U09 Psych 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13.1: Novelty Seeking, Amygdala, Dopamine Receptor

• School: WUSTL
• Department: Psychology
• Course: U09 Psych 100
• Professor: Rice Heather, Duchek, Carpenter

Document Summary

Personality - a person"s characteristic thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors. Personality psychologists try to understand as much as possible about him as an individual, others study how particular characteristics, such as self-esteem or shyness, influence behavior. Personality trait - a pattern of thought, emotion, and behavior that is relatively consistent over time and across situations: traits are dispositions to think, act, or feel in predictable ways in certain situations. Biological factors play a role in determining personality, which are all affected by experience. Heritability of personality - all personality traits have a genetic component. Twin studies have found that genetic influence accounts for about half the variance (40- 60%) between individuals for all personality traits, as well as in specific attitudes that reflect personality traits, such as attitudes towards the death penalty and rollercoasters. Genetic basis of traits has been shown to be the same across cultures. Evidence for genetic basis: twin studies.