Personality test 2 – Flashcards

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hereditarian position
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I have no patience with the hypothesis that babies are born pretty much alike, and that the sole agencies in creating differences between boy and boy, and man and man, are steady application and moral effort. It is in the most unqualified manner that I object to pretensions of natural equality. The experience of the nursery, the school, the university, and of professional careers, are a chain of proofs to the contrary -NATURE
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environmentalism position
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-I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select - doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. -NURTURE
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the legacy of the hereditarian position
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•Galton - the science of eugenics (thought that the best people should breed and wanted to not allow people of inferiority to breed); create a superior race of man through selective breeding •Ability testing: used to identify the superiority and inferiority; results for race and region •Modern contributors to controversy: Shockley (1960s); created a sperm bank for geniuses -Herrnstein & Murray (1994) •The Bell Curve - book about an emergent cast system, that the ones with more intelligence hang and marry with people with more intelligence and vice versa; mating recreates the lower class and mating also recreates the higher
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behavioral genetics
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• The question = to what extent does genetic variation (genotypic variance) cause variance in behaviors (phenotypic variance)? • Some direct genetic effects = Tongue-rolling; Response to 6-n-Propylthiouracil (super-taster)
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HWW
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1. The theory that is being tested by the authors is that the deeper the thought analysis the longer the more time required, but the better the memory. the shorter the thought analysis, the more shallow of the thought process being used, therefore less knowledge retained in memory. the general rpocedure in the experiment is explain the preceptual-reaction time task to a single participant, gie him or her a long series of trials in which both are
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genetic effects on behavior
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• Haeffel et al. (2008) - studied Russian boys in juvenile detention on: • depression levels • genetic types • maternal rejection - found no main effects (no certain IV contributed to depression, but the interaction between the environment and gene has significant results** - found significant that genotype-environment interaction
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the study of heritability
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• Heritability = The proportion of observed variance in a group of individuals (phenotypic) that can be accounted for by genetic variance (genotypic). - Range: 0.00 to 1.00; .50 implies 50% of variance in phenotype is due to variance in genotype • Undoing common misconceptions: - heritability applies to groups, not individuals - heritability is dynamic (not fixed/constant in time or place) - heritability is complex, and therefore an estimate
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the study of behavioral genetics
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•Selective breeding = physical characteristics, behavioral characteristics •Family studies = variance in the degree of genetic relatedness; variance in the degree of behavioral similarity •Twin studies -MZ (monozygotic) twins: 100% genetic similarity; the more genetically similar you are, the more behaviorally similar you should be** -DZ (dizygotic) twins: 50% genetic similarity •Adoption studies -comparison with natural vs. adoptive parents -twins separated at birth (the Minnesota Twins study)
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the inheritance of learning ability
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-Tolman & Tryon divided 41 pairs of rats into "maze bright" and "maze dull". After 20 generations (Tryon, 1940): -showed that you can breed intelligence (maze bright rats stayed the best; and maze dull did not ever catch up)
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twin studies and heritability
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•The estimation of heritability: -H^2 (how much you genes effect you) = 2(rMZ - rDZ) (variability of monozyogic minus variability of dizygotic); determines how much the genotype effects the phenotype •Twins correlation on height: -MZ: .93; DZ: .48 -H^2 = 2(.93 - .48) = 90% •Twins correlation on extraversion: -MZ: .56; DZ: .28 -H^2 = 2(.56 - .28) = 56% •The assumptions of equal environments and representativeness (which is not true because we treat identical twins differently than fraternal twins; thats why we use twins that were separated at birth)
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heritability of the big 5
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-determine the personality heritability with the big 5 factor -over the population about 50% of the variability of personality is biological; 50% of variability of personality is environmental
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Twins Separated at Birth - thomas bouchard experiment
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Trait Twin Correlation Well being .49 Neuroticism .70 Aggression .67 Traditionalism .59 Imagination .74
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Nature, Nurture, and Intelligence
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-tested the 5th factor of the big 5: intelligence -the more biologically similar two people are, the more intellectually similar they are 0.7 correlation
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environment and heritability effects on personality experiment
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• Turkheimer et al. (2003) - studied IQ in U.S. families - about ¼ below poverty line - found interaction between SES and genetic influence -environment has a higher effect on heritability when studying a more impoverished (stressful) environment (0.6); a higher heritability occurs with richer families, for a less stressful environment (0.7)
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The Question of Sexual Orientation
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• Prevalence rate for exclusive homosexuality: - about 2.0% - 2.5% of men - about 0.6% - 1.5% of women • Theories of homosexuality: - Nurture = early learning experiences - Nature = genetics and hormones
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Theories of sexual orientation - nature or learning
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•the relationships with mother and father: -weak father figure, strong mother figure -> male homosexuality (Freud theory; NO EVIDENCE) •early homosexual experiences (ex. molestation, experimentation); people try out either willingly or unwillingly and supposedly just does this when grows up; NO EVIDENCE •exposure to homosexual models (ex. homosexuals in culture - sambian culture (every male has to have a homosexual experience in order to become a "man" - no heightened prevalence rate of homosexuality = NO EVIDENCE; media = the thought that since there is more media about homosexuality, there is more homosexuality, but homosexuality is not growing in population = NO EVIDENCE; homosexual parents = there is NO EVIDENCE of homosexuality being passed on because of parent's homosexual model)
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A biological basis for adult homosexuality?
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•LeVay (1991) = Sexual orientation dimorphism; found a difference between gay men brains and straight man brains, but the confound of all gay men dying of HIV hurts the experiment results •Hamer et al. (1993) = Study of families of gay men: thought that there was an X chromosome that was the "gay" chromosome; they jumped to a conclusion so research not 100% valid (the Xq28 marker) •Bailey & Pillard (1991, 1993) = MZ (monozygotic) concordance rate:52% men, 48% women; sample bias (advertised in gay magazines to be in study) *there might be some evidence for biological influence, but all of these studies were poorly done, so we weren't able to draw any conclusions
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Evidence for genetic influence
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Family study (Hamer et al. 1993) = If male is homosexual: •7.5% of male relatives on mother's side are gay •2.0% of male relatives on father's side are gay Bailey et al. (2000) (25,000 Australian twins): -MZ (monozygotic) concordance rate: •20% men •24% women Långström et al. (2008) (3,826 Swedish twins): •34%-39% heritability of homosexuality in men (prevalence rate is always 2 times higher than women across the other heritable factors of personality) •18%-19% heritability of homosexuality in women
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Blame Mom for Homosexuality
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•Birth order effect = the more older brothers, the more likely a boy is gay •2D-4D ratio = digit (finger)ratio higher for women and gay men; Hall & Love (2003): straight people have different sized fingers than gay people; discordant female twins; found lesbian twin to have smaller 2D:4D ratio •Non-right handedness: -gay men: 39% more likely to be left handed -lesbian women: 91% more likely to be left handed *the more times a women carries a male baby, the higher the allergy (foreign body); it is thought that the mother sexualizes the males brain with hormones (*hormonal influence, not genetic influence only*)
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genome
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the complete set of genes an organism possesses -between 20,000 and 30,000 -located on 23 pairs of chromosomes (one set of each pair from the mother and father) -most genes within the human genome are the same for each individual on the plant (why we have 2 eyes, arms, legs)
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genetic junk
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functionless residue that serve no purpose (98% o the DNA in chromosomes) -real protein coded genes make up 2% of the human genome -the manner in which human genes get decoded into proteins turns out to be far more variable than in other species
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eugenics
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the notion that we can design the future of the human species by fostering the reproduction of persons with certain traits and by discouraging the reproduction of persons without those traits
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behavioral geneticists focus
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-percentage variance -determining the ways in which genes and the environment interact and correlate with each other -figuring out precisely where in the environment the effects are taking place
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percentage of variance
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refers to the fact that individuals vary or are different from each other, and this variability can be partitioned into percentages that are due to different causes
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environmentality
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the percentage of observed variance in a group of individuals that can be attributed to environmental (nongenetic) diferences -the larger the heritability, the smaller the environmentality
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nature-nurture debate
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-arguments about whether genes or environments are more important -individual level = no debate because every individual contains a uniquie constellation of genes and those genes require environments during one's life to produce a recognizable individual -population level = debate exists; we can partition the differences into genes and environments; can make sensible statements about which is more important in accounting for the differences
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selective breeding
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occurs by identifying the subjects that possess the desired characteristic and having them mate only with other subjects that also possess that characteristics -if heritability of traits is high, selective breeding is typically successful -unethical -ex. dog breeding
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family studies
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correlate the degree of genetics relatedness among family members with the degree of personality simiarity and capitalize on the fact that there are known degrees of genetic overlap among family members -parents share 50%, grandparents 25%, cousins 12.5 of children's genes -family members may also be similar because of the similar environment -violates equal environments assumption
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adoption studies
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-most powerful behavioral genetic method available -correlation design -if one finds a positive correlation between adopted children and their adoptive parents, then this provides a strong evidence for environmental influences on the personality trait in question -*gets around equal environments assumption* Drawback: -representativeness; assuming that couples who adopt children are not any different from couples who do not adopt children (can be tested directly) -selective placement = adopte children who are placed with adoptive parents who are similar to their birth parents may inflate the correlation between the adopted children and their adoptive parents (does not seem to be selective placement)
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personality traits of heritability
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-extraversion and neuroticism have high heritability rate (60%; 54%) -activity level has high heritability rates (40%) -psychopathic personality traits showed moderate to high heritability -personality heritability might not be just humans, but chimps as well -correlations between adoptive parents and adoptive children are about 0
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attitudes and preferences in heritability
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-attitudes such as death penalty, gay rights, republican have significant genetic influence -high genetic influence in occupational preferences -0 heritability for beliefs in God, involvement in religious affairs and attitudes toward racial integration
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drinking and smoking
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-both have moderate heritability, but alcoholism has high heritability
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Marriage heredity
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-because of high personality trait heritability, the personality effects if one gets married or not so the heritability of marriage turns out to be 68% -heritability of personality also effects marriage satisfaction (50%)
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shared vs nonshared environmental influences
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-even if children grow up together, they do not all share all of the same environmental influences -shared = food, tv, parent's values (little or no discernible impact) -not shared = different room of the house, different sibling placement, treated differently by parents *nonshared because they are "experienced differently" -overall environments shared by siblings are important in some domains, but for many personality traits 9extraversion and neuroticism) shared environments do not seem to matter
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shared environment impacts
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-substantial impact in attitudes, religious belieds, political orientations, health behaviors, and to some degree verbal intelligence -.41 (girls) and .46 (boys) correlation in patterns of smoking and drinking
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physiology and personality
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•Physiology as antecedent condition of personality: -example: damage to prefrontal cortex -example: hormonal theories of aggression •Physiological activity in response to situations: -personality + situation = response •example: shyness + first date = sweaty palms •example: Type A + stress = heart disease
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Green
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• participants get difficult learning task • noise: - introvert level (55db) - extravert level (72db) • choice: - assigned - similar (ex. introverts get introvert level) - assigned - different (ex. introverts get extrovert level) • reactivity • performance = when personalities arent matched in the sound level they are similar in, poorer performance occurs *reactivity = our would stimulates us and we react to it physciologically
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Type A personality
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•Type A = competitive, hard-driving, impatient, hostile •Type B = relaxed, easygoing, agreeable •Friedman and Rosenman (1956) -Out of 258 heart attacks, 69% were Type A •Miller et al. (1991) -70% of men with CHD are Type A
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Physiological Methods - 3 physiological measures of particular interest to personality psychologists
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•Electrodermal Activity (Skin Conductance) = the more water present in the skin (from sweat glands), the more easily the skin carries or conducts electricity •Cariovascular activity = blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac reactivity, beats per minute (BPM) •Brain activity = EEG (determines the amount of electricity being conducted in the brain), PET and fMRI (used for mapping the structure and function of the brain) •Biochemical analysis of blood or saliva (ex stress hormones)
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Temperament
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•a set of personality characteristics which are: - relatively stable across the lifespan - expressed via tempo or energy rather than through effortful behavior - present from early childhood - similar in other species of animals - present at birth, at least in a general way - determined by genetic factors - yet change with maturation and experience
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The Big 3 Temperaments
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• Extraversion = positive emotion, reward sensitivity, sociability, approach • Neuroticism = negative emotion, punishment sensitivity, anxiety, withdrawal • Impulsivity = psychoticism, lack of constraint, sensation seeking, novelty seeking, lack of conscientiousness, lack of agreeableness
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Eysenck's (1967) Theory
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• The role of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the brain • Introverts = higher baseline ARAS activity level • Extraverts = lower baseline ARAS activity level • Modern research: - no difference in resting activity - difference in reactivity • e.g., conduct the lemon juice experiment (p. 201)
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Two Physiological Sources of Behavior
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Extraversion (Behavior activation system) Introversion (Behavior inhibition system) Emotional stablility
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Personality and Brain Activity
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•Canli et al. (2001) -subjects viewed 20 photos •10 positive, 10 negative •Extraversion: -more responsive to happy faces (reward); predicted activation to positive images •Neuroticism: -more responsive to punishment (fear)predicted activation to negative images
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Theoretical Integration
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•Carver, Sutton, & Scheier (2000) -positive emotionality - approach system (rewards) -the self-discreptancy gets smaller, you are happier (running to reward) •emotions: elation vs. depression •traits: extraversion, impulsivity -negative emotionality - avoidance system (avoid punishment) -the closer you are to something, the more anxious you get -running away from bad things (the possibility of getting a bad grade) •emotions: anxiety vs. relief •traits: neuroticism •Example: Higgins' (1987) self-discrepancy theory: (rejection) Ideal Self Real Self Ought Self (moral, social norms/anxiety)
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Sensation Seeking
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•a tendency to seek out exciting activities, take risks, avoid boredom •Zuckerman's early research •intolerance to sensory deprivation (sensation seekers) •Zuckerman's (1978) scale = lots of behavioral correlates •Physiological basis for Sensation Seekers: •low MAO (less inhibition = sensation seekers)
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The Addictive Personality
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•Pathological gambling, along with drug and alcohol addiction: -impulsivity + sensation seeking -genetic risk factors •Iowa Gambling Task -lower vs. higher risk/reward options •impulsive, sensation seeking persons stick with risky bets (seek the reward, but dont pay attention to the consequences) •responsive to reward, not risk
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genotype-environment interaction
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refers to the differential response of individuals with different genotypes to the same environments -individual differences interact with the environment to affect performance -experiemnt = cohen; violen parents may create violent children only if children have a genotype marked by low levels of MAOA
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genotype-environment correlation
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the differential exposure of individuals with different genotypes to different environments -ex. individuals with different genotypes (those with high vs low verbal abilities) are exposed to different environments (high vs low stimulation; parents give child books)
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3 different kinds of genotype-environment correlation
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-Passive = occurs when parents provide both genes and the environment to children, yet the children do nothing to obtain that environment -Reactive = occurs when parents (or others) respond to children differently, depending on the child's genotypes -Active = occurs when a person with a particular genotype creates or seeks out a particular environment
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molecular genetics
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methods of molecular genetics are designed to identify the specific genes associated with personality traits -association method = most common method; is to identify whether individuals with a particular gene (or allele) have a higher or lower scores on a particular trait than individual without the gene
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DRD4
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-most frequently examined gene located on the short arm of chromosome 11 -type 4 dopamine receptor is associated with high levels of novelty seeking -association examined between DRD4 and personality trait has involved novelty seeking, the tendency to seek out new experiences especially those considered risky, such as drug experiences, risky sexual experiences
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environmentalist view
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personality was determined by socialization practices, such as parenting style
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theoretical bridge
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specific statements about which traits are connected to which psychological reactions under which conditions or in response to which stimuli -bridge between the personality dimension of interest and physiological variables in order to use physiological concepts to help explain personality
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electrodes
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-sensors placed on the surface of a participant's skin -most common physiological measures in personality research -noninvasive (dont penetrate through the skin); no discomfort -disadvantage = movement is constrained
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telemetry
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a process by which electrical signals are sent from the participant to the polygraph through radio waves instead of by wires -solves the problem of electrodes
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autonomic nervous system
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prepares the body for action-that is the fight-or-flight mechanism -skin on the palms of hands and soles of feet contains a high concentration of sweat glands, directly influenced by the sympathetic nervous system, a branch of autonomic nervous system
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cardiac activity
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associated with type A personality
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reinforcement sensitivity theory
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-jeffery gray -BAS (behavioral activation system) = responsiveness to incentives such as cues for reward and regulates approach behavior; when the BAS recognizes a stimulus as potentially rewarding, it triggers approach behavior (impulsivity) -BIS (behavior inhibition system) = responsiveness to cues for punishment, frustration, and uncertainty; to cease or inhibit behavior or to bring about avoidance behavior (anxiety)
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optimal level of arousal
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-hebb's theory = if one is overaroused, a decrease in arousal is rewarding and vice versa -level of arousal that is just right for a task -eyensick's theory that introverts has a higher ARAS than extroverts had to be revised when scientists found out that extroverts and introverts have the same ARAS resting level
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Zuckerman's research
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-high sensation seekers found sensory deprivation to be unpleasant and not able to tolerate for a long amount of time (sensation seekers need a high level of stimulation in their daily lives) -neurotransmitters (chemicals in the nerve cells that are responsible for the transmission of the nerve impulse from one cell to another), MAO (monoamine oxidase) are responsible for maintaining the proper amount of neurotransmitters by breaking down the neurotransmitter after it has allowed a nerve impulse to pass -high sensation seekers tend to have low level of MAO in their blood stream bc low MAO means more neurotransmitters in the nervous system (Acts as breaks for the nervous system); low MAO means low control over thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and emtions
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items from the sensation seeking scale
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-thrill and adventure seeking -experience seeking -disinhibition -boredom susceptibility
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comorbidity
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when two or more disorders simultaneously occur within the same individual
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other types of neurotransmitters
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-dopamine = (associated with pleasure); when taking drugs dopamine decreases which is why people want more drugs when the dopamine replacement wears off -serotonin = (takes role in depression and anxiety and other mood disorders); take prozac to block the reuptake of serotonin, leaving it in the synapse longer, leading depressed persons to feel less depressed -norepinephrine = (actives sympathetic nervous system for fight-or-flight)
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tridimensional personality model
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-Cloninger 3 personality traits are tied to levels of 3 neurotransmitters: -novelty seeking = based on low levels of dopamine (low levels of dopamine create a drive state to obtain substances or experiences that increase dopamine) -harm avoidance = associated with abnormalities in serotonin metabolism; increased or decrease levels in serotonin are associated with an increase in harm avoidance; low levels create depression, high levels create anxiety -reward dependence = low levels of norepinephrine; high levels are persistent people, they continue to act in ways that produce reward, striving after others have given up
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morningness-eveningness
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-preferences one has of being a morning or evening person due to differences in underlying biological rhythms -circadian rhythms = biological process that fluctuate around 24-25 hour cycle
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free running
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there are no time cues to influence your behavior or biology -those with shorter (less than 24 hours) biological rhythms tend to be morning people; those with longer (more than 24 hours) biological rhythms tend to be evening people
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electroencephalograph
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-EEG -records electrical activity in the brain
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alpha wave
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-a type of brain wave that oscillates at 8 to 12 times a second -present in a given time period when a person is calm, relaxed, and is feeling a bit sleepy and not attentive to their environment
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cortisol
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assesses emotional reactivity -a stress hormone that prepares the body to fight or flee
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adaptations
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•Adaptive problems = threatened survival or reproduction-> leads to adaptations (changes in structure or function that fit the environment and solves the adaptive problems); ex. finches some areas had large foods, some small foods, so the beak adapted to the food source •the special design of adaptations: -efficiency of adaptations -precision of adaptations -reliability of adaptations
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sexual selection
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-evolution of characteristics because of their mating benefits rather than because of their survival benefits 2 forms: -members of the same sex compete with each other and the winner gets greater sexual access to members of the opposite sex (intrasexual competition) -members of one sex choose a mate based on their preferences for particular qualities (intrasexual selection)
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differential gene reproduction
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genes of organisms that reproduce more than others get passed down to future generations at a greater frequency than do the genes of those that produce less -characteristics that lead to greater survival get passed along (inclusive fitness theory - one's personal reproductive success plus the effects you have on the reproduction of your genetic relatives, weighted by the degree of genetic relatedness)
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evolutionary byproducts
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incidental effects that are not properly considered to be adaptations -ex. human nose is used for small, but also used for holding eyeglasses (byproduct)
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evolutionary noise
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random variation that are neutral with respect to selection -neutral variations introduced into the gene pool through mutation are perpetuated over generations if they do not hinder the functioning of adaptations
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Premises of evolutionary psychology
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•Domain specificity = adaptations solve specific adaptation problems (men and women differ for mate selection) •Numerousness = many psychological adaptations have been needed to solve many adaptive problems •Functionality = a functional analysis of how/why particular adaptations solve particular adaptive problems •e.g., finding food, finding mates •e.g., learning preparedness (taste, fear) •e.g., phobias
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empirical testing of evolutionary hypotheses
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-deductive reasoning approach = ("theory driven") Statement of theory ->testable hypothesis-> data -> test of theory (up-> down) -e.g., tests of inclusive fitness -inductive reasoning approach = "data driven"; start with raw data, Observations (data) ->development of theory (bottom ->up) -e.g., Darwin's observation of emotions
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need to belong
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-Hogan argues that the most basic human moticators are status and acceptance by the group -social anxiety = distress or worry about being negatively evaluated in interpersonal situation which prevents social exclusion
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universal emotions
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-happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust -not learned, not culturally specific, it is universal and therefore inherited**
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evolutionary-predicted sex differences
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Aggression = men kill more and are killed more Jealousy = men are more jealous when it comes to sexual infidelity; women come more jealous when it comes to a committed emotional relationship Desire for sexual variety = men desire more sexual variety Mate Preferences = women want men with personality and stable fiancee; men want women with good looks
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Sources of Individual differences
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-calluses = different individuals are exposed to different amounts of repeated friction to their skin; all humans have the same callus-producing mechanisms, so individual differences are the result of the environmental differences that activate the mechanisms to differing degrees -contingencies among traits = rather than a traits expression being contingent on the environment, its expression is contingent on other traits the person has (ex. aggressive is contingent with size and strength) -frequency dependent selection = the process whereby the reproductive success (fitness) of a trait depends on its frequency relative to other traits in the population -optimum level of a personality trait can very over time and space
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Environmental triggers of individual differences
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-ex. children growing up in father-absent homes are more likely to develop expectation that parental resources will not be reliably and predictably provided (see that adult pair bonds are not enduring) -children w/o fathers cultivated a sexual strategy marked by early sexual maturation, early sexual initiation, and frequent partner switching
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heritable individual differences contingent on other traits
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-reactivity heritable = secondary consequence of heritable body build (chooses to be aggressive because of the body build)
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Frequency-dependent strategic individual differences
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-frequency dependent selection = if one sex becomes rare relative to the other, evolution will produce an increase in the numbers of the rarer sex -restricted sexual strategy = seeking a high-investing mate; marks delay intercourse and prolonged courtship; enables time to assess level of commitment, detect the existence of prior commitments to other women or children, assures the man of his paternity of future offspring -unrestricted mating strategy = commitment is irrelevant, so prolonged assessment is not necessary; less reasons to delay sexual intercourse; of short term sexual strategy is being pursued, any delay on her part mat deter him -psychopathy = irresponsible and unreliable behavior, egocentrism, impulsivity, inability to form lasting relationships; "cheating strategy" -life history strategy = there are trade-offs among problems
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balancing selection
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occurs when genetic variation (of the Big 5) is maintained by selection because of different levels on a trait dimension are adaptive to different environments
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limitations of evolutionary psychology
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-cannot go back in time to look at precise adaptations -scientists have just scratched the surface of understanding nature, details, and design features of evolved psychological mechanisms -modern conditions are different from ancestral conditions -it is sometimes easy to come up with different and competing evolutionary hypotheses for the same phenomena -some hypotheses are untestable
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Darwin -1859
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Natural Selection: 1. Stress from the environment -> 2. Struggle for survival -> 3. Natural selection of characteristics that increase likelihood of survival and reproduction (adaptations) -ex. finches
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The two processes of natural selection
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•Survival selection: -Hostile forces of nature -> adaptations -> survival -Inclusive fitness = group level survival; indirectly, worker bees do reproduce; •kinship selection = we are more likely to help people who are more close to us •Sexual Selection -Competition for mates ->adaptations -> reproduction •Intrasexual competition (same gender rivalry; animals with horns fight each other to win their mate) •Intersexual selection (peacock's colors do not make sense from survival selection, but it works in function to attract a mate for sexual selection)
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Inclusive Fitness - Helping and Hurting Kin
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-the more related you are, the more willing to help them -more likely to kill parent then a child -most likely to kill spouse over parent -(least likely) child -> parent -> spouse (most likely)
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brain injury
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one of the most common changes in personality following a brain injury is s diminished ability to inhibit or control one's impulses -due to disruptions between the frontal lobes, which serve as the executive control center of the brain and other parts of the brain -retains most cognitive ability, but lose some degree of self-control -ex. elliot
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galen/hippocrates
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wrote that personality or character is influenced by biology Galen taught that the amount of 4 fluids present in the body determined personality: -an abundance of phlegm made a person passive, calm, and thoughtful (phlegmatic) -an abundance of blood made a person happy, outgoing, and lively (sanguine) -too much yellow bile made a person unstable, aggressive, and excitable (choleric) -an abundance of black bile made a person unhappy pessimistic and somber (melancholic)
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physiological systems
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-physiological characteristics (functioning of organ systems within the body) can be measured mechanically and reliably -ex. nervous system, cardiac system, musculoskeletal system -physiology create, contribute to, or indicate differences in psychologica functioning
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3 products of the evolutionary process
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-adaptations -byproducts -noise
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Evolutionary Psychology and Mate Selection
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• Evolutionary foundation of mate-selection: sexual strategy - Adaptive problem: how to maximize probability of gene survival? • Women (high investment in reproduction): - Adopt a more long-term strategy: • seeks commitment, resources • Men (low investment in reproduction): - Adopt a more short-term strategy: • seeks reproductive ability and availability • Research: study cultural universality (men it is more important for their mate to be attractive than for women; women tend to pick men who are older (they need someone mature and financially stable), men pick women who are younger (for better health and beauty; especially seen in impoverished countries)
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reliable predictions of attraction
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•Many researchers: -"baby-faced" and "maturity" features in women: •large eyes, full lips, high cheekbones •Singh (1993) -Waist-to-Hip Ratio •Women: about .7 •Men: about .9
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Cues for attraction for women and men
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•Attractiveness cues for men: -Signal reproductive capability: youth, health, full lips, clear skin and eyes, good muscle tone, body curves, sexual interest •Attractiveness cues for women: -Signal ability to devote resources to mother and offspring: ambition, industriousness, social status, not already committed, age, athleticism, intelligence, material possessions, territory, ability to protect, apparent income
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misperception of sexual interest
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• Perilloux, Easton, & Buss (2012): - 5 men, 5 women - speed meetings (3 minutes) - rated perceptions of meeting • Sexual misperception = partner's actual interest - participant's perception of interest - both men and women exhibited sexual perception bias; guys always think that woman are more sexually attracted to them than the woman actually are; women underestimate a partners sexual interest -men more open to casual sex, the more a man misperceives a partners sexual interest; this also happens when the woman is more attractive • Correlation with sociosexuality • Correlation with attractiveness
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sex with a stranger
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- 75% of men said yes to sex, and only 50% said yes to coffee -50% of women said yes to coffee, 1 woman said yes to sex
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sexual desire in women
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• Pillsworth, Haselton, & Buss (2008) - measured sexual desire in women - estimated probability of reproductive success at time of survey • women in relationships - relationship between sexual desire and: Factor Level of Relationship: Satisfaction with Relationship .19 Commitment to Relationship .16 Duration of Relationship -.23 Probability of Conception (ovulating) .32
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Evolutionary basis of jealousy
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• Which would distress you more? - imagining your partner forming a deep emotional attachment to that person (women) - imagining your partner enjoying passionate sexual intercourse with that other person. (men) • Sexual / Emotional Infidelity - 60% men - 17 % women
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Blushing
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Darwin = blushing is the most peculiar andmost human of all expressions -Physiology = sympathetic nervous system -Adaptive purpose? = signal for fight or flight; response to social anxiety and fear rejection
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The fundamental need to belong; how do you become part of a group
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-IF YOU ARE VALUABLE -adaptive problem = human survival requires cooperation (sharing resources, protection from harm, mates; danger- any factor that leads to rejection by group -Adaptations: 1. any factor that leads to successful mate attractive 2. any factor that leads to group functioning -Modern research = interpersonal rejection or danger of rejection causes social anxiety, loss of self-etseem, and aggression; **the sociometer hypothesis = when we are in a social atmosphere we are always aware of a possible social rejection** Motive 1: the need to belong/accepted Motive 2: the need to be correct/be seen as capable
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Which of the following could be a violation of the equal environments assumption?
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Dressing identical twins in the identical clothes
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Which of the following has NOT been proposed as a biological substrate of personality?
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cardiovascular activity
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Eysenck's revised theory of extraversion suggests that introverts and extraverts differ in
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arousal response
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Sheila is going out to a baby shower with her girlfriends. Even though there will not be any men around she goes out of her way to make herself as attractive as she possibly can. This is an example of competition based on ______ selection.
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intersexual
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The idea that some males will have more offspring than others is best described as
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effective polygyny
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If MZ twins correlate .54 on a trait, and DZ twins correlate .22 on a trait, the heritability estimate is
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.64
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According to Eysenck, introverts avoid social situations because
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they are likely to be overaroused in social situations
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Which of the following physiological mechanisms is thought to control overall cortical arousal?
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ascending reticular activating system
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Monoamine oxidase acts upon the nervous system by _____ neurotransmission
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inhibiting
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Individuals with a reactive behavioral activating system may be very
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impulsive
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A study by Fox and Davidson showed that infants who reacted more strongly to bitter solutions placed in their mouths
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left hemisphere
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More homicides can be explained by _____ than any of the other evolutionary phenomenon
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intrasexual competition
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Two male deer that lock antlers demonstrate
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intrasexual competition
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Darwin is credited as the first to
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propose the process by which species adapt to their environments
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Bem suggests that genes influence _____, which in turn leads to homosexuality.
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gender-nonconformity
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Which of the following would cause you to question that a trait is heritable if it was indicated by an adoption study?
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Biological parents choose adoptive parents especially similar to themselves
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Humans have evolved __________ designed to notice and remember those individual differences that have the most relevance for solving social adaptive problems.
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difference-detecting mechanisms
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If a score for a characteristic is divided into its different causes researchers are typically assessing the _____ due each of the causes of that score.
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percentage of variance
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Research indicates that shared environmental factors correlate about _____ with personality.
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.05
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Heritability
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can change over time
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Differential gene production is defined as
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an individual's reproductive success relative to that of other individuals of the species
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