Lecture 1 Chapter 1 1 Know the definition of personality discussed in class a A patterning of dispositional traits characteristic adaptations and integrative life stories set in culture and shaped by human evolution 2 What is the difference between personality traits and characteristic adaptations a Characteristic adaptations i The DETAILS of personality ii Aspects of psychological individuality that are contextualized in time place and or role 1 Motivational factors what do people want in life 2 Cognitive factors values beliefs expectancies plans etc 3 Developmental factors evolution of the self identity over time 3 What are the main differences between personality psychology and the other related fields within psychology a Distinguishing psychology i Diff from Developmental Psychology 1 How people change over time vs in what ways they stay the same 2 Focus on adulthood ii Diff from clinical psychology 1 Study of normal functioning vs study of disorders iii Diff from social psychology 1 Focus on the situation vs the person In your book 4 Be able to recognize an example of a case study a A case study is an in depth investigation of a single individual sometimes conducted over a substantial period of time 5 Know what parsimony testability and generativity are a Parsimony simplest explanation b Testability the level to which a hypothesis or theory is able of being assessed empirically c Generativity the seventh stage of psychosocial development in Erikson s scheme in which the adult seeks to guide the next generation and generate a legacy of the self 6 Know the differences between correlational and experimental designs a Correlational design i A methodology for research whereby the scientist examines the extent to which variables covary or relate to each other b Experimental designs i A methodology for research whereby the scientist manipulates or alters one variable of interest to observe its effect on another variable of interest 7 Be able to recognize examples of positive and negative correlations a Positive correlation The more time you spend running on a treadmill the more b Negative correlation If a train increases speed the length of time to get to the calories you will burn final point decreases 8 Know the difference between nomothetic and idiographic approaches a Nomothetic Allport s term for an approach to personality study that seeks to b discover general laws for all persons Idiographic Allport s term for an approach to personality study that focuses on the uniqueness of the individual case Lecture 2 Chapter 2 Evolutionary Psychology 1 How does natural selection work a There s a lot of variety within a species b Some survive and reproduce some don t c Some traits better enable an organism to survive and reproduce more d Offspring inherit traits that led to success 2 How is sexual selection different from natural selection a Even if a trait threatens survival it will be selected for as long as it helps offspring reproduction 3 What is the difference between intrasexual competition and intersexual selection a Intrasexual b Intersexual i Members of the same sex COMPETE with rivals for access to mates ii Ex elephant seals i Members of one sex CHOOSE a mate based on their preferences ii Ex birds of paradise 4 What is inclusive fitness Who would inclusive fitness predict we would save in an emergency a Inclusive fitness i Your survival doesn t matter ii Only the survival of your genes does b Inclusive fitness theory i We share genes with others family ii iii Predicts who we save in an emergency family If we help family to survive and reproduce shared genes will get copied 5 What are the three kinds of products of evolution Be able to describe and recognize examples of each a The need to belong i Helps you survive ii Ex pack of wolves b Helping and Altruism i You help your family ii Ex Helping family ensures that your genes will be copied c Universal Emotions i Facial expressions that everyone knows ii Ex can help show someone how you feel 6 Know the difference between proximate and ultimate explanations for behavior and be able to recognize examples of each a Proximate Why does it happen here and now b Ultimate Why does it happen at all i The why behind the why ii Evolutionary psychologists put emphasis on this level From your book 7 What is sociosexuality a The extent to which an individual will or will not insist on closeness and commitment in an interpersonal relationship before engaging in sexual intercourse with the partner Recent thinking in evolutionary personality psychology suggests that both restricted and unrestricted sociosexuality patterns may have proven adaptive evolution in conjuring with various environmental constraints and selection pressures Lecture 3 Chapter 3 Conditioning examples of each 1 Know the difference between classical and operant conditioning Be able to recognize a Classical conditioning training involuntary behaviors i Ex salivation startle reflex b Operant conditioning training voluntary behaviors i Reinforcement increases likelihood of response ii Punishment decreases likelihood of response iii Positive something presented iv Negative something removed 2 What is observational learning a Learning by seeing or reading about the world around you 3 What are the steps necessary for observational learning Be able to recognize examples a Attention b Retention i Ex a highly distinctive model may capture the observer s attention better than a less distinctive model i Ex However much you present addition and subtraction flashcards to a newborn infant the infant will not learn basic arithmetic because newborns cannot encode this king of symbolic information c Motor reproductive processes i Ex concerns the capabilities of performing what is observed and the availability of such performance in the observer s repertoire of behavior i Ex an observer must want to imitate behavior if imitation is to occur a The many different environmental contexts that influence a person s behavior and d Motivation 4 What is social ecology shape his or her life a Microcontexts b Macrocontexts culture a Evoked culture 5 What is a microcontext What is a macrocontext Be able to recognize examples i Immediate environmental influences i Social class gender race culture historical context in which we live 6 Know two features of evoked culture and be able to recognize examples of evoked i Cultural differences created by 1 Differing environmental conditions 2 Activation a