is always seeking out loud parties and engaging social scenes. However, this is not characteristic of Mindy, who always gets dragged out by her friend, but actively seeks to find the quiet, uncrowded places her friend drags her to. Mindy would much rather go to the library and read a good book than be surrounded by noisy partygoers as she is overwhelmed by the large amount of stimulus. This cortical arousal difference between introverts and extroverts is thought to be controlled by which of the following? a) Ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) b) The Amygdala c) The Neural Receptors d) None of the above

a) Ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)

Sandra is recently divorced from her husband. She used to rely on him for survival reasons, such as providing a shelter for her and protecting her. As Sandra got older, she obtained a good job of her own to support herself financially and obtain her own resources. She also began learning martial arts to be able to defend herself if needed. She also found out her ex-husband did not want children and she did, ultimately resulting in their divorce. Now Sandra is dedicated in finding a new mate so she can have children and is much more interested in her mate having characteristics such as intelligence and other mating benefits, as she no longer needs a mate to help her with survival benefits. This scenario is an example of which of the following? a) Evolutionary noise b) Natural selection c) Sexual selection d) Effective polygyny

c) Sexual selection

A researcher is using a new self-report measure for depression. The new measure looks like it is measuring depression, in that its questions ask about the person’s depressed mood and lack of interest in activities they previously enjoyed. What type of validity does the measure appear to have? a. Criterion validity. b. Face validity. c. Discriminant validity. d. Convergent validity. e. Construct validity.

b. Face validity.

Imagine that you are a researcher, and are using a new measure that measures aggression in children. This measure is given to observers, who watch the children play and then fill out the measure. All the questions in this measure seem to be related, and when the same observer fills it out for the same child on multiple occasions the measure seems to produce the same results. But, if you give it to a different observer, and ask them to fill it out for the same child; the scores are very different from each other. What is this measure lacking? a. Internal consistency reliability b. Predictive validity c. Test-retest reliability d. Convergent validity e. Inter-rater reliability

e. Inter-rater reliability

Dr. Song primarily researches the intimacy patterns of individuals. Much of his current research looks at the events in people’s pasts, and how these past experiences unconsciously influence how they act in current intimate relationships. In the future, he hopes to one day develop interventions for people who have difficulties with intimacy. What domain best characterises Dr. Song’s current research? a. The intrapsychic domain. b. The cognitive-experiential domain. c. The dispositional domain. d. The biological domain. e. The adjustment domain.

a. The intrapsychic domain.

What is absolutely true about personality traits? a. Traits must be expressed, either through the environment or in social interactions. b. Traits always underlie a person’s behaviour. c. Traits are internal to the person who has them. d. A and C. e. B and C.

c. Traits are internal to the person who has them.

Imagine that you want to develop a new personality inventory! To do so, you download thousands of pages of text from any and every publicly available source, and put them into a database. You have a computer search through the information, and keep track of what words describe personality items, and how they are used. Statistical software computes which words are the most used. With that information, it makes a new personality taxonomy. What approach did you take to making your new inventory? a. The lexical approach. b. The corpus approach. c. The statistical approach. d. The social-cultural approach. e. The theoretical approach.

a. The lexical approach.

Timothy was the most agreeable person in his class when he was a child. He would always help the teacher when asked, and listened attentively to grownups in conversations. As he become an adult he was still agreeable, but displayed it in different ways. He would always pitch in extra time at work when asked, and was known around the office to be a good person to talk to whenever one needed help. Which concept is best illustrated by Timothy? a. Rank-order stability. b. Mean level stability. c. Personality coherence. d. Personality change. e. None of the above.

c. Personality coherence.

What distinguishes twin adoption studies from other types of studies commonly used by behavioural geneticists? a. The twin siblings studied share genetic relatedness, and so we can make inferences about what proportion of a trait is heritable, versus comes from the environment. b. The twin siblings studied share an environment, which makes it easier for the researchers to observe the family members. c. The twin siblings studied share genetic relatedness, but do not share an environment; which, makes it easier to separate the proportion of a trait that is heritable, from what comes from the environment. d. Adoption studies are cost effective relative to other types of studies used by behavioural genetics, and it is generally easier to find participants by using adoption registries. e. The twin siblings studied in adoption studies do not share genetics relatedness, but do share the same environment, which makes it easier to separate the proportion of a trait that is heritable, from what is from the environment.

c. The twin siblings studied share genetic relatedness, but do not share an environment; which, makes it easier to separate the proportion of a trait that is heritable, from what comes from the environment.

You read a research study in which the researchers looked at identical twins living apart. The research was trying to find the heritability of preference for salty foods. The study reports that they found a heritability of .4 for salty food preferences. What can you conclude from the study? a. That preference for salty food is mostly heritable. b. That preference for salty food is mostly determined by the environment. c. Genetics are not a meaningful determinant of salty food preferences. d. B and C. e. Nothing can be concluded, as the equal environments assumption may have been violated.

b. That preference for salty food is mostly determined by the environment.

What is a conclusion that can be drawn from the research on school bullies? a. Personality can change over the lifespan, and especially after childhood; and, for most part, past behaviour patterns do not carry into the future. b. Bullies tend to be unsocial and lack confidence, and their bullying behaviour is often a maladaptive cooping mechanism for these challenges. c. There are no personality correlates that predict bulling behaviour. d. Behaviour patterns found in childhood can be very predictive of outcomes in adulthood. e. Bullies often lack self-awareness of their status as bullies, and promoting self awareness in bullies has been found to substantially change their future behaviour.

d. Behaviour patterns found in childhood can be very predictive of outcomes in adulthood.

Imagine that you are a researcher that is interested in studying the relationship between competitiveness and trait extroversion. You conduct an experiment where you measure the trait extroversion of the participant using a personality inventory, and then you put them in a room where they play a video game against an opponent in another room. If you want to use a biological measure to understand the relationship between the two variables of interest, what would be the best to use? a. Collect blood or saliva in order to read testosterone levels. b. Place a band around the participant’s arm that measures cardiovascular activity. c. Record participant EEG using a NeuroCap. d. Put the participant in a fMRI to see what parts of the brain are being utilized. e. Collect blood or saliva in order to read cortisol levels.

a. Collect blood or saliva in order to read testosterone levels.

Samantha is a young girl that enjoys to climb trees, and play outside. She is very curious, and often jumps right into new experiences with little regard to the outcome, or even her own safety. She is generally positive, and loves to play with others. Which of the following is the most accurate statement about Samantha? a. She seems very extroverted, and seems to have a strong behavioural inhibition system. b. She may be very sensitive to reward and punishment, and exhibits high impulsivity. c. She appears to have strong approach tendences, and might be somewhat insensitive to reward and punishment. d. She appears to be introverted, and seems to have a strong behavioural activation system. e. She exhibits high impulsivity, and seems to be highly anxious.

c. She appears to have strong approach tendences, and might be somewhat insensitive to reward and punishment.

Elephants have large tusks that are primarily used for defense. However, elephants can also use tusks for a variety of other incidental tasks. For example, elephants have been observed using their tusks to dig up roots. What term describes this behaviour of using tusks to dig? a. Noise, or random variation. b. By-product of adaptation. c. Adaptation. d. Mutation. e. Special design.

b. By-product of adaptation.

What would be the best example of an evolutionary theory of introversion? a. Introversion comes from an easily stimulated central nervous system. b. Introversion is a by-product of poor socialization, which results in the avoidance of social situations, and relatively poor tolerance of stimuli. c. Introversion arises from society’s need to have certain people more stimulated by their internal environment, so that they are better adapted to work in modern information technology industries. d. Introversion develops when an individual grows up in a low-stimulus environment, such as the country. The nervous system adapts to its surroundings. e. Introversion was likely a neurological adaptation of our ancient ancestors, which aided in giving members of the tribe different interests, and thus encouraged a division of labour among early humans.

e. Introversion was likely a neurological adaptation of our ancient ancestors, which aided in giving members of the tribe different interests, and thus encouraged a division of labour among early humans.

Consider some of the ways that personality changes over time. What traits seems to change more than others?

Sensation seeking increases with age but then begins to fall as people get older Most personality traits are relatively stable across time

How does self-esteem tend to fluctuate over time?

When looking at the population level SE tends to be stable over time. However, when you compare gender you see that women SE decreases while mens SE increases as they age.

Think about the notion of volitional personality change. Do you think people can intentionally change their level on a trait if they try to do so?

Yes, when people set clear goals and implement changes in their life they can cause an actual change

Define personality coherence and provide an example using one of the big 5 traits

Personality coherence is when the manifestations of a trait fluctuate over time but the underlying trait stays the same. Ex. An extraverted individual as a kid enjoys playing with their peers during lunch. As that kid gets older they start frequenting the bars

What are some of the predicable consequences of personality and how do they support the notion of coherence?

- Hubands who are high in neuroticism or have low impulse control are more likely to have marital dissatification or divorce - Individuals high on neuroticism are more likely to develop emotional or drug disturbances - Idividuals who are highly conscientious and agreeable are more likely to be religious - Individuals who are highly conscientious are more likely to have higher occupational status and higher salaries - Extraversion, conscientiousness, and low neuroticism is correlated with good health and longevity

What is genome, and what is its role in individual differences?

The genome refers to the complete set of genes an organism posses (23 pairs of chromosomes) A very small amount of differences in genes accounts for individual differences

What controversies surround the science of behavioural genetics?

Some scientists suggest that genetic differences, rather than socialization or personal experience, are responsible for shaping core features of human personality Some worry about findings being misused (eugenics)

What are the goals of behavioural genetics?

1. Determine % of individual differences in a trait that can be attributed to genetic differences and environmental differences 2. Determine the ways in which genes and environment interact and correlate with each other to produce individual differences

What is heritability and how does it help to clarify the nature-nurture debate?

Heritability is a statistic that refers to the proportion phenotypic variance that is attributable to genotypic variance It helps clarify the debate by indicating what percent a trait is a product of genetics

How does heritability differ from environmentally?

Heritability indicates how much variance is due to genes and environmentality indicates how much variance is due to environmental differences

True or False Heritability can be applied to a single individual

False - it is only relevant for discussion of group-level variation

Heritability is constant True or False

False - can change over time in different populations

Heritability is a precise statistic True or False

False - it is based on correlations with fluctuate across samples

The nature-nurture debate occurs at the individual level

False - it is only relevant for discussion of group-level variation

What is the equal environments assumption?

The assumption that environments of MZ twins are no more similar than DZ twins

List the 4 behavioural methods to determine heritability

1. Selective breeding 2. Family studies 3. Twin studies 4. Adoption studies

If a trait is highly heritable who would have the most trait overlap? a) twins b) siblings adopted at birth c) parent and child d) cousins

a) twins Family members with greater genetic relatedness should be more similar

Based on behavioural genetic research on personality traits what broad conclusions can be made regarding the degree of heritability ?

Most traits appear to be about 50% heritable Which also means 50% is influenced by the environment which is pretty big

Describe the difference between shared and non shared environmental influences. What does the research have to say about the degree of influence from each?

The same studies that suggest moderate heritability also provide good evidence for the important of environmental influences Shared - features of the environment shared by people (ex. parenting styles) Non-shared - features that are not shared (ex. social circle For most personality traits, the non-shared environment is the most influential

Compare/contrast the concepts of genotype-environment interaction and genotype-environment correlation

Genotype-environment interaction refers to the differential response of individuals with different genotypes to the same environment Genotype-environment correlation is the differential exposure of individuals with different genotypes to different environments

Sam is very outgoing compared to his sister Sue. When visitors come they hug Sam but not Sue because she often hides. Which type of genotype-environment correlation is this an example of? A) Passive B) Reactive C) Active D) Niche-picking

B) Reactive - people respond to Sam differently than Sue because of their personality traits

Jill is high in extraversion and openness. As she gets older she sought out sky diving as a hobby. Which type of of genotype-environment correlation is Jill demonstrating?

Active or 'niche-picking'

How can researchers study the brain through skin conductance?

Sensory are placed on the skin surface and as people increase in arousal they begin to sweat which conducts electrical activity

What physiological measures are commonly employed in personality research?

Electrodermal activity (skin) Cardiovascular activity (HR, BP) Brain activity (EEG, fMRI, PET) Blood and Saliva (hormones - testosterone, cortisol, or oxytocin)

An individual is provided with a picture of a cat while being hooked up to sensors. The researcher assesses the brain response to the image. Which psychological measure is being used? A) PET B) MRI C) Evoked EEG D) None of the above

C) Evoked EEG

What physiological explanation has been offered to explain individual differences in extraversion - introversion?

Eysenck proposed that introverts are characterized by higher levels of activity in the brain’s ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) than are extraverts The ARAS is a structure in the brain stem thought to control cortical arousal Individuals engage or disengage in activity in order to stay within their optimal level of arousal

Contrast BAS and BIS

BAS (Behavioural activation system) recognizes rewarding stimulus and triggers approach behaviour BIS (Behavioural inhibition system) ceases or inhibits behaviour to bring about avoidance BAS is responsible for extraversion and impulsivity, whereas BIS is responsible for neuroticism and anxiety

An individual who likes to take risks has a very acting behavioural inhibition system True or False

False - They have an active BAS

How has sensation seeking been explained according to physiological or biological mechanisms?

MAO is responsible for breaking down NTs left in the synaptic cleft Individuals with low MAO are high sensation seekers - meaning there is more NTs left in the cleft and thus less inhibiton

Which 3 personality traits are thought to be linked to NTs?

Novelty seeking is linked with low levels of DA (pleasure) Harm avoidance is associated with abnormalities in 5-HT (low linked with depression, high linked with anxiety) Reward dependence is linked with low levels of NE

Susan has a short circadian rhythm. Is she more likely to be a morning or evening person?

Morning

Julie just found out she got accepted to her cooking program. She is very happy. Which hemisphere is most active?

Left hemisphere

How does inclusive fitness theory explain the evolution of altruism?

Inclusive fitness theory claims that people have characteristics that don't affect their personal productive of offspring but those of their genetic relatives. Ex. you may help a young girl eat because you have a male sibling her age. You do not benefit from this directly but your family genes are passed on through your brother if he reproduces with this girl

What is an adaptive problem? What are some human traits that have developed to solve adaptive problems?

An adaptive problem is anything that impedes survival or reproduction ex. the taste for sweet things because they are high in fat

When does evolutionary psychology predict that males and females will be the same?

When they have faced the same adaptive problem

What key sexual differences are supported by evolutionary psychology?

- Men are larger and more aggressive - Women seek mates based on emotion and commitment so they will provide - Men have a larger desire for sexual variety