topic 1 - the study of the person

Question 1

what are the components of the psychological triad?

Answer 1

thinking, behaving, and feeling

Question 2

what is the definition of personality?

Answer 2

an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought emotion, and behaviour; together with the psychological mechanisms - hidden or not - behind those patterns

Question 3

what contributes to personality?

Answer 3

biology, developmental environment, and social and cultural settings

Question 4

what is the key assumption in behavioural genetics?

Answer 4

traits and behaviours influenced by genes should be more similar among more closely related people

Question 5

what is heritability?

Answer 5

a statistic used in the fields of breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of variation in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population

Question 6

what is a method for calculating heritability?

Answer 6

compare similarity in personality between people who are and are not related and people who are related to different degrees (monozygotic vs dizygotic twins)

Question 7

what is the heritability coefficient?

Answer 7

percentage of the variance of a trait in the population that can be attributed to variance in genes

Question 8

what is Falconer’s formula?

Answer 8

r(MZ)-r(DZ)*2

Question 9

what do heritability studies tell us?

Answer 9

• genes matter
• the effects of the environment on personality development is not as large as previously imagined (the average correlation of personality for adopted siblings is only 0.05)

Question 10

what are the limitations of heritability studies?

Answer 10

can’t use heritability to determine what percentage of a trait is determined by genetics and by the environment

Question 11

what is dopamine linked to in terms of personality?

Answer 11

• linked to sociability, activity level, and novelty seeking
• extraversion
• positive emotionality and openness to new experiences

Question 12

what can low levels of serotonin result in?

Answer 12

irritability and volatile emotions

Question 13

what is serotonin involved in?

Answer 13

the inhibition of behavioural impulses (worry, anger, and sensitivity)

Question 14

what are some possible reasons for different levels of neurotransmitters from person to person?

Answer 14

• genetics
• behaviours (high sugar consumption, drug abuse)
• experiences (stress, lack of sleep)
• illness (adrenal gland malfunction)

Question 15

authoritarian parenting style

Answer 15

children are expected to follow strict rules established by the parents without explanation or rationalization; failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment

Question 16

authoritative parenting style

Answer 16

establish rules and guidelines that children are expected to follow; much more democratic and collaborative/consultative; high expectations of child with adequate support; discipline is supportive rather than punitive

Question 17

permissive/indulgent parenting style

Answer 17

make few demands of children; rarely discipline children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control; generally nurturing and communicative

Question 18

uninvolved/neglectful parenting style

Answer 18

few demands, low responsiveness, and very little communication

Question 19

what are the child outcomes of authoritarian parenting style?

Answer 19

• high obedience and proficiency
• lower happiness
• lower social competence
• lower self-esteem

Question 20

what are the child outcomes of authoritative parenting style?

Answer 20

• high happiness
• high capability
• high success

Question 21

what are the child outcomes of permissive parenting style?

Answer 21

• lower happiness
• lower self-regulation capacity
• increased difficulty with authority
• reduced school performances

Question 22

what are the child outcomes of uninvolved parenting style?

Answer 22

• reduced self-control
• low self-esteem
• reduced competence

Question 23

what are between group differences?

Answer 23

individuals may differ from each other to some extent because they belong to different cultures

Question 24

what are within group differences?

Answer 24

members of cultural groups may differ from each other in distinctive ways

Question 25

what does the trait personality approach focus on?

Answer 25

• how do people differ?
• how can we study and make sense of these differences?
• what do these differences mean for people’s lives?

Question 26

what does the biological personality approach focus on?

Answer 26

• focus on the biological underpinnings of personal differences
• the roles of anatomy, physiology, genetics, evolution

Question 27

what does the psychoanalytic personality approach focus on?

Answer 27

• focus on the role of unconscious mind in shaping personality
• how does the nature and resolution of internal mental conflicts contribute to personal difference?

Question 28

what does the phenomenological personality approach focus on?

Answer 28

• how our conscious experience of the world shapes personality
• emphasizes the role of awareness and experience
• humanistic and sociocultural approaches

Question 29

what does the learning/cognitive personality approach focus on?

Answer 29

• how personality changes through learning

- role of reward and punishment, self-reflection, observation, cognitive processing