Topic 1 Approaches to personality Flashcards
What is Personality in Laymens terms
The non-physical, behavioural or psychological component of individuals
Personality is derived from the latin word persona, what does persona mean
The mask worn to portray a character
Funder, Carver & Scheier, and Wilt & Revelle have all given formal definitions of personality, what 3 features do these definitions all share
- All 3 definitions refer to cognitive, feeling (affective) and behavioural component
- All refer to these behaviours being predictable or patterns/characteristic
- All refer to mechanism or systems that underlie these patterns or tendencies (e.g connections in the brain)
What are the two spectrums that approaches to personality exist on
( X vs Y) ( A vs B)
Nomothetic vs Idiographic
Dispositional Vs Situational
What is a nomothetic approach to personality
- Individual differences can be described and explained in terms of predefined attributes (e.g extraversion - we think of it as a continuum)
- each trait is linked to common underlying physiological mechanism i.e brain area
what is an idiographic approach to personality
individuals are so unique that two different people cannot be descibed using the same concepts
(i.e freuds psychodynamic theory, not gonna go over this in detail)
What is a dispositional approach to personality
- personality is seen as consitent,
- we have internal dispositions to think/act in similar ways, largely independent of situation
(e.g an extravert will generally be more outgoing than an introvert)
What is a situational approach to personality
- Personality is a series of largely unrelated states, primarily determined by situational factors.
- there is no core essence, just distinct behavioural signatures made of ‘if A then B’ rules
What do Dispositional theorists think about the role of context on personality
- They do not deny the role of context in moderating situational behaviour
- they believe an extravert would moderate their extravesion at a job interview compared to when at a concert but still believe an extravert person would be more extraverted than a introvert in both situations
What did dispositional theorists find when trying to quantify a correlation between personality traits and behaviour
They estimate that the r value = 0.4 and that there was a significant correlation between traits and behaviour (Funder,2001)
What do dispositional theorists believe about the types of situations we encounter
- Traits influence the situations we encounter
- e.g an introvert may avoid crowded bars or concerts
What is the four temperants model of personality
- based off Hippocrates four bodily humours
- Galen applied this theory to personality as 4 personality types
What are the four temperants and what kind of character are they are indicative of
(as in name the 4 of them)
- Phlegmatic - calm/relaxed person
- chloeric - angry/voltatile person
- sanguine - happy/enthusiastic person
- melancholic - depressed/ unhappy person
(based on mucus, yellow bile, blood and black bile , respectively)
In reference to the four temperants
What does the balance of bodily fluids determine
- the balance of temperament
- any excess of any fluid can lead to a mental illness related to the temperaments
Evaluate the Four temperaments theory of personality
(One criticism, 3 pros)
Criticsm-
* obviously fucking bullshit - humours(bodily fluids) are pseudoscience
Pros-
* gave rise to notion of personality types
* temperament descriptions have influenced modern theories of personality
* one of first notions that gives specific links between biology and psychology
what are the three dimensions of Eysencks PEN theory
Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism
What is Eysencks PEN theory?
A biological account of personality that places personality traits on different ‘dimensions’, allowing us to have a ‘complete’ description of a person
What are some features of Eysencks Initial theory (1947)
(name 5)
- only two dimensions (extraversion and neuroticism)
- orthogonal (independent) to one another
- normal distribution for each dimension
- considered ‘super traits that could provide complete description of a person
- clear biological underpinning that determines level of each of these traits
In reference to Eysencks PEN theory
What is characteristic of High N (neuroticism) vs Low N (stable mindedness)
- High N: Anxious, pessimistic, tense, moody, depressed, shy
- Low N: stable, positive, calm, optimistic, confident, relaxed
In reference to Eysencks PEN theory
What is characteristic of Low E (introversion) vs High E (extraversion)
- Low E: asocial, passive, slow, reflective , quiet
- High E: Social, talkative, outgoing, lively, energetic
When did Eysenck discover his third dimension, what is it and why did he discover it
- 1970’s - Psychoticism, observed individuals who were emotional unstable (N) but had lower levels of fear & anxiety, lack of remorse or conscience and lacked an appreciation of consequnces of actions
In reference to Eysencks PEN theory
How does Psychoticism differ from the other dimensions of personality
- It is not normally distributed
- it is not orthogonal to the other dimensions (has some positive correlation to Neuroticism)
Describe and differentiate High Psychotisim vs Low psychoticisim
- High psychoticism indicative of antisocialness, aggresiveness, lack of empathy
- Low psychotisms (tender mindedness) indicative of altruistic, conformist and rational empathic behaviour
What is the difference between the words Psychopath, Psychoticism and psychosis
(important to differentiate these words, they are not the same)
- A Psychopath is an extreme personality associated w/ a callous, deeptive and manipulative nature, an inability to feel remorse or empathy and a tendency to violate social & conventional norms
- Psychoticism is a major trait in Eysencks PEN model of personality, it is perhaps better labeled as psychopathy
- Psychosis is a mental disturbance associated w/ a break from reality (e.g schizophrenia)
Dont need to get these exactly, just important to understand the diff
In reference to Eysencks PEN theory: Biological appraoches
What hypothesis can we take from the biological explanation to Extraversion
- In any given situation, extraverts will have lower levels of cortical arousal than introverts
- we would expect to see lower frequeny but higher amplitude EEG traces in extraverts (indicative of lower cortical arousal) and higher frequency, lower amplitude EEG traces in introverts (indicative of higher cortical arousal)
According to Eysencks PEN theory, what is the biologcial explanation to the Extraversion-Introversion scale
- Differential activity levels in the reticulo-cortical system
- Extraverts have lower levels of cortical arousal and thus seek out external stimulation
- Introverts have higher levels of cortical arosual and avoid external stimulation
- people in general prefer moderate levels of cortical arousal
In reference to Eysencks PEN theory: Biological appraoches
Outline the findings of the study done by Gale (1983) to test the cortical arousal hypothesis in Extraversion
(what were the results of the study, and were there any issues?)
- Mixed evidence - majority support theory
Number of methodological issues identified e.g - unsystematic use of personality measures (lots of variance in scales used to measure extraversion)
- very high/low arousal level of task will cause extraverts or introverts to adapt to preffered level of cortical arousal, obscuring differences (imagine dodgeball - an extravert might be really rambunctious and try and take centre stage, whereas an introvert may be more passive and avoidant of being the centre of attention)
In reference to Eysencks PEN theory: Biological appraoches
Tran, Craig & McIsaac (2001) did a study addressing some of the methodological issues seen in prior studies on the cortical arousal hypothesis in extraversion. What were some of their methods?
(As in, what did they do to address these methodological issues)
- Activity measured from frontal regions of the brain (Because these are the areas most linked w/ personality)
- Older participants (22-60 years, mean age=38.3 years) (Argue that personality isnt stable until a bit later in adulthood and thus measuring undergraduates isnt the most useful)
- Used ‘moderately demanding’ task (opening and closing eyes) (Avoid issue of high/low arousal task)
According to Eysencks PEN theory, what is the biologcial explanation to the Neuroticism-Stability scale
- by differential activity levels in the reticulo-limbic system.
- High neuroticism = high baseline limbic system levels
- Low neuroticism = low baseline limbic system levels
According to Eysencks PEN theory, what is the biologcial explanation to Psychoticism
No clear explanation but linked to male hormones or dopamine levels
Evaluate Eysencks PEN theory
(3 pros and 3 cons)
Pros
* Good (cross-cultural) evidence for E and N factors
* Major contribution to trait and biological theories of personality
* Development of several personality questionnaires,
Cons
* P factor less accepted – not featured in other models.
* Neurobiology of emotional processing more complex than originally thought.
* Too much focus on biology/genetics…? (lack of emphasis on environemental factors)
What is the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivty Theory
4 main points
- development of/alternative to Eysencks Theory
- Based on work with non-human animals (mainly rats) (applied to all mammals, not just humans).
- ^ Involved assessing contributions of envrironment and learning , thus addressing one of the criticism to Eysencks theory
- Individual differences lie in strengths of BAS and BIS
In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivty theory
What are BAS and BIS in general terms
- two systems that dictate our response in any given situation
In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivity theory
What are the main neural components of the BAS and BIS
- amygdala
- ventromedial hypothalamus
- midbrain grey matter
In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivty theory
Outline the BAS
Behavioural activation system
* Activates ‘approach’ behaviour toward goal.
* Motivated to seek reward.
* Based on conditioned responses associated with positive events.
In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement sensitivty theory
Outline the BIS
Behavioural inhibition system
* Focuses attention on potential costs.
* Inhibits behaviours associated with negative events.
* Motivated to avoid harm and punishmen
What are the two dimensions of personality in the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
Impulsivity and anxiety
In reference to the Behavioural Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
What is the dimension of anxiety driven by
The strength of the BIS system