1

Chapter 1 Personality

Personality: the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and
relatively enduring and that influence the individual’s interactions with, and adaptations to, the
intrapsychic, physical and social environments

Psychological Traits: characteristics that describe ways in which people are different from each other

- describes average tendencies

- explains and predicts behaviours

Psychopathology: how our traits make our quality of life poorer

Psychological Mechanisms: the process of personality

- inputs, decision rules, outputs

Person-Environment Interaction:

- perception: how we see/interpret an environment

- selection: describes the manner in which we choose situations to enter
- evocations: the reactions we produce in others
- manipulation: the ways in which we intentionally attempt to influence others

Adaptations: central feature of personality concerns adaptive functioning

Personality Analysis (3 Levels):

1. human nature: the traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical of our species and are
possessed by nearly everyone
2. individual differences: ways in which each person is like some other people, group differences:
groups may have certain personality features in common that differentiate them from other
groups
3. individual uniqueness: every individual has personal qualities not shared by any other person

Domains of Knowledge (6):

1. dispositional: the ways in which individuals differ from one another

2. biological: genetics (predisposition), psychophysiology (automatic/bodily responses) and
evolution (behaviours that help us survive)
3. intrapsychic: internal and mental mechanisms that occur outside of conscious awareness
(unconscious)
 psychoanalytic: conscious, preconscious, unconscious & ego, superego and id
4. cognitive-experiential domain: focuses on cognition and subjective experience; thoughts,
feelings, desires
5. social and cultural domain: personality affects and is affected by social and cultural context
6. adjustment domain: the ways in which individuals cope, adapt and adjust (developmental)

Scientific Theory: explanation of something that occurs in the world, incorporates past research and
hypotheses
 2

Scientific Method: (1) Question, (2) Hypothesis: a potential explanation for something that happens, (3)
Test the hypothesis, (4) Draw conclusions, (5) Report the results

Quantitative Data: numerical data, variables that can be quantified (questionnaires, reaction times, etc)

Qualitative Data: textual data (interviews, focus groups, etc)

Independent variable (x) predictor variable, Dependant variable (y) outcome variable

Empirical/Research Articles:

- Abstract: summarizes key points and conclusions of the article

- Introduction: Review of the previous literature to support current research (gives background)
 definitions of concepts, connections between concepts
 contains research question and hypotheses (prediction about data/findings)
- Methods: participants (demographic) and measures
- Results: analysis of data, statistics
- Discussion: explanation of results, integration of results with previous evidence and literature,
contains implications and future decisions

Standards for Evaluating Personality Theories:

1. Comprehensiveness: explains most or all known facts

2. Heuristic value: guides researchers to important new discoveries
3. Testability: Makes precise predictions that can be empirically tested
4. Parsimony: Contains few premises or assumptions
5. Compatibility and integration: Consistent with what us known in other domains; can be
coordinated with other branches of scientific knowledge

Chapter 2: Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design

Self-Report Data (S-Data): information a person reveals about themselves, it can be obtained by a
variety of means, including; interviews, questionnaires and surveys

- structured: true or false, one-word answers, Likert-type scale answers (1-5)

- unstructured: open-ended questions

Observer-Report Data (O-Data): asking those around an individual to provide information on the
individual (friends, family, colleagues, etc.)

- inter-rater reliability: the use of data from multiple observers to achieve more accurate data
- naturalistic observation: observers witness and record events that occur in the normal course of
the lives of their participants
- artificial observation: controlling conditions and eliciting the relevant behaviour
- Selection of Observers:
- professional personality assessors who don’t know the participant
- individuals who know the target population
- Multiple social personalities; each individual displays different sides of themselves to different
people
 3

Test Data (T-Data): standardized testing situation, examine how individuals react and perform under
controlled situations

Life-Outcome Data (L-Data): examining the events and outcomes in an individual's life, often connected
with other data forms to create a broad picture (health status, trauma, relationships, education,
financial stability, life satisfaction, family status)

Self-Report Data Observer Report Test Data (T-Data) Life-Outcome

(S-Data) Data (O-Data) Data (L-Data)
Strengths know our inner unique controlled investigate
thoughts/experie perspectives, environment, personality on
nces/perceptions context, multiple tigger behaviours, actual lives
observer benefit hypothesis testing

Weaknesses biased, don’t unaware of observer effect, lack of control,

know everything individuals inner creating valid other
workings/context situations,
observer bias

Reliability: the degree to which an obtained measure represents the true level of the trait being
measured (consistency, replicability)

- test-retest reliability: consistency in results every time a measure is used

- internal reliability: internal consistency, consistency in a pattern of answers no matter how a
question is phrased (chronbach’s alpha α)
- inter-rater reliability: degree to which 2+ coders/observers give consistent ratings of a set of
targets (kappa statistic; 0.7+ = ✓, 0.6- x)

Replication Crisis:

- 2010’s; some key research studies were not replicating (ex: Stanford prison trials, delayed-
gratification test, fake smile test)

Validity: refers to the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure (accuracy)

- internal validity: controlled environment to ensure that the study isn’t biased or flawed
- construct validity: how well the variable is measured/manipulated (overlaps face validity,
content validity, criterion validity, convergent & discriminant validity)
- face validity: whether the test on the surface appears to measure what it is supposed to
measure (subjective, not empirical)
- content validity: the measure contains all the parts that the established theory said it should
(subjective)
- criterion (predictive) validity: whether the test predicts criteria external to the test, measure is
corelated with a relevant outcome (empirical/objective)
- convergent validity: whether a test corelates with other measures that it should corelate with
(empirical)
 4

- discriminant validity: measure is not strongly associated with measures of dissimilar constructs
(empirical)
- statistically conclusive validity

Generalizability: the degree to which the measure retains its validity across various context
- W.E.I.R.D. Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic: representative of 80% of study
participants, but only 12% of world population
Variable: something that differs or can be measured differently among different cases (ex: height,
weight, speed)
- independent variable: predictor variable (x)
- dependant variable: outcome variable (y)

Correlation Method: a statistical procedure is used for determining whether there is a relationship
between two variables (correlation ≠ causation)

- directionality problem: what variable came first?

- third variable problem: a third, unmeasured variable pushing the relationship

Correlation Coefficient: range from +1.00 through 0.00 to −1.00. That is, the variables of interest can be
positively related to each other (+.01 to +1.00), unrelated to each other (0.00), or negatively related to
each other (−.01 to −1.00)

Experimental Method: used to determine causality (to find out if one variable influences another
variable)

- requires (1) a manipulation or intervention (2) similar participants/groups

- procedure: (1) divide participants into two groups that are matched on important
characteristics, especially the behaviour that is dependant variable that is being studied, (2) give
special treatment/intervention to one group, (3) compare the groups on the dependant
variable, if the results differ, the cause of the difference was probably the independent variable
- random assignment: randomly select participants (ensures that all groups are the same at the
beginning of the study)
- counterbalancing: switching order of manipulation, random assignment

Case Study Method: in depth examination of one individual, insights into personality that can be used to
formulate a more general theory to be tested on a larger population (interviews, assessments,
observations)

Chapter 3: Traits and Trait Taxonomies

Traits: ways in which people differ (description of how a person generally behaves, used to describe,
explain and predict behaviour)

Internal Traits: traits individuals carry with them; desires, wants, needs, can influences our behaviours
and provides explanation as causes and tendencies

Descriptive Traits: descriptive, no assumptions of internality or causality, describes trends in behaviours

Categorical Traits: placing people in categories based on traits (ex: they are an extraverted person)
 5

Dimensional Traits: people have varying levels of all traits (ex: they’re high in extraversion)

Lexical Approach: all important individual differences have been encoded within the natural language,
allows us to describe each other (Pros; good starting point for language, Cons; many words – adjectives,
nouns, verbs)

- Synonym Frequency: if an attribute has not merely one or two trait adjectives to describe it, but
rather many words, then it is a more important dimension of individual difference
- Cross-cultural Universality: if a trait is sufficiently important in all cultures in which its members
have codified terms to describe the trait, then the trait must be universally important in human
affairs

Theoretical Approach: identifying important dimensions of individual differences start with a theory that
determines which variables are important (Pros; provides background for guidance, Cons; can be
affected by gaps in knowledge and/or biases)

Statistical Approach: identifying important traits starts with a pool of personality items, identifies
“clusters” of traits to create a dimension or category (Pros; identifies commonalities in personality,
reduce overwhelming amount of data, Cons; can be affected by biases, need to be aware of what to look
for)

- Factor Analysis: identifies groups of items that covary (go together) but tend not covary with
other groups of items
- Factor Loadings: how much of the variation in an item is “explained” by the factor. It indicates
the degree to which the item correlates with or “loads on” the underlying factor.

Mean (M): average, add scores together, then divide by the number of numbers.

Standard Deviation (SD): how far a data point falls from the mean.

T-Score: form of standard deviation, takes an individual score and transforms to a standardized score,
allows to compare scores between people, against the norm.

Percentage: type of proportion or ratio score, fraction of 100

Normal Curve: [insert graphic]

Raw Scores: tends to be means or totals, simple addition of scores

Standard Scores: t-score or z-score, transformation of score, allows for comparison between scores

Normative Sample: sample where we draw norms for comparison

Taxonomy: system of classification (theoretical background, sorting of classification) Personality Test:

applying people to theoretical backgrounds

Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality: based taxonomy on three core traits; extraversion-
introversion (e), neuroticism-emotional stability (n), psychoticism (p) (super trait + more narrow traits)

- Hierarchical Structure of Psychoticism: based around aggression, egocentrism, creativity,

impulsivity, lacking empathy, anti-social (more common in AMAB individuals)
 6

- Hierarchical Structure of Extraversion-Introversion: extroversion; sociable, active, lively,

introversion; more serious, prefer to be on their own
- Hierarchical Structure of Neuroticism: based on anxiety, irritability, guilt, lack of self-esteem,
moodiness

Circumplex:

- Jerry Wiggins; began with lexical, trait terms: kinds of ways people differ from one another
 Interpersonal Traits: connections between people, dyadic: social exchange with
consequences for the individual (x, y) = (love, status)
 Love = emotional, communion = connection together, morality, opposite =
dissociation
 Status = social, agency = power, mastery, assertion, opposite = passivity
 Temperament Traits: nervous, gloomy, excitable
 Character Traits: moral, principled, dishonest
 Material Traits: miserly, greedy
 Attitude Traits: spiritual
 Mental Traits: clever, logical
 Physical Traits: healthy, tough
- Adjacency: how close to each other
- Bipolarity: having an opposite end to the trait
- Orthogonality: perpendicular, zero correlation between traits

Five-Factor Model:

1- Extraversion or surgency: talkative-silent, sociable-reclusive, adventurous-cautious, open-

secretive
2- Agreeableness: good natured-irritable, cooperative, negativistic, mild/gentle-headstrong, not
jealous-jealous
3- Conscientiousness: responsible-undependable, scrupulous-unscrupulous, persevering-quitting,
fussy/tidy-careless
4- Neuroticism or emotional instability: calm-anxious, composed-excitable, not hypochondriacal,
hypochondriacal, poised-nervous/tense
5- Openness – intellect or openness to experience: intellectual-unreflective/narrow, artistic-non-
artistic, imaginative-simple/direct, polished/refined-crude/boorish

Big Five Inventory: self-report scale, measures individuals along a spectrum of five main factor
dimensions; each factor has its own subfactors

- Background: developed in the 1980’s, started with a giant data set of personality traits and
response; narrowing down the data revealed five main factors. These factors are equally
influenced by genetics and environment.
- Open-Mindedness: curiosity and imagination, ready for new experiences
 Subfactors: intellectual curiosity, aesthetic sensitivity, creative imagination
 High: more creative, awareness of feelings, may hold unconventional beliefs, may be
unpredictable, may engage in risky behaviour
 Low: perseverance focused, focus on science and data, close-minded (rigid)
 7

- Conscientiousness: organization of environment, showcasing self-discipline, striving for

achievement
 Subfactors: organization, productiveness, responsibility
 High: organized, goal-driven, stubborn
 Low: flexibility, spontaneous, may be disorganized, lacks reliability
- Extraversion: eagerness to interact with the outside world, receives positive boost from
interacting with others, likes high energy activities and situations
 Subfactors: sociability, assertiveness, energy levels
 High (Extraversion): enjoy interacting with others, full of energy, enthusiastic, likes to
be the centre of attention, assert dominance
 Low (Introversion): quiet, low-key, less involved in the social world, not shy or
depressed; need less stimulation from the outside world
- Agreeableness: tendency for wanting the world to get along, social trait, highly correlated with
better interpersonal relationships
 Subfactors: compassion, respectfulness, trust
 High: wanting others to get along, concerned with others’ well-being, kind, generous,
trusting, trustworthy, willing to compromise, optimistic view of humanity
 Low: self-interest, less likely to help others, suspicious, unfriendly, uncooperative,
competitive
- Negative Emotionality (Neuroticism): experiencing negative emotions, low tolerance for stress
- Subfactors: anxiety, depression, emotional volatility
- High: emotionally reactive, very sensitive to stress, views the outside world as
threatening, often in a bad mood, pessimistic
- Low: harder to upset, calm, emotionally stable, freer from negative feelings

Links to Outcomes:

- Academic Success: High conscientiousness, low negative emotionality

- Academic Dishonesty: Low conscientiousness, low agreeableness
- Alcohol Abuse: High extraversion, low conscientiousness
- Happiness: High conscientiousness, low negative emotionality
- Forgiveness: High agreeableness, low negative emotionality
- Aggression: High negative emotionality, moderate agreeableness
- Success: High extraversion, high openness, high conscientiousness
- Leadership: High extraversion, high agreeableness, high conscientiousness, low negative
emotionality
- Have kids: High extraversion, low negative emotionality

HEXACO Model: developed by researchers at Brock University, adding 6th factor, adapting previous
factors

- (H) Honesty-Humility: sincere, honest, faithful

 High: avoid manipulating others, not tempted to break rules, no need for wealth or
luxuries
 Low: use falsity to achieve goals, rule breaker, sense of self-importance
- (E) Emotionality: emotional, oversensitive, sentimental, fearful
 8

 High: fear of physical dangers, high anxiety to stress life, need emotional support,
empathetic
 Low: low worry in high stress situations, do not share concern with others, emotional
detachment
- (X) Extraversion: outgoing, lively, sociable
 High: feel positively about themselves, confident in front of others, enthusiastic and
energetic
 Low: feel unpopular, awkward in social settings, feel lower energy
- (A) Agreeableness: patience, tolerance, gentle
 High: forgiving of others, lack of judgement, compromise and cooperate, control their
temper
 Low: hold grudges, stubborn, critical
- (C) Conscientiousness: organized, disciplined, careful
 High: organize time and environment, work towards goals, strive for perfection
 Low: avoid difficult tasks or challenges, will accept some errors, impulsive
- (O) Openness to experience: intellectual, creative, innovative
 High: aware of beauty in art and nature, curious in learning, imaginative
 Low: little intellectual curiosity, avoid creative pursuits, avoid radical ideas

Theories Pros Cons

Eysenck & Hierarchical
Wiggins & Circumflex
Big 5 Factor Model
HEXACO
- Heritability of traits - Other traits have heritability
- Links between traits - Not covering all potential
traits
- Explicit definition of - Limited to two dimensions
interpersonal behaviours
- Identify gaps
- Easy for understanding - Lack of psychological
others processes
- Links to outcomes
- Expansion of personality - Is a 6th category necessary?
into dispositional
domains
- Cross-Language

Dark Triad: Three “dark” traits that are linked with disruptions and transgressions on a social scale
(Socially malevolent, emotional coldness, deceitfulness, aggressiveness)

- Machiavellianism: cunning, deceptive, exploitive, manipulation of personal ties

- Narcissism: tendency towards grandiosity, entitlement, superiority, excessive attention-seeking
behaviour
- Psychopathy: high impulsivity, thrill-seeking, low empathy, low anxiety, selfishness, antisocial
behaviours

Chapter 4: Theoretical and Measurement Issues

Personality Assessment Risks: participants be careless, fake reports, Barnum statements

 9

Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): personality based on 8 core preferences, forced-choice format

- Extraversion – Introversion
- Sensing – Intuition
- Thinking - Feeling
- Feeling - Perceiving

Sensing: Intuition Thinking Feeling

Introverted Conserver Visionary Analyst Conscience
Extraverted Activist Explorer Director Nurturer

Hogan Personality Inventory: adapting the Big-Five to the business world, based upon a supported
theory (No adverse impact based on gender, race and ethnicity)

- Primary Scales:
 Adjustment: self-confidence, self-esteem, oppositive of neuroticism
 Ambition: initiative, leadership
 Sociability: extraversion, need for social interaction
 Interpersonal Sensitivity: warmth, charm, good relationships
 Prudence: self-discipline, responsibility, conscientiousness
 Inquisitiveness: imagination, curiosity
 Learning Approach: enjoying learning, staying current
- Occupational Scales:
 Service Orientation: attentiveness, pleasant, courteous
 Stress Tolerance: handling stress, staying calm
 Reliability: honesty, integrity, organized
 Clerical Potential: follow directions, attention to detail, clear communication
 Sales Potential: energy, social skills, solve customer problems
 Managerial Potential: leadership skills, planning, decision-making abilities

Chapter 5: Personality Stability

Dispositional Personality:

- Meaningful Individual Differences:

 Differential Psychology: study of differences among people
- Consistency Over Time: maintenance of personality across time (predictability)
- Consistency Across Situations: maintenance of personality across different scenarios,
environments and interactions (predictability)
 Situationism: how we act in different situations
 Person-Situation Interaction:
 Aggregation: (when disposition and situation collide) using behaviour in different
situations to look at how we generally behave

Situational Personality:

- Situational Specificity: how do we act when placed into a specific situation

 10

 Strong Situation: everyone would generally act the same in this situation
- Situational Selection: how we select situations based on our personality
- Evocation: how we can trigger a reaction/response with our personality in someone else
- Manipulation: how our personality can change around others based on their personality

Personality Development: identifying how we develop our personalities over time

- Rank Order Stability: maintenance of individual position within a group (stronger/higher-

weaker/lower)
 Test-Retest Reliability: evaluating the position of an individual at different points in time
 Compared to other people, doesn’t happen very often
- Mean Order Stability: constancy of level, how we behave (on average)
 About the individual, generally changes with time
- Personality Coherence: can we track personality from earlier to later?
 Inside: underlying personality stays the same
 Outside: behaviour may change

Personality Change:

- Internal: our sense of self

- Enduring: lasts over time, not a temporary change
- Measurement:
 Population Level: humans tend to change across development
 Group Differences Level: how groups can be different
 Individual Difference Level: how individuals are different from each other, why do some
people react differently than others

Temperament: individual differences in emotion, activity level, and attention, present since birth

- Sensitivity, intensity of reaction, activity level, adaptability (transitions), approach & withdrawal,
persistence, rhythmicity, quality of mood, distractibility
- Temperament: Parenting, socialization, friends, life experiences = personality

Thomas & Chess (1977): Vocabulary to categorize children: easy babies, difficult babies, slow-to-warm
babies

Rothbart’s Temperament: Vocabulary of different traits on sliding scales: Extraversion/surgency,

negative affect, effortful control, affiliativeness

Behavioural Inhibition: appears early in life and demonstrates stability across development
(neurobiological reactions)

- Infants and Toddlerhood: negative reactions to novelty (unknown), withdrawal from novel,
unfamiliar social and non-social situations
- Older Children (in novel social contexts): hyper-vigilance, fearfulness, withdrawal

Psychosocial Outcomes of Behavioural Inhibition:

 11

- Social Difficulties: poor social skills, low quality peer relationships, perceived social
incompetence
- Academic Difficulties: lower academic achievement, poorer school readiness
- Psychopathology: 4-7 times as likely to develop social anxiety disorder, 50% of children with
behavioural inhibition will develop an anxiety disorder

Measurement of Behavioural Inhibition:

- Longitudinal Studies: follow-ups on individuals and how they progress

Chapter 6: Genetics and Personality

Genetics: Nucleus – Chromosome – DNA

Genome: the entire combination of DNA and genes to create the individual

Chromosome: 46 chromosomes, 2 pairs of 23 chromosomes, chain of data made of DNA, identifies

whether certain traits will be expressed or not

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid; molecules that store information for creating proteins, made up of adenine,
thymine, cytosine, guanine and phosphate backbone

Gene: small section of chromosome, carries information for heritability of traits, variations in the genes
(allele)

Genotype: differences on a genetic level, inherited

Phenotype: observable characteristics, not inherited, influences by genotype, can be influenced by

environment

Behavioural Genetics: nature vs. nurture, how much of our behaviours and personality attributed to
environmental factors and how much are attributed pre-birth

Molecular Genetics: trying to identify specific genes associated with personality traits

- DRD4 Gene: Chromosome 11: linked to dopamine

- Long-repeat DRD4: higher in novelty and risk-taking behaviours, not as responsive to dopamine
and therefore searches for it in external stimuli
- Short-repeat DR4D: less risk-taking behaviours, brain already has enough dopamine

Stanford-Binet and the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Test:

- originally designed for disability purposes to determine which children might require additional
support to achieve academic success

Eugenics Movement:

- Eugenics: improving human population through controlled breeding

Heritability: statistic, degree to which genetic differences cause difference, proportion of phenotype
variance that is attributable to genotypic variance

- Heritability: likelihood of getting a trait, not necessarily genetics

 12

- Inherited: passed down via genetics (ex: disease)

1 High: no environmental influences, all genetics

0.75
0.5 Moderate: equal contribution by environment and genetics
0.25
0 Low: no genetic influence, all environmental influences

Genotype-Environment Interaction: reaction (how individuals with different genotypes respond to the
same situation

Genotype-Environment Correlation: selection, exposure

Genotype-Environment Relations: passive effects. evocative effects, active effects

Selective Breeding: choosing traits that we want to continue in a lineage (physical traits, temperamental
traits)

Family Studies: studies how much similarity can be found within a family

- Individuals receive 50% of their genes from each of their genetic parents, siblings share 50% of
genes
- Possibility for environmental factors to cause differences between family members (shared vs.
non-shared environments, different upbringings)

Twin Studies: identical twins share 100% of the same genes (monozygotic), fraternal twins share 50% of
the same genes (dizygotic, like any other sibling)

Adoption Studies: well-known study method for behavioural genetics

- Children raised away from their biological parents' strong similarities to biological parents are
considered genetic influences, differences are considered environmental influences
- Selective Placement:

Method Pros Cons

Selective Breeding Infer heritability
Family Heritability estimates
Twin Heritability and environmental
estimates
Adoption Heritability and environmental
estimates, avoids equal
environment violations
Non-ethical for human
population
Violation of equal environment
assumption
Can violate equal environmental
assumption
Selective placement, not always
representative of population

Behavioural Genetics Statistics:

- Personality Traits:
 Negative emotionality and extraversion (0.54-0.60) (moderate)
 13

 Activity level (0.40) (moderate)

- Attitudes and Preferences:
 traditionalism (0.59) (moderate)
 occupations: 71% of genetic children showed heritability of occupational preference, 3%
of adopted children
 religion (0) no genetic influence

Chapter 7: Physiology

Physiological Systems: functioning organs within the body: the nervous system (brain and nerves), the
cardiac system (heart, arteries and veins), and the musco-skeletal system (muscles and bones)

Theoretical Bridge: bridge between personality dimensions of interest and physiological variables

Brain Structures:

- Frontal Lobe: Motor control, problem solving, speech production

- Parietal Lobe: Touch perception, body orientation, sensory discrimination
- Temporal Lobe: Auditory processing, language comprehension, memory/information retrieval
- Occipital Lobe: Sight, visual reception and interpretation
- Cerebellum: Balance and coordination
- Brain Stem: involuntary responses

Phrenology: inaccurate, dated, theory; how the shape of your skull explains your brain structures &
functioning

Brain Injury: allows to identify before and after injury

- Broca’s Aphasia: induces damage to a certain section of the brain, affecting verbal
communication
- Phineas Gage: experiences changed in personality after traumatic injury causing damage to the
frontal lobe (became less agreeable, short-tempered)
- Patient KC: injury following a motorcycle accident (and several other head trauma injuries),
causing him to experience amnesia and personality change (less risk-taking, quieter and more
careful), diffuse damage

Computed Tomography (CT): series of x-rays put together to create a 3D image of the brain, allows
viewing of general structure of the brain, presence of fluid in the brain

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): magnet moves water molecules in the brain, radio waves
(resonances) encourage water molecules to create signals, allows for ‘sliced’ images of the brain,
bleeding, tumours

Brain Function: parts of the brain involved in a task, and how they connect to other parts of the brain
(induce stimuli to the brain and observe its reactions)

- Electroencephalography (EEG): use of evoked potentials (EPs), watching brain response to

stimuli, measures through scalp skin conductance
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): shows area of the brain that are working during
a task (follows the tracking of blood flow)
 14

- Positron Emission Tomography (PET): requires use of radioactive material injection, traces the
path of materials through the brain marked by radioactive materials (blood flow, oxygen,
glucose metabolism, drug uses)
- Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DT): uses a regular MRI machine to track how water molecules move
in and around the fibres connecting different parts of the brain. DTI gauges the thickness and
density of the brain’s connections.
- Functional Near-Infared Spectroscopy (fNIRS):

Central Nervous System (CNS): brain and spinal cord, brain uses nerves to send messages to the rest of
the body

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): connects the central nervous system to the rest of the body via nerves

Somatic Nerve System: guides voluntary movements

- Sensory Input: senses (touch, sight, smell, taste, sound)

- Motor Input: fine motor skills, gross motor skills

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): guides unconscious movements

- Sympathetic: stress response (fight or flight)

 physical indications of the fight or flight response: pale or flushed skin, dilated pupils,
trembling, rapid heartbeat and breathing
- Parasympathetic: resting response (rest and digest)

Cardiovascular Activity:

- Cardiovascular: heart and associated blood vessels (measured by heart rate and blood pressure)
- Respiration: breathing rate (functions in combination with cardiovascular activity)

Skin Conductance: electrodermal activity, measures the autonomic system (fight or flight response,
sweat indicators), can be elicited by sudden noises, mental effort, pain or emotional reactions (anxiety,
fear, guilt)

Hormones:

- Cortisol: stress response

- Testosterone: aggression, competitiveness

Neurotransmitters: tested through blood

- Dopamine: pleasure
- Serotonin: mood stabilizer
- Norepinephrine: stress response

Eye Tracking: follows individuals’ eye movements, areas of interest and attention

Physiological Measure Physiological System Psychological Response Examples of Stimuli

System used in Research
Electrodermal Activity Sweat gland activity Anxiety, startle, guilt, Noise, mental effort,
controlled by effort, pain emotional stimuli,
 15

sympathetic nervous painful stimuli

system
Cardiovascular Activity Blood pressure and Fight or flight response, Stress, social anxiety,
heart rate controlled mental effort, stress effort, high cognitive
by autonomic nervous load
system
Electroencephalogram Brain’s spontaneous Brain activation, Resting with eyes
(EEG) response to electrical alertness closed, reading
activity
Evoked Brain’s electrical Attention, recognition, Brief sensory stimuli,
electroencephalogram activity in response to cognitive processing emotional stimuli
(EEG) specific stimuli
Neuroimaging (fMRI, Brain’s energy Specific brain areas Wide variety of tasks
PET) metabolism responsible for that activate these
cognitive control, psychological
emotion, memory, responses
pain, decision making,
sensory processing
Antibodies Immune System Immune response to Virus, bacteria, stress
infection, stress
Testosterone Hormone system Aggression, Tasks involving
(steroid) competitiveness, competition,
psychological drive and aggression, attraction
libido, muscle bulk
Cortisol Hormone system Stress response Life events, stress,
(adrenal) anxiety stimuli
Serotonin, Dopamine, Neurotransmitters Transmission of specific Rewarding stimuli,
MAO, etc. nerve signals emotions

Eysenck & Reactivity:

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS): (theoretical) structure in the brain stem thought to
measure cortical arousal (determines resting arousal level)

- Introverts: Higher (ARAS) levels, determines external stimuli as overwhelming

- Extroverts: Lower (ARAS) levels, determines external stimuli as helpful/comforting

Optimal Level of Arousal: all individuals have a level where arousal is useful vs. stressful (motivation vs.
overload)

Arousal Response: when presented with moderate levels of stimulation, some individuals show
enhanced physiological reactivity responses

- Introverts: need less stimulation to reach optimal level of arousal, over-arousal is a risk factor
- Extroverts: need more stimulation to reach optimal level of arousal, under-arousal is a risk factor

Reactivity: how we respond to stimuli and the environment around us

Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory:

 16

- Behavioural Activation System (BAS): responsive to incentives and regulates approach behaviour
(cues of reward - approach motivation)
 approach drive, rewards, new experiences
 responsible for the personality dimension of impulsivity (seeks out positive emotions
and stimuli)
 impulsivity: don’t learn well from punishment, more likely to engage in dangerous
behaviours
- Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS): responsive to cues for punishment and regulates approach
cease or inhibit behaviour or avoidance behaviour
 withdrawal drive, fear of consequences, unfamiliarity, novelty
 responsible for the personality dimension of anxiety (at risk for negative emotionality;
fear, anxiety, sadness)
 anxious: don’t trust rewards, less likely to engage in novel or risky situations, considered
as self-limiting/closed-off
- Moderate BAS and BIS: not necessarily introverted, not necessarily outgoing; fearful, but still
want to engage in social, novel world

Sensation-Seeking: seeking out new and exciting stimuli, has a higher optimal level of arousal

- Gambling: winning as positive emotion/sensation and motivator (high sensation-seekers are at

risk for gambling behaviours
- Study: are video-game microtransactions similar to traditional slot-machine gambling? (rarity of
certain rewards heighten arousal, increase paying for rewards)
- Results: Rarity = greater arousal, more positive emotions, more urge-inducing, obtaining reward
items gave similar arousal to earning money via slot-machines (increased urge to find & open
more boxes = paying for more rewards)

Neurons:

- Dendrites: Bring information in

- Axon Terminals: Take information away

Neurotransmitters: (communication between dendrites and axon terminals)

Monoamine Oxidase (MAO): enzyme, monitors levels of neurotransmitters

- High MAO: not enough neurotransmitters = less nerve transmission (dulled sensation, lethargy)
 low sensation seeking, risk averse
- Low MAO: too many neurotransmitters = too much nerve transmission (lots of sensory
information, agitation)
 high sensation seeking, risky behaviour

Dopamine: pleasure, feel-good neurotransmitters

- High Dopamine: competitiveness, aggression, low impulse control, ADHD

- Low Dopamine: low motivation, low concentration, ADHD

Serotonin: mood stabilizer

 17

- High Serotonin: too much regulation, low arousal

- Low Serotonin: not enough regulation, anxiety, depression

Norepinephrine: stress, fight or flight system

- High Norepinephrine: worry, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, mania

- Low Norepinephrine: low arousal and motivation, fatigue, depression, ADHD

Tri-Dimensional Personality Theory (Cloninger): three personality traits and three neurotransmitters

- Novelty-Seeking: linked to Dopamine

- High NS: consistently seeking thrill, novelty and exploration, unpredictable
- Average: equally tolerant of novelty and routine, average excitability and levels of
engagement and disengagement with others
- Low NS: resists novelty, requires routine, organized, orderly
- Harm Avoidance: linked to Serotonin and its regulation
- High HA: constantly fearful, cautious, inhibited, shy
- Average HA: adaptive, anxious in proportion to objective risk, willing to take calculated
moderate risks
- Low HA: carefree, energetic, outgoing, optimistic
- Reward Dependence: linked to Norepinephrine
- High RD: low norepinephrine, emotional, sensitive to social pressure, persistent, ambitious,
- Average: average emotional warmth and social attachment
- Low RD: socially detached, self-determined, insensitive to social cues or pressure

Trait Brain System Neurotransmitter Behaviour

Novelty-Seeking Behavioural Activation Dopamine Exploratory, avoidance
of punishment and/or
boredom, motivation
to seeking potential
rewards
Harm Avoidance Behavioural Inhibition Serotonin Avoidance of
punishment and
novelty
Reward Dependence Behavioural Norepinephrine Works towards reward
Maintenance or avoid punishment

Personality Style Novelty Seeking Harm Avoidance Reward Dependence

Antisocial High Low Low
Histrionic High Low High
Passive-Aggressive High High High
Explosive High High Low
Obsessional Low High Low
Schizoid Low Low Low
Cyclothymic Low Low High
Passive-Dependent Low High High
 18

Baseline Settings:

- Reactive: outside world triggers the personality

- Non-Reactive: even before reactive

Brain Asymmetry: measured via EEG, differences in alpha waves (less alpha wave = more reactivity)

- Left-Side Hemisphere Activation: pleasant emotions, greater reactivity and processing positive
stimuli, generally happy, more susceptible to mania
- Right-Side Hemisphere Activation: unpleasant emotions, greater reactivity and processing
negative stimuli, more susceptible to stress, anxiety and depression

Circadian Rhythms (Circa = around, Dia = days): biological process that operates around 24/25-hour
cycle (body temperatures, endocrine system)

- Short biorhythm: “Early birds” = approx. 22-hour rhythm, peak temperatures and alertness early
in the day (energy earlier in the day, sleepy earlier)
- Long biorhythm: “Night owl” = approx. 26-hour rhythm, peak temperature and alertness later in
the day (harder to wake up, later to go to sleep)