Exam 9: Biological Theories: Evolution, Genetics, and Biological Factor Theories

The biological foundation of personality is

Understanding other's facial expressions of emotion is a learned skill.

Traits that are influenced by genetics would be expected to have a high heritability score.

Describe temperament, and explain how it influences personality.

List and describe some ways that brain functioning contributes to personality.

Differences in emotional arousal contribute to personality differences.

Kagan's temperament types are:

How do evolutionary approaches explain altruism?

In Kagan's model, children are more likely to develop an aggressive, antisocial personality if

According to evolutionary thought, men tend to be more selective and women more opportunistic in regard to mate selection.

Evolved psychological mechanisms include all of the following except

When it comes to reproductive potential, men may choose to do which of the following?

Depression is associated with greater than normal activity in the left cerebral hemisphere.

The BAS and the BIS influence learning.

Extraverts tend to make more mistakes on vigilance tasks, compared to introverts.

Although much has been learned about personality, researchers have been unable to identify any of the specific genes or neurotransmitters that are involved in different personality dimensions.

Kagan suggests that stimulation of the __________ contributes to an inhibited temperament.

People who have a nervous system that has greater inhibitory processes are likely to be introverts.

The trait of harm avoidance is associated with

Propose a hypothetical research study relating personality to the level of any one neurotransmitter. Tell what theory supports your hypothesis, and provide operational definitions for your measures.