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© M. Guthrie Yarwood
Chapter 7
Physiological Approaches to Personality
1
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© M. Guthrie Yarwood2
Part Two. Biological Domain Chapter 6: Do our genes influence our
personality traits?
Chapter 7:Do our physiological systems (e.g., brain, peripheral nervous system) influence our personality traits?
Chapter 8: How are personality traits adaptive (Evolutionary Theory)?
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Chapter 7 Outline
Physiologically Based Theories of Personality Eysenck’s PEN Model Gray’s RST Model Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Theory Cloninger’s Tridimensional Personality Model
Recent Research Gray: Neurotransmitters and Brain Structures Frontal Asymmetry
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Eysencks’ PEN Model
Psychoticism Extraversion Neuroticism
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ARAS admits little
stimulation to brain
Feel under-arous
ed
Seek stimulation in environment
EXTRAVERT!
ARAS admits much
stimulation to brain
Feel over-aroused
Do not seek
stimulation in environment
INTROVERT!
Eysenck’s PEN Model: Extraversion-Introversion
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EPQ-R Items Extraversion
Are you rather lively? Are you a talkative person? Psychoticism
Would being in debt worry you? Do you take much notice of what people think?
Neuroticism Does your mood often go up and down? Are you an irritable person?
Lie If you say you will do something, do you always keep
your promise no matter how inconvenient it might be? Have you ever blamed someone for doing something
you knew was really your fault?
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Eysenck’s PEN Model: Optimal Level of Arousal
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Eysenck applied Optimal Level of Arousal (Hebb, 1955) to further explain differences between E and I
Level of arousal that is just right for any given task
Varies by individual
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Low
High
Low
High
Level of Stimulation in Environment
Perf
orm
an
ce
Leve
l
I
E
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Testing PEN:
9
Performance Mild Stimulation (caffeine; Bullock & Gilliland,
1993) Moderate Stimulation (recorded traffic noise;
Belogevic et al., 2001)
Alpha Activity (measures low-levels of arousal; Gale, 1983) I showed greater alpha activity than E.
Other studies: No differences in resting arousal
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I/E, Music, and Performance Music IV Conditions
No Music High Complexity Instrumental Low Complexity Instrumental
Personality (PEN): Introverted, Extraverted DV = reading comprehension
Results Extravert/Introvert performance not affected by
music condition Other Research found effects for I
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Eysenck’s PEN Model: Testing the theory
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No difference in resting levels
Introverts ARE more reactive to moderate levels of stimulation than extraverts
Eysenck Revised – it’s arousability, not resting arousal!
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Match the Big Five Factors to the PEN factors!
Extraversion
Neuroticism
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Openness to Experience
Psychoticism
Extraversion
Neuroticism
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Gray’s RST Theory: Sensitivity to Reward and Punishment
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3 Neural Systems1. Behavioral Activation System (BAS)2. Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)3. Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS; previously,
FFS)
Textbook: explains Gray’s original RST theory (Gray, 1972, 1975, 1990)
We will discuss his revised theory (Gray, & McNaughton 2000)
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Gray’s RST Theory: Individual Differences in 3 Systems
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• IMPULSIVITY• Motivate people to approach
rewarding stimuliBAS• ANXIETY• During goal conflict, activates BAS or
FFFSBIS• FEAR• Motivate people away from dangerFFFS
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3 Types of Goal Conflict Approach-Approach
Choose between 2 desirable goals
Avoidance-Avoidance Choose between two undesirable goals
Approach-Avoidance Same goal is desirable and undesirable
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Gray’s RST Theory: BIS Resolves Approach-Avoidance Goal Conflict
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Reward > Threat
BIS engages BAS and inhibits FFFS
Approach Behavior
Conflict Resolved!
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Gray’s RST Theory: BIS Resolves Approach-Avoidance Goal Conflict
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Threat > Reward
BIS engages FFFS and inhibits BAS
Avoidance Behavior
Conflict Resolved!
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Gray’s RST Theory: Physiological Systems
•Greater left front cortical activity•Cerebral cortex, thalamus, striatumBAS•Greater right front cortical activity•Brain stem, frontal lobeBIS•Sympathetic nervous systemFFFS
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Frontal Asymmetr
y: Does
greater activation
on one side of the
frontal lobe explain
individual differences
in personality?
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Left Frontal Lobe = More
behavioral activation than
behavioral avoidance
Right Frontal Lobe = More
behavioral avoidance than
behavioral activation
Avoid!
(Davidson 2002; Harmon-Jones & Allen, 1998 Zuckerman, 2005)
Extraversion
Approach!
Neuroticism
BAS BIS
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How does this relate to mental illness? Left Asymmetry / BAS Activation
Impulsive, over-reactive to rewards
Right Asymmetry / BIS Activation Anxiety, over-reactive to punishers
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High BIS? Low BIS? High BAS? Low BAS?
Anxiety Disorders Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Bipolar Disorders ADHD Conduct Disorder Substance Abuse Histrionic Personality Disorder Avoidant Personality Disorder Dependent Personality Disorder
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Gray’s RST Theory: Bringing It Together
High BAS High BIS
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Extraversion Positive Emotions Impulsive; over-
reactive to rewards Externalizing
Disorders
Neuroticism Negative Emotions Anxiety;
Overreactive to punishers
Internalizing Disorders
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Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking
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Tendency to seek out thrilling, exciting activities, take risks, avoid boredom
High sensation seekers: less tolerant of sensory deprivation Require much stimulation to reach optimal level of
arousal High need for stimulation in their daily lives
Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale-V (SSS-V)
4 Factors
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(Factors)
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High or Low Sensation Seeking? Young or old?
Whites or Blacks?
Religious or Not Religious?
College or High School Degree?
Divorced or Married?
Wisconsin or California?
US or France?
Saudi Arabia or Mexico?
Firstborns or laterborns?
Bipolar or Antisocial?
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Sensation Seeking by US State http://buzz.drkencarter.com/chart.html
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Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking and MAO
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Physiological basis for sensation seeking Monoamine Oxidase (MAO)
Enzyme that maintains a proper level of neurotransmitters
Too little MAO = too much neurotransmitter Too much MAO = too little neurotransmitter
Negative Correlation b/w MAO level and SS
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Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking and MAO
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High sensation seekers have low levels of MAO,
The low MAO, leads to less inhibition of other neurotransmitters
Results in less control over behavior, thoughts, emotions
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Problems with measure? (Y/N Response) TAS:
I prefer the surface of the water to the depths I would like to go scuba diving.
ES I dislike all body odors. I like some of the earthy body smells.
DIS I dislike “swingers” (people who are uninhibited about
sex) I enjoy the company of real “swingers”
BS The worse social sin is to be rude. The worst social sin is to be a bore.
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Zuckerman: Sensation Seeking and Big Five
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TAS ES Dis BS SSS
Extraversion
.30 ― ― ― .34
Openness to Experience
―.50 ― ― .37
(Aluja, García, & García, 2003)
Note. NEO-PI-R used for Big Five measures
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Overview: Neurotransmitters and Personality
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Individuals differences in levels of neurotransmitter cause individual differences in personality.
DimensionLevel of
Neurotransmitter
Novelty Seeking High Dopamine
Harm AvoidanceAbnormalities in
serotonin.
Reward Dependence Low Norepinephrine
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Dimension Description
Novelty Seeking(Active Dopamine)
Individual differences in excitability, impulsiveness, extravagance, disorderliness
Harm Avoidance(Inactive Serotonin)
Individual differences in worry, pessimism fear, shyness, fatigability; tendency to avoid pain and anxiety
Low = energetic, outgoing, optimistic
High = cautious, inhibited, shy, apprehensive; expect to experience unpleasant events
Reward Dependence(Inactive Norepinephrine)
Individual differences in sentimentality, warm communication, dependence; tendency to develop strong emotional attachments; persistent in behaving in ways that produce reward.
Cloninger’s Tridimensional Personality Model
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Active Dopamine
↑ Response to pleasurable,
exciting stimuli
High Novelty Seeking
Inactive Serotonin
↑ Response to harmful,
unpleasant stimuli
High Harm Avoidance
Inactive Norepinephrin
e
↑ Response to stimuli previously associated with
pleasure
High Reward Dependence
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Higher Levels of: O C E A N
Serotonin + + —
Dopamine+ +
Testosterone+ —
Norepinephrine+
Oxytocin/Vasopressin
+
Blood Glucose +
Gray’s Recent Research (DeYoung & Gray, in press)
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Gray’s Recent Research (DeYoung et al., 2010)
Big Five Trait
Brain Structure Corr. w/ Volume
Why?
C Lateral prefrontal cortex +
Keeping info in working memory and executing planned
action
E Medial orbitofrontal cortex + Processes info about rewards
A Cingulate cortex +Increased ability to understand others’ thoughts (i.e. theory of
mind)
N Prefontal cortex; hippocampus —
Sensitivity to threat and punishment, increased tendency to experience
negative emotion; reduced ability to regulate emotions.
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Summary: Neurotransmitters and Personality Gray’s theory links individual differences in
personality to individual differences in levels of
neurotransmitters and Individual differences in the volume of brain
structures
Frontal asymmetry is a promising area of research for individual differences in personality Left-Dominant = tendency to approach Right-Dominant = tendency to avoid
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Summary and Evaluation
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Study of personality can be approached biologically
Two ways to think about how physiological variables are useful in personality theory and research…
Use physiological measures as variables that may be correlated with personality traits
View physiological events as providing causal substrate for personality trait