PSYC 2740 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Impulsivity, Executive Functions, Cortisol
31 May 2018
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CHAPTER 7
• A physiological approach to personality
o Theoretical bridge
▪ Specific conditions
• Loud parties
▪ Personality trait
• introversion
▪ Psychological response
• overstimulation
▪ Physiological indicator
• Increased heart rate
▪ Behavioural response
• Avoidance
• Physiological measures commonly used in personality research
o Electrodermal activity
▪ Provides a measure for sympathetic nervous system activity (aka skin
conductance
▪ Common measure of
• Anxiety
• Startle
• Guilt
• Effort
• Pain
▪ Research
• Emotional reactivity thought to be elevated in those who self
injure
o Particularly with negative events/stressful tasks
o Induced stress in 2 groups and measured skin conductance
▪ Indivs with and without a history in self injury
▪ Stress induction=matching game
• Failure feedback given even when response
is correct
o Indivs who self injure
▪ Elevated skin conductance
▪ More negative emotional reactivity to stress
▪ Quit the game sooner
o Cardiovascular activity
▪ Blood pressure
• Pressure exerted by blood in artery walls
• Common measure of
o stress
▪ Heart rate
• Expressed in beats per minute
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• Common measure of
o Stress
o Mental effort
▪ Cardiac reactivity
• Increased blood pressure and heart rate in times of stress
• Chronic cardiac reactivity linked to type a personality
o Brain activity
▪ Electroencephalogram
• Measures rai’s eletrial atiit
• Common measure of
o Brain activation
o Alertness
▪ Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• Measures rai’s eerg etaolis
• Common measure of
o Cognitive control
o Memory
o Emotion
o Pain
o Decision making
o Sensory processing
• Research
o Decreased limbic activation when viewing violent images
for those high in psychopathy vs a control group who had
more reactivity
o Neuroticism
▪ Increased frontal brain activation to negative
images
o Extraversion
▪ Increased frontal brain activation to positive
images
o Other measures
▪ Biochemical analyses of blood and saliva
• Immune system functioning
o Antibodies
• Hormones
o Testosterone
o Cortisol
▪ Neurotransmitters
• Serotonin, dopamine, MAO
• Physiologically based theories of personality
o Extraversion-introversion
▪ Early theory
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Chapter 7: a physiological approach to personality, theoretical bridge, specific conditions, loud parties, personality trait introversion, psychological response, overstimulation, physiological indicator. Induced stress in 2 groups and measured skin conductance. Indivs with and without a history in self injury: stress induction=matching game, failure feedback given even when response. Increased frontal brain activation to negative images: extraversion. Increased frontal brain activation to positive images: other measures, biochemical analyses of blood and saliva. Immune system functioning: antibodies, hormones, testosterone, cortisol, neurotransmitters, serotonin, dopamine, mao, physiologically based theories of personality, extraversion-introversion, early theory, arousal level of brain, aided by ascending reticular activating system, open aras, high resting cortical arousal. Introversion: closed aras, low resting cortical arousal, extraversion, revised theory, arousability of nervous system, difference not in baseline arousability level but in their arousal response, monotonous, boring task. Introvert would perform better: nuclear plant emergency, running, shouting, extravert would perform better, sleeping.
