Textbook Part 1 Flashcards
difference between personality psychology and developmental psychology
personality; study diff in traits, motives and other personality variables, eager to detect continuity
developmental; focuses on children and detecting change
define theory of personality development
mixes personality and developmental psychology and more (cognitive neuroscience, evolutionary bio, etc)
three layers of personality
actor (traits)
agent (personal concerns)
author (life narrative)
what is the real and authentic human life
social life and thus we are social actors
what is style temperment
how we behave (traits)
what is it to be an agent
the articulate and pursue goals
are traits and motives the same
no, how we ACT NOW may say little about what we WANT for the FUTURE
what is a key feature of identity construction
emerging in early adulthood– the exploration of various ideological and occupational options and the subsequent commitment to long-term life values and goals
in its full form what is personality
a developing configuration of psychological individuality that expresses a person’s recognizable uniqueness wherein life stories are layered over salient goals and values, which are layered over dispositional traits
what time period does each stage focus on
social actor– present
motivated agent– present and future
autobiographical author– past present future
explain the nomothetic and idiographic approaches to personality
nomothetic; scene aims to produce general laws applicable to all persons
ideographic– focus is on the particular dynamics of the individual case
which is more accurate, nomothetic or idiographic approach
personality is a mix of both, there are unique people with generalities that can be applied to all
what distinguishes us from others in nature
cognitive power (intelligence) social nature
what part of the human is responsible for governing conscious thought, panning and decision making
neocortex
what is involved with the complexity of social life
neocortex (theorized)
is there a correlation between the neocortex and size of group an organism typically lives
yes some evidence in primates
how might eusociality have started and what was subsequent
with bipedalism
then fire used for domestic use not only to appease hunger but to form social bonds
then formation of campsites where divisions of labour were needed and it became a nest of sorts (home)
what is an argument for the key catalyst for development of complex social undertakings
shared intentionality
wha is shared intentionality
if I want to work together with you in order to accomplish a task, I am greatly advantaged, as are you, by MY ability to anticipate and comprehend YOUR intentions
why might humans participate in altruism if it doesn’t help them personally
kin selection
reciprocal altruism
what is kin selection
the idea that individuals may show altruism towards those with whom they share a significant allotment of genes
what is reciprocal altruism
helping other individual humans typically meant helping other members of YOUR GROUP. Those same group members might be positioned to return the favour sometime down the road and thus it may enhance your survival and overall reproductive chances (inclusive fitness)
explain the idea of multilevel selection
controversial idea of the ultra social behaviour of humans (contrast to altruism theories)
theory that selfish people may beat out cooperating altruists IN the group but groups of cooperating altruists may been out groups of selfish individuals when the groups complete against each other
define group identification
people naturally identify with social groups and experience the groups triumphs and set backs as if they were their own
group identification may be expressed how
in ridiculous ways such as minimal group paradigm
what is minimal group paradigm
even the smaller of similarities, people will want to identify with the group (if you were born AM instead of PM)
what is a social identity
when you identify with a group you adopt their goals and attitudes, this is a social identity
it influences your own thoughts and actions
how do you create an effective whole out of a bunch of dissimilar parts?
you do it though cultural practices– the culture of a human group makes the group members more similar to each other than they would otherwise be
Jonathan Haidt argues that human being evolved to hold strong moral intuitions regarding what
physical harm fairness and reciprocity respect for legitimate authority loyalty to in-groups purity or sanctity
why do humans like religion so muchalty to in-groups
purity or sanctity
the shared beliefs and feelings of kinship endangered by religion help to persuade individuals to subordinate their immediate self interests of the group.
what is the primal conundrum
getting along and getting ahead in social groups
what is the socioanalystlc theory of personality
humans are biologically wired to live in social groups that are variously organized into status hierarchies. Group living provided our evolutionary ancestors with advantages in cooperative ventures such as defence against predators
therefore humans are mandated by nature to seek social acceptance and social status
why is gossip actually a good thing for reputation
people worried about what is being said about them behind their back so it keeps their actions in check
promotes cooperation in groups
how many beings can humans have connections with
about 150 at a time
what is a routine
what social actors enact
a reestablished pattern of action which is unfolded during a performance and which may be presented or played through on other occasions
what isa personal front
each actor brings a unique manner or style of acting to the routine
do infants have much awareness of themselves as actors
not really
do infants express actions of social actors
yes
they are social actors long before they realize it– they are social actors because that is what we, the social audience, observe them to be
they appear to display general emotions
research suggests that babies of depressed mothers eventually do what
stop trying to engage their mothers as they know they will not get a response
in the first 2 years of life, a social actor’s emotional development plays out against the backdrop of what
an evolving attachment relationship
at what age do babies start to show facial expressions of fear or anxiety around strangers
6-7
this is stranger anxiety
what is separation anxiety
negative emotions when separated from primary caregivers
what is the working model
changes, sets expectations about how experiences of love and trust transpire (for example)
when does self awareness develop
around age 2
when does the send of ‘I’ emger
end of age 2 ish
does a child fully grasp the idea of self
is aware that they are an actor on the social stage but may fail to realize that the actor CONTINUES to be me… not until about age 3-4 that the child consolidates a clear sense of self as a continuous social actor extended in time and across successive social scenes
what is performance of emotions
how the infant expresses and regulates the feelings that well up inside
emotions come in what two categories
negative and positive
children high in positive emotionality appear how
to enjoy and seek out social interaction
how are children of the lower end of positive emotionally perceived
shy, reserved and socially lethargic
is positive emotionality always observed in a positive manner
no
because they are eager for social rewards, if they don’t get it they may exhibit anger and even aggression
some of the same brain processes involved with positive emotion are also implicated where
in human sociality
what is the Behavioural Approach System (BAS)
across much of the brain, motivates the individual to approach potentially rewarding situations, which themselves are often social in nature and to experience the positive emotion that is associated with the pursuit and attainment of rewards
Behavioural Approach System (BAS) is involved in releasing what chemical
dopamine
does consummation trump anticipation for dopamine
not necessarily
it is more about WANTING it than getting it
BAS and its attending dopaminergic circuitry may work in concerting with what
a second broad system in the brain sometimes called the opioid system
explain the opioid system
releases endogenous neuropeptides such as beta-endorphin when the organism achieves rewards, producing feelings of joy and pleasure.
If BAS is about WANTING rewards (and therefore approaching and seeking them out), what is the opioid system
more involved in LIKING that actor experience once they have achieved the desired reward
extraversion is fundamentally about what
seeking and enjoying rewards (BAS and opioid system) especially social rewards
do those high in E show high positive only in social situations
no, also non-social situations
consistent variations in E are associated with important diff in what
social behaviour emotion regulation learning and memory vocational interests and identity various indices of risk and psychopathology
what are some negatives about being high in E
sometimes fail to take negative feedback thus not learning from their mistakes
also modestly associated with certain risky behaviour (gambling and alcoholism)
extraversion’s prom evolutionary function is what
to attract and hold the attention of other social actors
what was george bush high in
extraversion
is negative emotionality the polar opposite of positive emotionality
no it is simply different
a social actor who scores low on the temperament dimension of positive emotionality does not necessarily experience more negative emotions; he simply experiences less positive emotion
negative emotionality divides into what 2 regions
1- emotional fearfulness
behavioural inhibition
2- irritability and strong response to frustration
what is another name for negative emotionality
neuroticism (N)
what is a strong risk factor for mental illness
N
what is the opposite of N
emotional stability
fear is the primary emotion for what system
fight-flight-freeze (FFF)
what does the FFF play an important role in
developmental and expression of negative emotionality
as fear links to the FFFS, anxiety is related to what
behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
explain behavioural inhibition system (BIS)
functions to alter the actor to potential threats associated with uncertainty and conflict in the environment, especially conflict about whether to approach or avoid particular stimuli, situations, people, events
key brain structure implicated in the experience of both fear and anxiety is what
amygdala
people who score high in N may suffer from what
an overreactive BIS
is anxiety a learned response
yes
BIS is shaped how
by learning and personal experience
does the BIS interact with anything
yep, spills into the FFFS
what is the worst thing that can happen to a member of a eusocial species
being excluded from a group
what does self regulation depend on
the observation of the actor by an audience, be that the audience in the real world or the actor mind
humans being act more socially desirable when what
they know or believe that other humans beings are watching them
what is objective self awareness
being explicitly aware of the self as an object of perception
what can increase objective self awareness
seeing oneself reflected in a mirror
cultural factors as well
how do cultural factors influence objective self awareness
Japanese individuals are less influenced by the mirror
japanese culture more strongly emphasizes the idea that social groups monitor the actors behaviours, so the state of objective self awareness may be more the explicit more
basically; it lis like the japanese have mirrors in their heads
intense of prolonged bouts of concerted self regulation lead to what
ego depletion
what is ego depletion
the muscle grows wear because an inner resource of self regulatory energy has been used up (can only look in the mirror for so long)
in societies that stress individualism (NA), caregivers tend to encourage what for babies
high arousal positive emotions such as joy and excitement
in societies where collectivism (East asia) is caregivers tend to encourage what for babies stressed,
may aim to dampen down high arousal positive (increase low arousal positive emotions) emotions because strong emotional expression is seen as threatening to the collective harmony
the quality of attachment ends is established what
first 2years and this may have strong impact not he development of emotional regulation
what is effortful control
success in delaying gratification
when expressed in high levels, these children (the ones who delayed eating one marshmallow to get two) had better friendships, fewer behavioural problems, higher SAT scores, etc
is effortful control (EC) hard to achieve
no
who has higher EC
girls
what is EC related to
social class– low SES have lower EC
culture– east asia has higher EC
conscience consists of at least wha two key component
rule-compatible conduct
moral emotions
explain rule-compatible conduct
acting in ways that are consistent with what group norms suggest to be moral or good behaviour
explain moral emotions
key moral emotions for development of conscience include empathy and guilt
both appear to be highly correlated with high ED
EC and the developmental conscience in young children rely on what
neurocognitive system called executive attention network
explain executive attention network
(role in self regulation)
activated n situations in which a person needs to detect errors in the environment, cope with conflicting cognitive appraisals, overcome habitual or automatic response patterns or monitor their own behaviour in the face of competing demands
what does the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) play a role in
part of the executive attention network
role in wide range including blood pressure, heart rate, mediation of reward seeking behaviour, control of empathy an other social emotions, rational decisions
predicting outcomes of planned actions before they happen
what chemical is associated with the EC
serotonin
what is serotonin
influences self regulation,
high on this works to enhance the efficacy or peer of secondary system. By contrast being low on this leads to impulsive responses and resultant deficits in EC that spring from the primitive mode of processing
temperament dimension of EC also helps set stage for what
C and A
what predicts achievement in school
C
why might sonscientiousness be related to morality
maybe risk taking
people high in C tend to be more prudent and cautions, avoiding risks to life and limb
people high in C are motivated by what
apprehension about guild
not that they experience more guilt, but they act in a way to avoid guilt
what is antisocial behaviour
involves aggression
when children and adolescents engage in aggressive activities, what s it called
externalizing behaviours
what is associated with development of aggression and antisocial behaviour
deficiencies in EC
what is the worst combo of the big 5
low C (irresponsible) low A (unempathtic and disagreeable) high N high E as well as low level of intelligence
do peoples traits mostly change or remain the same
both
high levels of O display what
mix of smart and weird
what is rank order stability
the extent to which individual differences in a given trait hold steady over time
does rank order stability change over time
stabilities is low when young and high when older
what kind of parenting style is associated with the the most positive outcomes
authoritative parenting
combines high levels of nurturance with strong parental control. They aim to meet their childrens emotion needs and encourage high standards of behaviour for their children
show love but also enforce rules (warm and strict)
what is indulgent parenting
warn and not strict
what is authoritarian parenting
strict and not warm
what is neglectful parenting
not warmm not strict
does authoritative parenting directly influence personality traits
traits are mostly genetic
for many people, reaching maturity involves what
coming to terms with the mistakes they have made in life
what is the 5-7 shift
children experience a host of cognitive and social changes in middle school that ultimately result I a newfound sense of maturity and rationality at this age
full emergence of motivated agency
what is self efficacy
the person’s belief that he or she can execute goal directed behaviour in a successful manner, especially under challenging or stressful circumstances
what re motivational dynamics of hevaiour
forces that energize and direct what people do
do you need to know a person as a motivated agent to predict their actions
no
what is join attention
around 9 months,
the infant and adult arrive at a common ground of shared representations regarding external reality
what is theory of mind
around 3-4 years
conception that you and and most people have about why people do what they do
assume people do what they do because they want to (desire)
and what they understand to be true (belief)
who preforms poorly in theory of mind tasks
autistic children
Aristotle believes we learn how
by doing
what is the difference between social development goals and demonstration approach goals
social development– aim at improving relationships and social skills
demonstration approach– aim at attaining status and garnering positive feedback from others
what is demonstration avoid goals
involve avoiding negative judgement from others
demonstration approach goals positive associated with what
aggression
what is self esteem
overall evaluation that a person makes of the self
when does self esteem develop
around the 5-7 shift
James defined self esteem with a famous ration, what was it
self esteem = success / pretensions
what are pretensions and what is success
includes goals, values and expectations people seek to achieve
success is what people feel when they achieve them
who has lower self esteem
middleschool girls
high esteem is associated with what
greater initiative in pursuit of goals and greater enjoyment of success (but not concrete evidence)
empirical effort to assess individual diff in a tendency toward narcissism consistently identify two central features what are there
grandiosity and sense of self entitlement
wha is grandiosity
sense of self importance
what is sense of entitlement
expectation that other people will also see the narcissist in the same way and therefor shower them with admiration and attention
was steve jobs a narcissist
yes
seems though like it was the way he moved through life as a motivated agent
what is the agency model of narcissism
depicts narcissism as a result of strong and abiding motivational emphasis on pursuing goals of power, concerns, and a relentless focus of enhancing self-esteem.
