PERSONALITY & THE BRAIN

Rita Carter stated in her book, "The Human Brain," that, "personality is generally agreed to be a group of behavioral characteristics typically exhibited by an individual. Some people display the same behavior in different situations and at different times, while others are much more changeable," (p. 196).

In the human brain, particularly specified patterns of activity have been linked to many various types of personality traits; some of which may also be connected to particular expressions of certain genes or genetic mutations. For instance, an individual who naturally generates plenty of excitatory neurotransmitters may be less prone to seek thrills and excitement; as opposed to an individual who may require plenty of stimulation in order to generally experience an equally average amount of excitement and thrilling stimulation.

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT
There are many reasons as to why people may conduct a personality test; such as critically determining an individual’s personalized suitability for a particular job or promotion. There is an array of different types of personality assessments that can be optionally utilized in order to determine a person’s individual personality profile. For example, certain type tests such as the Myers-Briggs; generally categorizes people based on the predominance of certain attributes. As opposed to trait tests such as The Big Five, which does not categorize people into types, but instead, draw up a profile based on where they lie along a number of dimensions. And finally, projective test such as the Rorschach inkblot test, basically invite an individual to "reveal" aspects of their own personality by responding accordingly to various different ambiguous inkblot-type stimuli.

THE BIG FIVE (p. 197); uses the NEO-PI rather than MMPI

Identify what the five basic dimensions of personality are; in accordance to The Big Five trait test model depicted below. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct personality trait associated to each of the five basic personality dimensions.

Openness
Extroversion
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism
Agreeableness


Worried

(I.)
_______________
(C.)___________
(A.)___________
Secure
(B.)___________
(D.)____________

(E.)____________

(II.)
________________
Retiring
(F.)____________
(G.)____________
Affectionate
(H.)____________


(I.)_____________

(III.)
______________
(K.)____________
Independent
(L.)____________
(J.)_____________
Prefers Routine


Helpful

(IV.)
_________________
(O.)____________
(M.)____________
Ruthless
(N.)____________
(P.)____________


(Q.)____________

(V.)
_________________
Disorganized
(R.)____________
(S.)____________
Self-Disciplined
(T.)____________


Prefers Variety
Trusting
Weak-willed
Calm
Down-to-Earth
Careful
Self-pitying
Conforming
Imaginative
Suspicious
Insecure
Organized
Reserved
Self-satisfied
Careless
Sociable
Sober
Unhelpful
Fun-loving
Soft-hearted
MYERS-BRIGGS INDICATORS
In the illustration below, please fill in each of the lettered boxes with the correct corresponding personality term from the provided list to best complete the Myers-Briggs Indicator diagram as a whole.



(a.)
(b.)

(c.)
ISTJ
ISFJ
INFJ
INTJ
(g.)
(d.)
ISTP
ISFP
INFP
INTP
ESTP
ESFP
ENFP
ENTP
(h.)
(c.)
ESTJ
ESFJ
ENFJ
ENTJ

(e.)
(f.)
(e.)


v
Extrovert
Judging
Thinking
Intuitive
Feeling
Perceiving
Sensing
Introvert

Introduction and Overview to 3101

"Week 1" for HDEV 3101
Outline below includes relevant introductory concepts (i.e., 'quizable', or important for building upon later). This overview + Week TWO, Structure of Nervous System, make up UNIT 1.

This course will emphasize the psychological perspective on physical and cognitive development across the life span.

Discuss: Definition of psychology?

Definition(s) of 'human development'? (my three favorites; 1) a process, 2) a field of study, a certain perspective or academic approach, 3) and academic department housed in CLASS at CSUEB).

I usually take a slight tangent here during lecture to do some mass advising about two things: 1) the value and challenge of our interdisciplinary field and 2) our entire program of study and where/how/when this course fits into the Human Development Major or Minor. See CSUEB Catalog for a full description of our programs of study.

What are humans?
Answer: Animals - sub-species (homo sapiens sapiens); each human is an organism, made of organ systems/organs/tissues/cells. You should be familiar with the human body and it various parts and systems. Here is the Get Body Smart main tutorial: http://www.getbodysmart.com/index.htm

What does development mean? Change, yes, but what do we mean by "change" in humans within the lifespan? How do we talk abour or study change in humans? From the useful persepctive of biological anthropology, there are three conceptual categories or kinds of change:

1. growth
2. development
3. maturation

I'd like to add a fourth:
4. transformation

Evolution is a kind of change as well - but one that we see across generation of the same species. We often mis-use these terms to describe different kinds of change.

QuickTime brain growth: watch and discuss the kinds of change(s) this illustrates.

What is neuropsychology?

Basic functions of the brain/nervous system?
Branches of neuropsychology - main distinction is EXPERIMENTAL vs. CLINICAL

Some major conceptual issues arise when studying the human brain:
1. An inference is almost always required when correlating behavior with brain
2. The mind-body question/problem (monism, dualism and lots of sub-types), again, WHAT are we?
I like "emergent materialism"; in particular, we are a complex system, a 'biosystem', similar to an ecosystem. Out of which arises both of conciousness and our behavior, which can in turn influence the system itself.

3. If we study the brain or genetic basis of our behavior are we committing to "determinism"? That is, by focusing on human nature, do we dismiss the influence of "nurture" in human behavior? Not at all, we should NOT lose sight of the fact the the brain develops in a context - an environment that "nurtures" by way of stimulation. There are certinaly strong genetic influences on brain structure and function, but the world in which the brain is built will leave an important mark on cellular, cognitive and behavioral domains.

Five features of the historical background of neuropsychology:
1. Ancient record, archeological evidence
2. Classical Greece, philosophical but also basis for modern anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, cognition
3. Phrenology (1830), reading the bumps on your head (completely incorrect by the way)
4. Localization theory - Versus equipotentiality (note, Broca's area  discovered in 1860).

5. Interactionist theory (Jackson) - sort of how we ended up with a 'biosystem' concept

Once last related perspective - COGNITIVE SCIENCE and information processing theory - views the mind-brain as a machine, specifically a computing device. Will end up using this information processing perspective often during the quarter. But keep in mind, you are NOT a machine! you are an animal!