Personality & Its Disorders Lecture 3 Traits Evolutionary Psychology 2024 PDF

PERSONALITY & ITS DISORDERS PSYU/PSYX3336 Lecture 3: Traits & Evolutionary Psychology A/Prof Simon Boag email: [email protected] 1 Readings (non-assessable) Buss, D. M. (2001). Human nature & culture: An evolutionary psychological perspe...

PERSONALITY & ITS DISORDERS PSYU/PSYX3336 Lecture 3: Traits & Evolutionary Psychology A/Prof Simon Boag email: [email protected] 1 Readings (non-assessable) Buss, D. M. (2001). Human nature & culture: An evolutionary psychological perspective. Journal of Personality, 69, 955-978 McCrae, R. R. (2004). Human nature & culture: A trait perspective. Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 3-14 2 Outline Universal approaches to personality 1. Trait psychology & the FFM Traits & cross-cultural evidence 2. Evolutionary psychology & culture Evvolutionary psychology & traits 3. Traits & evolution 3 Learning objectives Describe what is meant by ‘universal’ personality theories Describe & critically evaluate how trait accounts address cross-cultural differences Describe & critically evaluate how evolutionary psychology accounts for cross-cultural differences 4 Universal theories of personality Individual differences but universal human tendencies & human nature Trait psychology: traits apply to every cultural group across the world, even if there might be some variation at the individual level Evolutionary psychology: universally evolved preferences & mechanisms How do we account for cross/within-cultural variation? 5 1. Trait theories Traits: dispositions or tendencies Nomothetic approach Dominant approach in personality research Nature over nurture (but interaction) Lexical hypothesis 6 Within-individual personality “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behavior & thoughts” (Allport, 1961) What might Markus et al say here? 7 Trait accounts Five Factor Model & Five Factor Theory OCEAN model Traits: “… enduring tendencies to think, feel, & behave in consistent ways…” Traits “relatively untouched by life experience” Strong empirical basis & predictive validity DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY FFM: some findings Judge et al. (2002): meta-analysis (163 samples) ↓N ↑E associated with job satisfaction Malouff et al. (2005): meta-analysis (33 samples) ↑N ↓C, A, E associated with clinical disorders Poropat (2009): meta-analysis (N = 70,926) C predictor of uni performance, independent of ‘intelligence’ Judge, et al. (2002). Five-factor model of personality & job satisfaction: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 530-541 Malouff, et al. (2005). The relationship between the five-factor model of personality & symptoms of clinical disorders. Journal of Psychopathology & Behavioral Assessment, 27, 101-114 Poropat, A. E. (2009). A meta-analysis of the five-factor model of 10 personality & academic performance. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 322-338 Traits & culture? Traits are biologically fixed human universals “… traits are strictly endogenous, changing only in response to intrinsic maturation or other biological inputs” (Allik & McCrae, 2002) On culture: “The central dogma of FFT postulates that there is no “transfer” from culture & life experience to basic personality traits” (Allik & McCrae, 2002) 11 12 Are FFM traits universal? Method: Translate NEO into other languages Collect data from around the world Factor analysis to identify traits Do the same groupings emerge? 13 Traits & culture Factor analysis & cross-cultural research Tests of FFM in 50+ societies across 6 continents; general replication of 5 factor structure (McCrae & Terracciano, 2005) Not replicated in Bolivian indigenous sample (n = 632)(Gurven et al, 2013) Tsimane Big Two: pro-sociality & industriousness Gurven, et al. (2013). How universal is the Big Five? Jnl of Personality & Social Psychology, 104, 354-370 14 Geography of personality Traits are likely to shape culture (McCrae, 2004; Allik et al., 2017) eg. a society of introverts will be v. different from a society of extroverts Personality profiles of culture? East/west differences? Collectivism/individualism? Is there a geography of personality? 15 Traits & cultural dimensions Hofstede & McCrae (2004): 114 samples, 36 cultures Hofstede, G., & McCrae, R. R. (2004). Personality & culture revisited: Linking traits & dimensions of culture. Cross-cultural Research, 38, 52-88 16 Geographical differences (Allik & McCrae, 2004) 5 continents; N = 27,965 Ss Undergrad Ss Traits & latitude Latitude & E: r =.59 Latitude & C: r = (-).41 “… people who live farther from the equator tend to be more outgoing but less dutiful” (p. 18) 17 Cluster analysis (Allik & McCrae, 2004) Hierarchical cluster analysis Cultures with the most similar personality profiles (FFM) are linked closest Geographical proximity & personality profile similarity 18 Multidimensional scaling (MDS) MDS assigns coordinates that represent the relative distances in a reduced space (usually two-dimensional) Findings: Clustering into distinctive groups of countries or cultures Euro-American cultures distinct from Asian-African ones on FFM “European cultures tend to score high on Extraversion & Openness while African & Asian cultures gravitate toward the opposite pole, Introversion & Closeness” (Allik et al. 2017) 19 NOTE: North in the figure is associated with N (neuroticism) & East with E (extraversion) Allik, et al. (2017). Mean Profiles of the NEO Personality Inventory. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology, 48, 402-420 How large are cultural differences in personality? (Allik, et al., 2017) N = 71,870 Ss 76 samples 62 different countries 37 different languages Difficult to establish ‘true’ country ranking Personality differences across countries exist but are very small Differences b/w individuals within country > differences b/w countries 22 Cross-cultural differences “Cross-country & cross-cultural differences in personality are very small compared with within-sample differences. Differences in personality b/w aggregate personality scores of countries/cultures are about 8 times smaller than differences b/w any two individuals randomly selected from the same sample” (Allik et al., 2017) 23 Outstanding questions “… whether the patterns seen here represent real differences in personality or merely differences in self-reports. Cultures may differ in response styles or self- presentational strategies, conceivably giving rise to the differences seen here” (Allik & McCrae, 2004) Solution: using observers from outside the culture Self-reports & observer ratings show similar profiles (Allik & McCrae, 2004) 24 Outstanding questions If geographical differences in personality, then what causes them? “Personality similarities among people in close geographical proximity—if they exist— might have several causes. Shared culture, shared genes, & shared physical environment are all reasonable candidates. Unfortunately, these three classes of influence are usually confounded. People of a given culture also tend to constitute a single gene pool & to share many features linked to the physical environment…” (McCrae, 2004) 25 Genetic differences? Traits & genetics? “… in an age when the human genome has been mapped, it has become necessary to consider seriously the possibility that some national differences in personality traits may have a genetic basis” (Allik & McCrae, 2004) Genetic plot predicted to match geography findings (Allik et al., 2017) 26 Traits & genes? “… one of the most replicable findings reported in the social sciences [is that] about one-half of the total variance in personality trait scores is directly attributable to genetic differences b/w individuals & the other one-half to environmental influences” (Jang et al, 2001) Meta-analysis (134 studies): 40% personality diffs are genetic; 60% environment (Vukasović & Bratko, 2015) 27 2. Evolutionary approaches Tooby & Cosmides (1990): searching for a universal human nature Biology & evolutionary processes “There are no substantive reasons to suspect that the kind of evolutionary forces that shaped our innate psychological mechanisms are fundamentally different from those that shaped our innate physiology” (Tooby & Cosmides, 1990) 28 EP: Core assumptions Darwin’s theory of natural selection Adaptations Survival/reproductive success Psychological adaptations eg. preferences, biases Distal vs proximal explanations Interactionist framework Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness 29 Human nature: no blank slate “… our evolved psychological mechanisms are numerous, complex, specialized, & functional” (Buss, 2001) Evolved psychological mechanisms Automatic, nonconscious ‘Preparedness’ (Seligman): fear of heights, snakes, dark, strangers Perceptual biases: spotting differences rather than similarities 30 Preferences related to reproductive success Selective pressures & sex differences “… humans are predicted to have evolved motives, strivings & goal- directed proclivities that historically led to reproductive success” (Buss, 2001) DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY 31  “Women faced the problem of securing a reliable or replenishable supply of resources to carry them through pregnancy & lactation, especially when food resources were scarce (eg. during droughts or harsh winters). All people are descendants of a long & unbroken line of women who successfully solved this adaptive challenge – for example, by preferring mates who showed the ability to accrue resources & the willingness to provide them for particular women” (Buss, 1995) DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY Developments in EP 1st generation EP: trying to establish legitimacy Universal trait preferences in mates (Buss, 1989) Survey from 37 countries (Buss, 1989) Females prefer wealthy men & males prefer young, buxom women Males prefer ‘looks’ in ST & LT Females prefer status & resources in LT 33 EP & culture: Problems Bussey & Bandura (1999): EP cannot account for cultural diversity in gender roles Gender roles appear more nurture than nature Cultural differences in beauty “Human sexual arousal is driven more by the mind through cultural construction of attractiveness than by physical universals” (Bussey & Bandura, 1999) DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY 34 EP & culture: Problems Rapid shift in western gender roles “…. gender differences have been diminishing over the past decade, which is much too short a time to be genetically determined” (Bussey & Bandura, 1999) Buss (2001): let’s see if this lasts DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY 35  EP & culture: Problems Bussey & Bandura (1999): present-day lifestyle patterns & reproduction practices related to cultural & technological shifts eg contraception “The substantial modification in reproduction practices & attendant lifestyle changes were ushered in by technological innovations in contraception, not by the slow biological 36 EP & cultural differences Buss (2001): EP must account for cultural diversity & sex differences How does EP address universal human nature & cultural variation? Transmitted culture: cultural differences transmitted across individuals/groups (eg ideas & beliefs) Evoked culture: cultural differences evoked by different environments (eg 37 pathogens) EP & cultural differences Cultural differences & beauty? EP: we have evolved psychological mechanisms underlying attractiveness judgments to increase gene propagation Importance of indicators of reproductive fitness Facial symmetry & good 38 EP & cultural differences 39 Evolutionary psychology & culture “In cultures with a great prevalence of pathogens, physical appearance becomes an especially important mate selection criterion” (Buss, 2001) Gangestad & Buss (1993): pathogen prevalence & cultural emphasis on physical attractiveness: r =.71 Gangestad et al (2006): parasite prevalence predicts preference for physical attractiveness better than ‘Gender equality’: 40 41 3. Traits & evolution “… descriptions of cultural differences almost invariably gloss over important individual differences within each culture as well as the often substantial overlap between cultures” (Buss, 2001) How might traits have evolved? Natural selection Nettle (2006): Costs & benefits associated with differing environments 42 Nettle, D (2006). The evolution of personality variation in humans & other animals. American Psychologist, 61, 622-631 43 Pathogens & personality Pathogens, evolutionary pressures & traits “… when infectious diseases are more prevalent, people may adopt a more cautious & conservative style when interacting with their social & physical environment” (Schaller & Murray, 2008) ↓ O, E ↑ sexual restrictions 44 Pathogens & personality Schaller & Murray (2008) NEO FFM, Big 5 inventories 17,837 Ss in 56 different regions Female SOI & DiP (disease prev): r = -.62, p <.001 Male SOI & DiP: r = -.27, p <.066 Extraversion & DiP: r = -.26 to -.67 (-.50) Openness & DiP: r = -.24 to -.59 (-.40) 45 Pathogens & personality Compare: “… in places with historically high levels of infectious diseases, individuals have less extraverted personalities” “… in places with historically high levels of infectious diseases, extraversion is less culturally valued” What is implicated in the difference? 46 Same old story…. 47 Questions? 48