Quiz 10 Review

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

e.g.
-Genetic & Environmental Influences
-Minnesota twin studies
-Adoption studies

Question 2

Traits

Answer 2

• Relatively consistent predispositions that influence our behaviour across situations
• Individual characteristics rather than overarching set of characteristics

Question 3

How do we develop traits?

Answer 3

Interplay between genes & environment

Question 4

Genetic factors:

Answer 4

Genetic influence on personality
- ½ from each parent

Question 5

Shared Environmental factors:

Answer 5

Experiences individual share (and make us more alike)

Question 6

Example: Birth Order matters

Answer 6

• Early born
  –> Achievement driven, tend towards status quo
• Middle born
  –>Diplomacy driven, experiences aligned with both sides
• Late born
  –> More likely to take risks, rebel, support radical ideas

Question 6

Non-shared environmental factors:

Answer 6

Experiences individuals do not share (and make us less alike)

Question 7

Twin Studies

Answer 7

• Fraternal (Dizygotic twins)
  –> Share 50% genetic info
  –> Same as if 2 siblings born at once
• Identical (Monozygotic twins)
  –> Share 100% genetic info
• Allows for study of genetic contributions to personality
  –> Test how traits vary when genes don’t vary

Question 8

Minnesota Twin Studies

Answer 8

• Longitudinal study of twins conducted by minnesota university
  –> Investigating genetic and environmental influences on the development of psychological traits
  –> Put together registries of twins for study
  –> 130 pairs of twins that were raised apart

Question 9

How much of personality is genetic?
How well do the traits of identical twins correlate?

Answer 9

• About 50% similar
• Genetic factors DO influence personality, but not all of it

Question 10

Does a shared environment influence personality?
Do traits of monozygotic twins raised apart differ more than traits of monozygotic twins raised together?

Answer 10

• Nope.
• Shared environment has very little influence on personality

Question 11

Adoption Studies

Answer 11

• Children adopted at birth are compared to adopted parents and birth parents
  –> More similar to their biological parents despite them being raised by their adopted parents
• Separated biological siblings are more alike than adopted siblings raised in the same home
• Genes appear to influence personality but do not determine it
• Causes of personality aren’t simple
  –> Personality: “Polygenic trait”
  ° Influenced by sets of genes
  –> No evidence for single “trait genes”
  –> Many different genes and factors involved

Question 12

Takeaways

Answer 12

Genetics do influence personality, but not all of it

Question 13

What is a psychological disorder?

Answer 13

• Difficult to define, even for professionals
• Psychological disorders are complex and diverse
• What we consider “abnormal” isn’t stable
• Varies across time and culture
• Family-resemblance view: members of a category share some, but not necessarily all, features

Question 14

Statistical rarity:

Answer 14

are uncommon in the population

Question 15

Subjective distress:

Answer 15

causes the person distress

Question 16

Impairment:

Answer 16

interfere with daily functioning

Question 17

Societal disapproval:

Answer 17

socially unacceptable

Question 18

Biological dysfunction:

Answer 18

involves brain impairments

Question 19

Diagnosis: how do we define and diagnose?

Answer 19

• DSM-5: manual outlining a standard system for labeling and diagnosing mental disorders
  o Biopsychosocial approach: recognizes the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors

Question 20

Classifying individuals—

Answer 20

• Classifying individuals can be helpful
• Classifying individuals can be harmful
• We do not classify individuals by their diagnosis
• Say “individual with schizophrenia” not “schizophrenic”
• Comorbidity: co-occurrence of 2 or more diagnoses
  o Ex: panic disorder and agoraphobia
   these disorders are “comorbid”

Question 21

Cultural Variations

Answer 21

• what we consider a mental disorder is culturally determined
  o homosexuality
• some mental disorders are culturally specific
  o anorexia
  o koro: a cultural belief that genitals will be sucked into the abdomen and eventually disappear
  o taijin kyofusho: anxiety “I’m so offensive to you that I have to stay away”
• Rates of disorders vary across cultures
  o ADHD

Question 22

Anxiety Disorders

Answer 22

• Panic disorder
• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Phobias
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (related to classification)

Question 23

Anxiety Disorder

Answer 23

• Disorders in which the most common symptom is fear or anxiety
• 29% of people will meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives

Question 24

Panic Disorder –

Answer 24

* Panic: feelings of helpless terror * Panic attack: brief, intense episodes of extreme fear and feelings of impending death or insanity o May feel: heart racing, shortness of breath, dizziness o No specific trigger: can occur at any time without warning Characteristics: * Anxiety related to having panic attacks

Question 25

Panic Disorder Diagnosis:

Answer 25

Diagnosis: * Experienced at least two panic attacks * Each followed by at least 1 month of anxiety over the occurrence of another attack * 2-5% of the US population meet criteria * 20-25% of college students report at least one panic attack

Question 26

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Characteristics

Answer 26

* Constant, undifferentiated worry * Worry about common things, but much more * Muscle tension * Difficulty sleeping

Question 27

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Diagnosis:

Answer 27

* At least 6 months of self-disrupting worry, independent of any other disorder * 3-6% of US population meet criteria