Personality Psychology Lecture 14Outline of Last Lecture 5 Factor ModelCross cultural research NEO-PI-R testCosta and McCreaGrowth and Development6 factor modelEvaluation Outline of Current Lecture Temperament: Thomas and Chess- New York Longitudinal study- Easy temperament- Difficult temperament- Slow to warm up temperament Dimensions of Temperament: Buss and Plomin - Emotionality- Reactivity- Sociability Kagan - Inhibited- Uninhibited Biological Influences of Inhibition- Amygdala- Frontal Cortex- Stathmin proteinEvolutionary Psychology- Proximate causes- Ultimate causesEvolved Tendencies Contents of Human Nature: Buss- Need to belong- Helping and altruism Universal Emotions: Ekman- Mate preferencesParenthoodJealousyEagly and WoodThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Current LectureTemperament: Thomas and Chess- Biologically based- Individual differences- Emotional and motivational tendencies=temperament- Evident in early life Longitudinal Study Design- Look at same person/group of people over time- Expensive- Problems: people drop outNew York Longitudinal Study: Infant Temperament Types- Make determinations of whether characteristics were evident early in life and if theyre enduring- Easy temperament—playful and adaptable, adjust well to routine, regular bed and feeding time established early in lifeo React well to new people- Difficult temperament—negative and not adaptive, easily upset not easily soothed, reactive to changes in environment - Slow to warm up temperament—low reactivity, mild responses, don’t adjust as easy to change as easy babies do, in the middle between easy and difficult- Goodness of fit=match between parent style and environment created by parents, way parents approach parenting o Environment and childs temperamento Some temperament styles fit better with some parenting styleso If way parenting is done aligns well with babies temperament=goodness of fit- Link between 3 different temperaments and what their characteristics were later in life when didlongitudinal studies- *Temperament style remained steady, if you were an easy baby usually easy later in life in adjustment - Ex. Babies easy at age 1, still easy at age 5, etc- Studied large number of children and looked at activity level, mood, attention span, resistance intasks o 100 children studied but based on parental reports, asked questions to parents for them to report on childs reaction to certain situationso Problems: parents BIASEDDimensions of Temperament: Buss and Plomin- Used parental ratings=kind of problematic- Replicated findings of Thomas and Chess, were individual differences in temperament but were stable across time - Emotionality—ease of arousal in upsetting situations- Reactivity—tempo and vigor, how quick of motor movementso Do they move around a lot or not- Sociability—responsiveness to other people, making friends easily or shy- Looked at identical twins (same genetic material)—similar in temperament style- Said research found biological evidence of temperament but didn’t specify biological systems responsible - *Temperament stays stable over timeKagan - Direct, objective measure used to gather data—observed children directly in lab settings mostly, not relying on biased parental reports, did physiological measurements like heart rate, etc- Videotaped kids in lab setting and exposed them to new and normal stimuli - 2 clearly defined temperament profiles:o Inhibited Highly reactivity children should possess inhibited reaction profile Taking longer time to relax in new situation, have more fears, behave cautiously and timidly  When exposed to something new they hide 20% children highly reactive Highly reactive children: back arching, facial expressions, crying, become over aroused from stimuli o Uninhibited Low reactivity children should possess uninhibited reaction profile Enjoy things that make inhibited child upset Spontaneous in new situations, smile easily, not flustered easily 40% children low reactivity o 40% mixed reactivity o Suggested that theres continuity in children Biological influences on Inhibition- Amygdala—part of midbrain, highly involved of processing of emotions like fear and angero Genetically based biological processes that contribute to differences in reactivity and thus in temperament o Highly influential in temperament o Inhibited and uninhibited profiles differ in functioning of amygdala Increased activity of amygdala=higher level of reactivity with people who are highly reactivesensitive to new stimuli  Brain reactivity to new and familiar faces and looked at levels of reactivity between 2 groups of inhibited vs uninhibited profile people- Reactivity same between both groups for familiar faces- Frontal cortex—influential in temperament, responsible for inhibiting or not of behavior, interpreting behavior, judgment o Regulates emotional responses - Stathmin (protein) influence of gene—linked to functioning of amygdalao Biology and personality are related o Mice with different levels of stathmin have different levels of reactivityConsistency and Change- Genetic predispositiono High or low in reactivity - Influence of mothers behavior during infancyo Behavior of mother/primary caregiver influences and modifies childs temperament - Degree of mothers social support in early childhood o When baby placed in new situation then temperament takes overo Highly reactive and difficult children need social support that’s calming and nonreactive to calm them—support doesn’t override their temperament though Inherited characteristics: movie with monkeys- Mother available for comfort but doesn’t interfere when they explore OR some mothers that areoverprotective type - Some babies are clingy and others are independent and like to explore- Monkey personality is in geneso Differences in first week of life, some infants more irritable and others are calm- Reactive behaviortimid baby type that isn’t happy exploring on his own- Behavior is inherited and see if can change it- Clingy/reactive baby then raised by foster mother who is relaxed typeclingy baby then becomes more exploratory o In extreme situations though he is reactive again Evolutionary Psychology - Rooted in Darwins theory of natural selection- In addition to physical aspects of functioning psychological mechanisms are