topic 1 - the study of the person Flashcards
what are the components of the psychological triad?
thinking, behaving, and feeling
what is the definition of personality?
an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought emotion, and behaviour; together with the psychological mechanisms - hidden or not - behind those patterns
what contributes to personality?
biology, developmental environment, and social and cultural settings
what is the key assumption in behavioural genetics?
traits and behaviours influenced by genes should be more similar among more closely related people
what is heritability?
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
what is a method for calculating heritability?
compare similarity in personality between people who are and are not related and people who are related to different degrees (monozygotic vs dizygotic twins)
what is the heritability coefficient?
percentage of the variance of a trait in the population that can be attributed to variance in genes
what is Falconer’s formula?
r(MZ)-r(DZ)*2
what do heritability studies tell us?
- 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)
what are the limitations of heritability studies?
can’t use heritability to determine what percentage of a trait is determined by genetics and by the environment
what is dopamine linked to in terms of personality?
- linked to sociability, activity level, and novelty seeking
- extraversion
- positive emotionality and openness to new experiences
what can low levels of serotonin result in?
irritability and volatile emotions
what is serotonin involved in?
the inhibition of behavioural impulses (worry, anger, and sensitivity)
what are some possible reasons for different levels of neurotransmitters from person to person?
- genetics
- behaviours (high sugar consumption, drug abuse)
- experiences (stress, lack of sleep)
- illness (adrenal gland malfunction)
authoritarian parenting style
children are expected to follow strict rules established by the parents without explanation or rationalization; failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment
authoritative parenting style
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
permissive/indulgent parenting style
make few demands of children; rarely discipline children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control; generally nurturing and communicative
uninvolved/neglectful parenting style
few demands, low responsiveness, and very little communication
what are the child outcomes of authoritarian parenting style?
- high obedience and proficiency
- lower happiness
- lower social competence
- lower self-esteem
what are the child outcomes of authoritative parenting style?
- high happiness
- high capability
- high success
what are the child outcomes of permissive parenting style?
- lower happiness
- lower self-regulation capacity
- increased difficulty with authority
- reduced school performances
what are the child outcomes of uninvolved parenting style?
- reduced self-control
- low self-esteem
- reduced competence
what are between group differences?
individuals may differ from each other to some extent because they belong to different cultures
what are within group differences?
members of cultural groups may differ from each other in distinctive ways
