Plan for Today

Plan for Today• Clicker review of material from last time– (opportunity to test ResponseWare for mobile

phones)• Lecture (Caspi et al. Ann Rev Psychol 2005)– Defining T&P– Continuity and change

• Take-home critical thinking questions– I’ll review the procedures for submitting, grading,

Review of Material From Last Time

• Questions provide examples of the kinds of items that will be featured on exams

• Questions highlight the key conceptual and methodological points from last time

In his 1968 book Personality and Assessment, Walt Mischel argued that the primary determinant of moods, thoughts, and behavior is

A. The situation, because T&P at most predict outcomes r = .30 (9% variance)

B. T&PC. Both

The situation, b

ecause ... T&PBoth

0% 0%0%

But contemporary science suggests that moods, thoughts, and behavior are determined by

A. The situationB. T&PC. Both

The situation

T&PBoth

0% 0%0%

Trait-like individual differences in T&P are strongly predictive of…

A. Academic performance (above & beyond IQ)

B. Marital stability & satisfaction

C. Mental & physical health and wellbeing (morbidity)

D. Death (mortality)E. All of the above

Academic p

erform

ance (..

Marital st

ability & sa

tisfa...

Mental & physi

cal healt

Death (morta

All of th

e above

0% 0% 0%0%0%

Correlation and variance “explained:” If two variables are correlated R = .50, the amount

of variance accounted for is:

A. 0.50 * 0.50 = .25 = 25%

B. 0.50 / 0.50 = 1 = 100%C. Sqrt(.50) = .7071 =

70%0.50 * 0.50 = .2

5 = 25%

0.50 / 0.50 =

1 = 100%

.50) = .7

071 = 70%

0% 0%0%

Longitudinal research studies…

A. Provide strong evidence that antecedants (childhood) predict consequences (adulthood), a precondition for establishing causation

B. Complex, costly, and time-consuming

C. Can not prove causation, because they do not manipulate the putative cause of the outcome

D. All of the above Provide st

rong evid

ence t...

Complex, costl

y, and tim...

Can not p

rove causation,...

All of th

e above

0% 0%0%0%

Moffitt et al PNAS: What is C/SC?

A. Do things by the book; follow rules

B. Prefer order and neatnessC. Planful; not impulsiveD. Able to delay gratification;

self-disciplined (marshmallow test)

E. Focused; not easily distractedF. All of the above Do th

ings by th

e book; f...

Prefer order a

nd neatness

Planful; n

ot impulsiv

Able to delay gratification...

sed; not e

asily dist

All of th

e above

0% 0% 0%0%0%0%

Which features of modern culture tend to magnify the impact of individual differences in T&P, such as C/SC?

A. LongevityB. Risk exposure (fast food

nation)C. The relatively high

prevalance of psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse

D. All of the aboveLo

ngevit

Risk exposu

re (fast

food n...

The relatively

high preval...

All of th

e above

0% 0%0%0%

Moffitt et al PNAS: Key results: Childhood C/SC predicted mid-life

A. Composite measure of health

B. Composite measure of personal wealth

C. Incarceration, criminal conviction and other indices of public safety

D. All of the above Composite m

easure of he...

Composite m

easure of pe...

Incarceration, cr

iminal co

All of th

e above

0% 0%0%0%

Moffitt et al PNAS: Key results: Which is true?

A. Kids with low C/SC are prone to smoke, become parents, and drop out of school as teens

B. Teen snares explain the negative adult outcomes experienced by many kids with low C/SC

C. Teen snares are only part of the story. Might make more sense to target the root cause (low childhood C/SC) for intevention, rather than teen symptoms

D. All of the above Kids with

low C/SC are ...

Teen snares e

n the ...

Teen snares a

re only part

All of th

e above

0% 0%0%0%

Today’s Conceptual Roadmap• Are T&P fundamentally different?

• How are T&P organized? How many factors?

• How are emotion and cognition incorporated into these factors? Are some factors more ‘infused’ with cognition than others?

• Are some traits, such as N/NE, categorically “bad?”

• Are individual differences in T&P fixed and immutable vs. plastic and malleable? Should we be optimistic about the possibility of positive change and growth?

PSYC 210:Fundamental

Dimensions of T&P

AJ Shackman04 February 2014

Are temperament and personality categorically different?

Historical and Intuitive (Folk Psychological) Perspective:Temperament and Personality are Different in Kind

Temperament: Enduring differences that reflect the nature of the person• “the way you act”• “more animal, more reflexive or automatic”• “true self”• “born with, one’s nature, innate”• Early appearing, biological, genetic

Personality: Enduring differences that reflect the nurture of the person• “tendency to feel or express particular emotions”• “mix of attitudes and emotion, cognition, and behavior”• “developed or acquired” • “regulation or management of (emotional) expression in the service of goals”• Later appearing, reflective of experience and the environment, more complex and sophisticated

Historical and Intuitive (Folk Psychological) Perspective:Temperament and Personality are Different in Kind

Temperament: Enduring differences that reflect the nature of the person• “the way you act”• “more animal, more reflexive or automatic”• “true self”• “born with, one’s nature, innate”• Early appearing, biological, genetic

Personality: Enduring differences that reflect the nurture of the person• “tendency to feel or express particular emotions”• “mix of attitudes and emotion, cognition, and behavior”• “developed or acquired” • “regulation or management of (emotional) expression in the service of goals”• Later appearing, reflective of experience and the environment, more complex and sophisticated

Contemporary Scientific Perspective:Temperament and personality are fundamentally…

a. Differentb. Similar

Different

Simila

Contemporary Scientific Perspective:Temperament and Personality are Fundamentally Similar

By definition, temperament traits appear earlier in life.

Given the brain’s level of maturity at birth, temperament trait are necessarily less sophisticated or complex ; cortical circuits involved in planning and regulation do not come on-line til later

But, both temperament and personality traits are

• Instantiated in the activity of the brain• Identifiable in non-human animals • Show similar levels of genetic influence• Can be influenced by experience

• “Differences in the experience and expression of positive and negative emotions are at the heart of some of the most important temperament and personality traits…Temperament and personality traits increasingly appear to be more alike than different.” – Caspi ‘05

How are T&P structured? How many dimensions?

Trait psychologists have always been contentious about how best to slice up personality, and disagreements have abounded over whether one way or another is fundamental.

—CS Carver & MF Scheier TiCS 2014

T&P Can Be Conceptualized as a Hierarchy of Traits

Zentner et al. 2012; cf. Caspi et al 2005

Broad‘umbrella’ traits

Narrow‘facet’ traits

3 Broad Super-Factors

Neuroticism / Negative Emotionality (N/NE)

Caspi et al. ARP 2005

N/NE• Emotion: susceptibility to negative moods

• Appraisal: experience the world as distressing or threatening

• Motivation: aversive / defensive; tendency to work hard to avoid punishment

N/NE is primarily conceptualized in terms of emotional reactivity and motivation, making it the easiest to translate to nonhuman models, such as monkeys, rats, and mice

Extraversion / Positive Emotionality (E/PE)

Extraverts (High E/PE)• outgoing, expressive, energetic, & content to lead (dominant)

Introverts (Low E/PE)• quiet, inhibited, lethargic, & content to follow• not to be confused with Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality (N/NE)

High E/PE‘Extravert’

Low E/PE‘Introvert’

Core features of E/PE are less clear, but seem to include

• Emotion: susceptibility to positive moods

• Appraisal: see the world as a series of opportunities for reward

• Motivation: appetitive motivation; tendency to work hard to approach rewards and incentives, especially social rewards and social attention

Core features of E/PE are less clear, but seem to include

• Emotion: susceptibility to positive moods

• Appraisal: see the world as a series of opportunities for reward

• Motivation: appetitive motivation; tendency to work hard to approach rewards and incentives, especially social rewards and social attention

The emphasis on social dominance (leadership) and enjoyment of social attention differs from the comparatively pure emphasis on emotion/motivation that we saw with N/NE

That is, the superfactors are not mirrors of one another

Self-Control/Constraint (SC/C)

SC/C• High SC/C: responsible, attentive, careful, persistent, orderly, and planful

• Low SC/C: irresponsible, unreliable, careless, and distractible

Self-Control/Constraint (SC/C)

SC/C differs from the other superfactors in key ways

• Emphasis on cognition (e.g., selective attention)

• Reduced emphasis on emotional reactivity and motivation

• Increased emphasis on complex, uniquely human qualities (e.g., responsibilty)

• Reflects the origins of many self-report measures of personality• Personnel selection for military occupations (WW I and II)

• SC/C is complex• combination of complex, late-maturing cognitive capacities and

emotion/motivation (e.g., sensitivity to negative feedback)

• Again, the 3 super-factors are not totally parallel constructs

Hierarchy of Broad Narrow Traits

2 more specific (lower-order) traits

1. Anxious Distress [Basic Emotion = Fear]• inner-focused (feeling bad)• anxiety, sadness, insecurity, & guilt• motivation = withdrawal• this specific trait is more closely related to Big 5 Neuroticism

2. Irritable Distress [Basic Emotion = Anger]• Outward-focused (feeling angry or thwarted)• Motivation = approach• hostility, anger, jealousy, frustration, and irritation

Akin to distinction between internalizing (anx/depression) vs. externalizing (antisocial behavior) disorders

There is robust evidence that anxious and irritable distress have distinct neural substrates, suggesting that not all ‘negative’ emotions can be lumped together

2. Irritable Distress [Basic Emotion = Anger]• outward-focused (feeling angry or thwarted)• motivation = approach• hostility, anger, jealousy, frustration, and irritation

Akin to the distinction in psychiatry between internalizing (anx/depression) vs. externalizing (antisocial behavior) disorders

There is robust evidence that anxious and irritable distress have distinct neural substrates, suggesting that not all ‘negative’ emotions can be lumped together (Eddie Harmon-Jones)

Four specific (lower-order) traits1. Low Social Inhibition/Shyness

• reluctance to act and feelings of discomfort in social encounters• multidimensional trait combining low approach, high NE, and high

behavioral avoidance

2. High Sociability• preference to be with others & seek close relationships• may tap approach/PE

3. High Dominance• assertive and confident, to exert control over others, and to capture and

enjoy others’ attention

4. High Energy/Activity

Key Take Home: Even narrow traits are messy!

Four specific (lower-order) traits1. Low Social Inhibition/Shyness

• reluctance to act and feelings of discomfort in social encounters• multidimensional trait combining low approach, high NE, and high

behavioral avoidance

2. High Sociability• preference to be with others & seek close relationships• may tap approach/PE

3. High Dominance• assertive and confident, to exert control over others, and to capture and

enjoy others’ attention

4. High Energy/Activity

Key Take Home: Even narrow traits are messy!

Six lower-order traits

1. Low Impulsivity

2. High Selective Attention

3. High Achievement Motivation

4. High Orderliness

5. High Responsibility

6. High Conventionality

Six lower-order traits

1. Low Impulsivity• planful, cautious, and controlled vs. incautious, careless/carefree, and

impulsive

2. High Selective Attention• Selective attention: more immune to distractions, focused• Cognitive control: regulation of attention and behavior when prepotent

and habitual responses are not sufficient to achieve goals (cf. Shackman et al Nature Rev Neuro 2011)

3. Achievement Motivation• strive for high standards and pursue goals over time in a persistent,

determined manner

4. Orderliness• neat, clean, & organized vs. sloppy and disorderly• maps closely onto Big Five Conscientiousness

5. Responsibility• dependable vs. undependable

6. Conventionality• uphold traditions & norms• strongest predictors of avoiding risky behaviors (substance abuse)

Zentner et al. 2012

Effortful control involves both cognitive and emotional traits,

underscoring the idea that T&P is not just mood or emotion regulation

T&P = Emotion + Cognition

Traits Interact to Predict Outcome

Zentner et al. 2012

Traits do not act in isolation, but interact to predict important outcomes, e.g.,

Depression = High N/NE + Low E/PE

(double whammy effect: intense distress to threat and negative outcomes AND reduced sensitivity to rewards and positive experiences that might lift mood)

Are particular traits good or evil?

Or are they adaptive to the extent that they are a good fit with the environment (e.g, occupation, level of danger in one’s neighborhood)

Are particular traits good or evil?

Or are they adaptive to the extent that they are a good fit with the environment (e.g, occupation, level of danger in one’s neighborhood)

Most traits are a double-edged sword

“Parents should appreciate that each of these [traits] has advantages and disadvantages

A technological economy requires a college education. Students with higher grade point averages in high school are more likely to be accepted at better colleges and therefore have a higher probability of attaining a gratifying, economically productive career.

High-reactive children [kids who are reticent, inhibited, and distressed by strangers and novelty] raised in middle-class homes are more concerned with academic failure and therefore more likely to have an academic record that will gain them admission to an excellent college.

Adolescents who were high-reactive infants often choose locations that allow them to work in environments where they can control the level of uncertainty. Such work allows some control over each day’s settings and events, keeping unanticipated interactions with strangers to a minimum. In addition, high-reactives tend to avoid risk and are therefore less likely to drive at high speeds, experiment with drugs, engage in sex at an early age, or cheat on examinations.”

Continuity & Change:

Fixed or flexible?

Caspi et al., ARP 2005

Students:

How do we quantify the stability of individual differences in T&P?

Which statistical test?

Measuring ContinuityTest-retest correlations over time

• R = 0.4 to 0.6 (16 to 36% variance) over periods of one to several years

• Similar estimates across traits (N/NE vs. E/PE), assessment techniques (ratings, observers), and sexes (males/females)

• Does childhood temperament predict adult personality?• Significant but modest R’s = .20 to .30 (4 to 10% variance)

• Is T&P fixed and unchanging across the decades of the complete lifespan?• No! R’s = .20 to .40 (4 to 36% variance)• You might not recognize the 70 y.o. based on an assessment in late childhood• There is considerable room for plasticity, growth, and intervention!

Individual Differences in T&P Are Significantly But Modestly Stable Across the Lifespan

• R = 0.4 to 0.6 (16 to 36% variance) over periods of one to several years

• Similar estimates across traits (N/NE vs. E/PE), assessment techniques (ratings, observers), and sexes (males/females)

• Does childhood temperament predict adult personality?• Significant but modest R’s = .20 to .30 (4 to 10% variance). Kids ‘grow out of

it’ to some degree

• Is T&P fixed and unchanging across the decades of the complete lifespan?• No! R’s = .20 to .40 (4 to 36% variance)• You might not recognize the 70 y.o. based on an assessment in late childhood• There is considerable room for plasticity, growth, and intervention!

Individual Differences in T&P Are Significantly But Modestly Stable Across the Lifespan

C&C: Key Points• In our culture it is widely believed that you are born with a ‘certain

temperament’ or disposition, that remains with you throughout life.

• This is certainly true, but T&P is not fixed.

• If anything, the extant longitudinal data suggests that T&P is remarkably plastic, certainly more plastic than fixed, at least over longer time frames

• Hope! Therefore, intervention makes a lot of sense. T&P is stable, but not that stable.. This underscores the potential positive impact of well-designed interventions and means that personal growth is a serious possibility.

• Your childhood (or even middle aged) T&P is not your destiny!!

Skip this next chunk if low on time

These data beg the question:

What explains continuity in traits; why isn’t T&P even more malleable?

What Are the Mechanisms Supporting Continuity & Impact?

Traits affect interpersonal relations

1. Selection: People select their interactional contexts• Choose partners who resemble them• Create interpersonal experiences that reinforce initial tendencies

2. Exposure: T&P influence exposure to relationship events• E.g., N/NE are more likely to be exposed to daily conflicts in their relationships

3. Reactivity: T&P shape reactions to others’ behavior• E.g., N/NE are more likely to escalate negative affect during conflict

4. Evocation: T&P evoke behaviors from partners that contribute to relationship quality

• E.g., N/NE are prone to express deleterious behaviors (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, & stonewalling)

What Are the Mechanisms Supporting Continuity & Impact?

Traits affect interpersonal relations

1. Selection: People select their interactional contexts• Choose partners who resemble them• Create interpersonal experiences that reinforce initial tendencies

2. Exposure: T&P influence exposure to relationship events• E.g., N/NE are more likely to be exposed to daily conflicts in their relationships;

(Aside: exposure to other events, e.g., teen shares)

3. Reactivity: T&P shape reactions to others’ behavior• E.g., N/NE are more likely to escalate negative affect during conflict

4. Evocation: T&P evoke behaviors from partners that contribute to relationship quality

• E.g., N/NE are prone to express deleterious behaviors (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, & stonewalling)

Some Key Ideas from Today

What is T&P?Trait-like individual differences in emotional and cognitive biases that first emerge early in life (but continue to evolve for many years) that account for consistency in behavior, inner experience, and risk across time and contexts

Can be relatively simple (e.g., anxious distress) or complex and multiply determined (orderliness)

Organized into 3 broad-band factors (N/NE, E/PE, and C/SC) that show some continuity across life

Critical Thinking QuestionsReadingT&P can influence outcomes by evoking effects in others, as with a child and mother. Describe a real or hypothetical example of an evocative effect and briefly talk about how this might reinforce a trait and contribute to its stability over time.

LectureThe 3 broadband traits (E/PE, N/NE, and C/SC) and their narrow-band constituents are messy, and seem to include mixtures of overlapping motivations, emotions, and cognitions

Ultimately, this multi-dimensional messiness impedes the search for neurobiological and molecular (genetic) substrates (e.g., there is no circumscribed set of genes or brain circuits for something as complex as punctuality).

What kinds of research strategies would help us to circumvent this issue and accelerate progress to understand the “wetware” underlying T&P?

Critical Thinking Questions: How ToLength: 1 paragraph per question (i.e., total of 2 separate paragraphs) for a total of ~0.5 – 1 page (12 pt font; single-spaced)

Due: 9:00am Thursday

Submit: “Assignment” tab in Canvas

Upload: Word document (.doc or .docx)

Grading: 1 (full credit), 1⁄2 (half-credit), 0 (no credit). At the end of the semester, your two lowest response grades will be dropped.

The End

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