Chapter 5 - Biological Aspects of Personality

Question 1

what is natural selection

Answer 1

certain adaptive individual characteristics that emerge over generations

Question 2

attention is drawn to the ____ of a characteristic in survival

Answer 2

function

Question 3

what is an evolutionary personality theory

Answer 3

modern application of Darwins’ ideas to individual differences
-differences are due to different adaptive strategy

Question 4

limitation of evolutionary personality theory

Answer 4

hard to check genes?

Question 5

what is williams syndrome

Answer 5

change in personality due to missing 2 dozen genes from chromosome 7; characterized by excessively social, limited intellect

Question 6

what is behavioral genomics

Answer 6

study of how genes affect behavior

Question 7

what is quantitative genetics

Answer 7

study of phenotypes that change/vary in people
ex. height, weight

Question 8

what is temperament?

Answer 8

stable individual differences in emotional reactivity

Question 9

what are the 4 aspects of temperament

Answer 9

activity (vigorous motion vs. passivity), emotionality, sociability (approaches others vs. aloof), impulsivity

Question 10

what is emotionality?

Answer 10

(easily aroused vs. calm + stable)

Question 11

what is impulsivity?

Answer 11

(aggressive + cold vs. friendly)

Question 12

measures of temperament?

Answer 12

Eysenck’s model (nervous system of temperament; introversion/extroversion) and Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory and Zuckermann’s theory (sensation seeking)

Question 13

what is extroversion according to Eysenck

Answer 13

having low levels of brain arousal so these ppl seek stimulation

Question 14

what is introversion according to Eysenck

Answer 14

having high levels of internal arousal so they avoid stimulating social environments

Question 15

Eysenck’s nervous system temperament theory combines the activity element with social dimension and links it to the ___ which creates ___

Answer 15

nervous system; introversion-extroversion dimension

Question 16

what are some problems with testing a nervous system based theory?

Answer 16

a. difficult to define + measure nervous arousal
b. human body attempts to maintain equilibrium so it varies in baseline, duration, etc.

Question 17

what is the behavioral inhibition system?

Answer 17

provides a response to situations and responds to things that are punishing
overactive -> anxiety

Question 18

what is the behavioral activation system?

Answer 18

regulates response to rewards
overactive -> impulsivity

Question 19

sensation seeking people seek out _____

Answer 19

highly stimulating activities

Question 20

what are neurotransmitters

Answer 20

chemical nerves used to communicate

Question 21

how does dopamine affect personality

Answer 21

ppl can have natural defects in dopamine systems; can lead them to be more susceptible to addiction

Question 22

prozac?

Answer 22

can have short-term or long-term effects on personality

Question 23

what is hemispheric activity

Answer 23

difference between activation of left/right cerebral hemispheres

Question 24

over-reaction to a negative stimulus is due to greater activation on the ____ side

Answer 24

right

Question 25

what is the nervous-system drug addition model and how does it effect personality

Answer 25

BIS and BAS; nervous system can affect how easily affected we are by rewards or avoiding situations/punishments

Question 26

twin studies

Answer 26

what, why

Question 27

what is eugenics

Answer 27

thought that eminent families should have lots of children to improve human race

Question 28

what is non-shared environmental variance

Answer 28

features of the environment that children raised in the same home experience differently

Question 29

comparing identical twins to fraternal twins

Answer 29

the detection of genetic influences on personality

Question 30

what is schizophrenia

Answer 30

person who loses touch with reality; has delusions, becomes paranoid look at research limitations in the book please :D

Question 31

what is bipolar disorder

Answer 31

who knows

Question 32

what is concordance

Answer 32

the probability of a match

Question 33

twin studies have shown that ___ has genetic influence from ____

Answer 33

homosexuality; evidence of difference in brain structure and function

Question 34

What is Bern's Exotic Becomes Erotic theory

Answer 34

people are attracted to genders that are unfamiliar to them in childhood

Question 35

what is the kin selection theory

Answer 35

if nieces and nephews of LGBT+ ppl are likely to survive then the genetic tendency toward homosexuality will survive

Question 36

what are the effects of environmental toxins on personality

Answer 36

lead poisoning leads to poisoning of child's nervous system;

Question 37

what is biological determinism

Answer 37

our biology determines our actions

Question 38

what are tropisms

Answer 38

motivational forces; can originate from temperamental differences

Question 39

what are physical attractiveness stereotypes

Answer 39

ppl expect attractive people to do good and be good; adults have higher expectations for attractive children

Question 40

what is sociobiology

Answer 40

scientific study of influence of evolutionary biology on responses to social matters

Question 41

what is attachment

Answer 41

relationship to parents? look at book babes

Question 42

what is the cinderella effect

Answer 42

parents giving preference to biological children over step-children -results from natural selection, parents just love their biological children more whoops

Question 43

survival of the fittest led to the incorrect assumption that this is a __ world

Answer 43

"dog-eat-dog"; weak creatures and cultures shouldn't survive

Question 44

what is the human genome project

Answer 44

tried to identify the function of genes; first, it was to develop treatments, but then they found genes that influence personality

Question 45

what is the ethical issues of the human genome project

Answer 45

they were trying to genetically engineer healthy genes