Chapter 9

Question 1

Temperament

Answer 1

biologically-based individual differences in emotional and motivational tendencies evident early in life

Question 2

Greek view on development of characteristics…

Answer 2

human nature is composed of earth, wind, fire, and water

variations in psychological characteristics because of variations in bodily fluids

Question 3

Gall’s approach to understanding temperament

Answer 3

Phrenology: conducted post-mortem studies of brain tissue and correlated with character traits of deceased.

Question 4

Longitudinal studies…

Answer 4

Thomas and Chess: Followed 100 children from birth to adolescence
Found link between easy babies and their acclimation into adolescence. Difficult babies=difficult adjusting later

Question 5

Jerome Kagan findings

Answer 5

People are either inhibited or uninhibited. Inhibited people don’t like novelty situations and grow stressed by them. High reactive infants became inhibited children and vice versa

Question 6

Brain regions that are associated with inhibited and uninhibited people…

Answer 6

Amygdala- centrally involved in the fear response

Frontal cortex- involved in regulating emotional response, in part, by influencing the functioning of the amygdala

Question 7

The Limbic System…

Answer 7

Septal area, Amygdala, Hippocampus,

Question 8

effortful control and development of the conscience findings…

Answer 8

children who had assertive mothers failed to develop their own internal self-control. Children less able to exhibit effortful control

Question 9

Proximate Causes

Answer 9

biological processes operating in the organism at the time the behavior is observed

Question 10

Ultimate Causes

Answer 10

why is a given biological mechanism a part of the organism, and why does it respond to the environment in a given way? (invokes principles of natural selection)

Question 11

Evolutionary Psychologies via human functioning…

Answer 11

human functioning is directly related to natural selection and adaptive principles to survival and reproductive processes.

Question 12

4 Points of Evolution and the Human mind…

Answer 12

1. The features of mind that evolved are all about passing on genes!
2. Evolved mental mechanisms are adaptive to the way of life of hundreds of centuries ago
3. Evolved psychological mechanisms are domain-specific
4. The mind contains multiple information-processing devices

Question 13

Aspects of Social Exchange and detection of Cheating

Answer 13

ability to detect cheating has survival value
ability to solve cheating problems is a human universal
frontal cortex and amygdala are important parts used in social contracts

Question 14

Mate preference for Males…

Answer 14

Youthfulness, genetic appeal and health. A woman should be able to carry on his genetics. Chastity.

Question 15

Mate preference for females…

Answer 15

Ability to provide and protect. Genetic appeal, but mostly provision.

Question 16

Sex Differences

Answer 16

Sex differences inadvertently caused males and females to mentally develop differently than each other. (Sex differences are also socially constructed)

Question 17

Behavioral genetics

Answer 17

the study of genetic contributions to behavior by estimating the degree to which variation in psychological characteristics is due to genetic factors

Question 18

Selective Breeding Studies

Answer 18

animals with a desired trait for study are selected and mated

Question 19

Importance of twin studies…

Answer 19

Ability to see how environmental factors play into behavior sine the twins share the same genetics

Question 20

Importance of adoption studies…

Answer 20

heritability coefficient… allows us to study different parent-offspring, sibling-adoptive sibling behaviors and see the effect of environmental factors on behavior versus genetic traits

Question 21

Three kinds of nature-nurture interactions?

Answer 21

1. The same environmental experiences may have different effects on individuals with different genetic traits
2. Individuals with different genetic traits may evoke different responses from the environment
3. Genetic factors influence the selection and creation of environments

Question 22

lateralization

Answer 22

hemispheric dominance

Question 23

hemispheric dominance

Answer 23

lateralization

Question 24

left-anterior brain activity…

Answer 24

when damaged, more likely to become depressed
responsible for activation during positive (negative) emotional states
worrying=strong activation of left anterior cortex

Question 25

right anterior brain activity...

Answer 25

when damaged can cause people to become manic

Question 26

neurotransmitters and temperament

Answer 26

* Dopamine is associated with pleasure and appears to be central to the functioning of the reward system * Serotonin is important in regulating mood * Cortisol is the stress hormone associated with a stress response

Question 27

Amygdala

Answer 27

Part of the primitive limbic system, the brain’s emotional response center. Particularly important for aversive emotional learning

Question 28

Hemispheric Lateralization

Answer 28

Dominance of the right frontal hemisphere associated with activation of negative emotions and personality traits of shyness and inhibition; dominance of the left frontal hemisphere associated with activation of positive emotions and personality traits of boldness and disinhibition.

Question 29

Dopamine

Answer 29

Neurotransmitter associated with reward, reinforcement, pleasure. High dopamine levels are associated with positive emotions, high energy, disinhibition, and impulsivity. Low dopamine levels are associated with lethargy, anxiety, and constriction.

Question 30

Serotonin

Answer 30

Neurotransmitter involved in mood, irritability, and impulsivity. Low serotonin levels are associated with depression, but also with violence and impulsivity. SSRIs are used to treat depression, as well as phobias and OCD

Question 31

Cortisol

Answer 31

Stress-related hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex that facilitates reactions to threat. Adaptive in relation to short-term stress, responses to long-term chronic stress can be associated with depression and memory loss

Question 32

Testosterone

Answer 32

Hormone important in the development of secondary sex characteristics and associated with dominance, competitiveness, and aggression.

Question 33

Plasticity

Answer 33

the capacity of biological systems to change as a result of experience

Question 34

What parts of the brain are associated with self-judgement?

Answer 34

medial prefrontal cortex (some areas of the brain responsible for emotional responses as well)