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COURSE NOTES: Personality

Chapter 9:
Biological

Based on the following textbook, with supplements and modifications by the author:
Cloninger, S. (2004). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NY: Prentice Hall.
Instructors who have adopted this text may obtain supplementary Powerpoint presentations from the publisher.

denotes a term that you should know how to define, and to recognize and give examples.

denotes an important person. You should remember this person's name and what (s)he has done.

denotes an important research finding.

denotes an issue that you should be able to discuss or explain.

Chapter 9:

Evolution, Eysenck, Gray, and Others: Biological Theories

Evolutionary Approaches

evolutionary psychology: the perspective that applies the evolutionary principles of natural selection to understanding human psychology, including personality

evolutionary explanations of differences between the personalities of men and women
evolutionary explanations of aggression

Emotions

universal facial expressions
evolutionary origins of events that trigger emotions
- loss of social status
- sexual rejection
- death of a child

Altruism

inclusive fitness
kin altruism
reciprocal altruism

evolved psychological mechanisms: specific psychological processes that have evolved because they solved particular adaptive problems

sexual jealousy (which deals with the problem of paternal uncertainty)
female preference for higher status mates (which deals with the problem of providing for children)

Sexual Behavior

sexual attraction
- signals of fertility and health
- attractiveness and facial symmetry
- youth
- hormone markers
parental investment
- greater sexual selectivity by females
paternal uncertainty
sexual strategies (long- and short-term)

parental investment: the expenditure of time and resources to reproduce each child, especially emphasizing the amount of one's reproductive potential that is invested for each child

a "one-night stand" risks greater parental investment for a female than for a male
a child's death is a greater loss, in terms of parental investment, for a female than for a male

oxytocin: hormone released both in nursing and in sexual intercourse, thought to promote bonding in both cases

oxytocin-produced "cuddling" or contact comfort of infants
emotional security between lovers enhanced by oxytocin

Parental Behavior

nurturance
favoritism toward biological offspring
competition among children
dependency as a learning opportunity

Aggression and Dominance

male competition for mates
testosterone

Culture

predisposed by evolution
language
symbols
tools and technology
social organization

cultural evolution: evolution through transmitted learning from one generation to another

transmission of religious traditions
transmission of the use of tools and technology

Language and Thought

consciousness
theory of mind
symbolic thought
framing effect: impact of group size

Genetics and Personality

heritability: the statistic that shows what proportion of the variability of a trait in a particular population is associated with genetic variability

heritability of .50 for most personality traits
high heritability of happiness, coping styles, and likelihood of divorce

emergenic traits: phenotypic traits that are caused by a constellation of many genes, and so may not appear to run in families

mathematical genius

Temperament

temperament: the biologically based foundation of personality, including such characteristic patterns of behavior as emotionality, activity, and sociability

easy babies
difficult children (anxious)

Inhibited and Uninhibited Temperament in Kagan’s Model [See Figure 9.1 in Cloninger's text on page 265.]

genotype: the inherited genetic profile of an individual

phenotype: the developed characteristics that can be observed in an individual, based on both genetic and environmental influences

Biological Contributors to Personality

The Brain

modules with specialized functions
social judgments
emotions
neurotransmitters

Emotional Arousal

emotional intelligence
antisocial personality disorder (lower emotional arousal)
left cerebral hemisphere: approach and anger
right cerebral hemisphere: avoidance

Cortical Arousal

from thinking
Pavlov's research on dogs
- strong nervous system: greater conditioning to strong stimuli
- weak nervous system: inhibition to strong stimuli

sensation seeking: trait, proposed by Zuckerman, of seeking varied, novel, complex and intense sensations and experiences, even if that requires risk

preference for arousing music
seeking thrills through drugs, gambling, reckless driving, etc.

Pavlov's Model of the Nervous System and Implications for Personality [See Figure 9.2 in Cloninger's text on page 270.]

Biological Factor Theories: Eysenck, Gray, and Others

Eysenck's "PEN" Biological Model

based on Pavlov's model
3 factors:
- Extraversion
- Neuroticism
- Psychoticism

Extraversion

sociable
lively
active
assertive
sensation seeking
carefree
dominant
surgent
venturesome

Neuroticism

anxious
depressed
guilt feelings
low self-esteem
tense
irrational
shy
moody
emotional

Psychoticism (social deviance, or non-conformity)

aggressive
cold
egocentric
impersonal
impulsive
antisocial
unempathic
creative
tough-minded

Eysenck's Extraversion and Neuroticism Factors and the Ancient Greek Temperaments [See Table 9.3 in Cloninger's text on page 271]

Emotional Arousal and Neuroscience

Left hemisphere
- Approach
- Pleasant stimuli
- Anger
Right hemisphere
- Avoidance
- Unpleasant stimuli; pain

Experimental Findings Relating Eysenck's Neuroticism Factor to Biological and Performance Measures [See Table 9.4, top half, in Cloninger's text on page 274]

Experimental Findings Relating Eysenck's Extraversion Factor to Biological and Performance Measures [See Table 9.4, bottom half, in Cloninger's text on page 274]