The Psychology of the Person Chapter 9 Biological Approach

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The Psychology of the PersonChapter 9 Biological
Approach

• Naomi Wagner, Ph.D
• Lecture Outlines
• Based on Burger, 8th edition

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Background

• Researchers have recognized that our personality
  cannot be separated from our biology
• For many years, the Tabula Rasa (blank Slate)
  has been very popular
• The Blank Slate view of human nature, suggesting
  that we are born empty and void of any
  tendencies, abilities, etc, was espoused by the
  behavioral perspective
• This approach signifies the decline of
  behaviorism and the tabula rasa idea of human
  nature.

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Tabula Rasa- Blank Slate (The view of t he mind
as empty)

• Reflects the approach that we are born blank,
  to be written upon by the environment

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What is Biology?

• Physiological differences among individuals that
  translate into differences in behavior,
• The familial genetic link
• The evolutionary perspective The understanding
  of the survival value of our tendencies and
  behavioral characteristics.

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Natural Selection Evolutionary Perspective

• In prehistoric times, humans who weren't smart
  enough to kill their prey or avoid being eaten by
  them died.
• Those who survived passed on
• their survival skills to their
• offspring.

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The Pioneering Work of Eysenck

• In the 1960s Eysenck introduced the idea that
  biological makeup, and not parental child-raising
  methods or other environmental factors determine
  our personality.
• Using factor-analysis, he identified 3
  personality Super-Traits Extraversion-introversio
  n, neuroticism (emotional instability), and
  psychoticism (egocentric and aggressive,
  impersonal).

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Structure of Supertraits

• From a specific response, to a habitual response,
  to a trait, to a Super-Trait.
• Eysenck noted stability of these dimensions over
  time, their similar cross-cultural
  manifestations, and kinship studies (run in
  families)
• Environmental factors play a role in the
  expression of the inborn personality tendencies.

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Extraversion-Introversion

• Eysenck was especially interested in this
  dimension
• Originally he suggested that introverts and
  extraverts differ in terms of their cortical
  arousal (extraverted were under-aroused and thus
  seek stimulation)
• Studies did not find differences between the two
  tendencies while measures of brain activity in a
  resting state were taken
• Currently, researchers describe the Ex.-Int.
  differences in terms of sensitivity to
  stimulation, introverted being more sensitive.

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Sensitivity to Stimulation See the difference
between the two little girls?
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Temperament Your style of responding to the
world

• Temperaments are inborn (inherited) general
  dispositions that are regarded as the basis for
  later development of more specific traits.
• Buss and Plomin identified 3 temperamental
  dimensions emotionality, activity, and
  sociability
• Thomas and Chess identified 9 dimensions
• Examples quality of mood, intensity of reaction,
  adapting to novel situations, etc
• Effortful control- emotional self-regulation, is
  currently regarded as an important dimension

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Plomin and Buss Model Emotionality

• Intensity of reactivity to life situations

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Plomin and Buss ModelSociability
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Plomin and Buss ModelActivity level
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Temperament and the Environment

• In a sense, the temperament creates the
  environment
• We actively search for environments that are
  compatible with our innate tendencies
• For example, an adventurous child does not wait
  for adventures to come his/her way, but actively
  seek-out/create such situations

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(cont-d)

• People react to us on the basis of our
  temperament
• For example a cheerful, easy-going person
  elicits different responses from the environment
  as compared to a whining, negative child
• Our early environment is actually created by the
  genes of our parents.

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Our temperament evokes reaction

• When you smile the world is smiling back at you

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The Role of the Environment

• Environmental factors shape and modify the
  expression of our innate tendencies
• For example If you are an impulsive person, as
  you go through life you discover that your
  impulsivity only hurts you
• Eventually you learn to curtail your impulsivity

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Inhibited vs. Uninhibited Children

• Inhibited (shy) children were studied extensively
  by Jerome Kagan and Nathan Fox
• They identified the physiology underlying shyness
  (identified in very young babies)
• Higher activity in the right hemisphere
• Higher production of cortisol (the stress
  hormone)
• High, stable heart rate

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Will the shy child grow up to become a shy adult?

• In most cases yet
• There will be some
• modifications

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Inhibited vs. Uninhibited Children (cont-d)

• Inhibited are gentle, monitored, restrained
• Anxious in novel (new) situations
• Uninhibited feel at ease in new situations
• Inherited biological temperament
• Differ in body-built, prone to allergies, even
  eye-color (blue)
• In early infancy- irritability, sleep
  disturbances, constipation, increased heart-rate
  and pupil dilation

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Cont-d

• fMRI (neuro-imaging) studies found differences in
  brain reactivity
• Abnormally high amygdala response when presented
  with new or unclear stimuli
• Fear of the unfamiliar throughout childhood into
  adulthood
• Uninhibited children are more likely to show
  disruptive behaviors

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Shyness

• Shyness is an inborn tendency but can be modified
  by the environment

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Goodness of Fit

• The term refers to the ideal situation, when we,
  social agents around the child, recognize the
  childs temperament and pattern our treatment of
  the child accordingly.
• For example, if you have ashy child, you
  gradually expose the child to novel situations,
  support the child, not pushing the child.

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Evolutionary Personality theory

• This perspective sees human characteristics as
  the result of our evolutionary legacy.
• Some traits have evolved in us because, in our
  prehistoric past, they were adaptive to our
  survival.
• The concept of natural selection and its
  application to personality
• An example is the analysis of anxiety, a shared
  human tendency, and the underlying evolutionary
  basis anxiety may reflect fear of social
  rejection.

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(cont-d)

• In our prehistoric past we could not have
  survived the harshness of the environment if we
  did not align ourselves with other people
• Individuals who were rejected or excluded by the
  group could not survive.
• Those who were sensitive to social rejection did
  survive, and transmitted this anxiety gene to
  their offspring.

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Application Childrens Temperament and School

• Some children come into the world with
  temperaments that may not be compatible with the
  formal demands of school
• Such children may be misjudged by their teachers
  and may be regarded as lazy or as lacking in
  motivation.
• The Goodness-of-Fit model is evry applicable
  here.

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Assessment Cerebral Asymmetry

• Researchers use physiological measures to
  understand personality functioning.
• Recent studies using EEG on alpha-wave levels in
  the anterior regions of the cerebral hemisphere
  has proven useful in understanding individual
  differences in emotions.
• Often, differences are found between the left and
  right anterior regions of a person while in
  resting, non-emotional state

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(cont-d)

• Higher activity in the left hemisphere has been
  associated with positive moods, whereas higher
  activity in the right hemisphere has been
  associated with negative moods.
• These patterns have been found in children less
  than a year old. When in resting state, some
  people tend to have higher activity in the R he.
  Some in the L. is this related to proneness to
  depression? Is it related to thresholds to
  positive or negative experiences

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Cont-d

• Differences in cerebral asymmetry were found when
  the participants were is a resting, non-emotional
  state
• Differences tend to be stable over time
• When watching movies designed to elicit certain
  emotions, people with higher left hemisphere
  activity were more responsive to the positive
  mood film, and vice versa

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Current explanation of the relationship between
cerebral asymmetry and emotions

• Instead of looking at positive and negative
  emotions, researchers now describe the
  differences in terms of approach and withdrawal
  tendencies
• Left hemisphere activity is related to movement
  toward the source of emotion
• Right hemisphere activity is related to movement
  away (see next slide)

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Cont-d

• Higher left-hemisphere activity is related to joy
  because happiness draws us toward the source of
  emotion
• Consistent with this analysis, researchers found
  that anger is related toward Left Hemisphere
  activity- angry people tend to approach or even
  attack the source of their distress

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Higher Activity in the left hemisphere is
associated with positive moods

• We react positively to a smiling person, further
  rewarding the positive mood

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Higher activity in the right hemisphere is
associated with negative moods

• Cerebral asymmetry has been shown in babies as
  you g as 10 months.

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Is there a connection between cerebral asymmetry
and proneness to depression?

• Depressed people show more right-hemisphere
  activity than non-depressed
• People known to have been depressed but currently
  NOT in a depressive state were found to have EEG
  patterns of LESS left-hem activity when is a
  resting state
• May be vulnerability for depression
• Anxious people also were found to have higher
  right-hemisphere activity

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Another Finding Related to cerebral Asymmetry

• Studies found the right-handed people who tend to
  glance to their left while engaged in reflective
  mental activity are likely to show higher level
  of right- hemisphere activity when resting (e.g.
  prone to negative emotions)
• Those who glance to the right are higher in
  left-hemisphere activity (positive emotions)

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Strengths and Criticism

• Bridge between personality and biology
• Understanding the role of genetics in human
  behavior and being realistic about the
  feasibility of behavior change
• Based on research
• But- Evolutionary concepts cannot be directly
  tested
• Lack of agreement about the number of temperament
  dimensions and their definition