PSYS 270 Writing Assignment 3 Neuroticism is a dimension of temperament that can potentially play a role in disorders. Barlow and colleagues (2014) provide an understanding of this role, through the triple vulnerability theory. The theory incorporates: general biological vulnerability, general psychological vulnerability, and specific psychological vulnerability all interacting in the development of an emotional disorder (or neuroticism itself), particularly anxiety and mood disorders. Neuroticism is the tendency to experience frequent, intense negative emotions associated with a sense of uncontrollability in response to stress (Barlow et al. 2014). Those who have a neurotic temperament are not characterized by, but generally have negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, and irritability, along with some physical problems (e.g. asthma, cardiovascular disease). A neurotic temperament can be problematic and develop into something serious. Better understanding neuroticism and applying the triple vulnerability theory will help with the treatment and prevention of mood and anxiety disorders. Neuroticism is 40% - 60% heritable (Bouchard & Loehlin) so it is important to consider genetic contributions as part of the biological factors of this theory. There is a stronger genetic contribution in younger individuals with neuroticism traits as compared to older adults (more environmental influence) (Laceulle et al., 2013). Structures such as the amygdala
Biological theories suggest genetics have a big part to play in personality. Some have suggested that people with high cortical arousal are introverts who avoid stimulation. While individuals with low cortical arousal are extroverts who look for stimulating
What role, if any, does temperament seem to be playing? . Temperament plays a major part
The tendency to be emotionally reactive, anxious, susceptible to stress, hostile, and insecure would describe the traits of a person with neuroticism or neurotic tendencies, neuroticism is rated low on effectiveness according to the Factor Five Model. Goodall’s attempts to gain access to chimpanzee’s habit required hours of quiet reflection and meditation, she sat for weeks before the first chimp approached her. This kind of diligence and perseverance is not expected from a person with neurotic tendency. Nor do I see neurotic qualities in myself.
Many of our personality traits are developed by the interactions that we have had with others during our informative years. Our behavior is a reflection of our own personality and there is considerable evidence to show that personality can be inherited. Genetics are particular molecular structures of genes, as it is explained through science the effect that these genes have on our behavior and our body’s actions throughout our lives. Both the Endocrine System and Heredity have a large influence on human behavior. They determine our moods, irritability, and even our level of energy, even though the environment still plays a huge role. These personality genes, work by changing the structure of neurotransmitters, or receptors or emitters in the brain, which affects how our brain cells communicate with each other.
On the other hand, there are people arguing that our personalities our moulded purely by external factors such as family, friends, teachers, and society as a whole (Spaulding, 2009). What is certain is that our heredity and DNA can carry traits which make us susceptible to mental disorders and psychopathology, which can have serious affects on personality (Spaulding, 2009). For instance, Down syndrome children have difficulty in communicating and understanding thus, causing them to be slow learners and anti-socialites. A person with a hypothalamus lesion may experience obesity or underweight that is beyond his or her control. However, the aspect of environmental influence (nurture) should not be entirely excluded. For instance, a person who has two obese parents can grow to be healthy and slender as healthy food is available for him or her.
They will often have strong reactions to even minor negative events and have a hard time handling stressful situations. Conversely, someone who is low on neuroticism will rarely experience strong negative states and will be much more stable emotionally. They will generally stay calm and handle stressful situations well. Choosing neuroticism as our second independent variable allows us to fill gaps in the previous research by examining the possibility of implicit egotism caused by negative self-associations and learning more about how personality traits affect implicit egotism.
What is temperaments and how is it formed? Temperament is the way a person or in this matter a child or infant would behave or react to an event or their environment (Cook & Cook, 2014). A temperament is formed by nature and nurture, all thought an infant is born with an “innate tendency” the temperament will form as the infant parents reinforce this temperament (Cook & Cook, 2014). Some infants are born more sociable, and others might be shy and even afraid of most things (Cook & Cook, 2014). Everyone needs to feel accepted, and children are not far behind, is important they feel accepted even if their temperament “isn’t easy to handle” or just a breeze temperament (Zerotothree, 2010). A child’s temperament and personality can be a something they have inherited from the infants’ parents, but the environment where the infant grows is just as important as the genetics (Cook &
Neuroticism is characterized by emotional instability, impulsivity, hostility, self-consciousness, and proneness towards stress (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Individuals who are high in hostility are more inclined to interpret ambiguous behaviour as provocative and react in a defensive, aggressive, or distrustful manner. This leads these individuals to experience
Temperament is a person 's characteristic, biologically based way of approaching and reacting to people and situations (Thomas & Chess, 1977 p.146). Also, temperament may affect not only the way children approach and react to the outside world but also the way they regulate their mental, emotional and behavioral functioning (Rothbart, Ahadi & Edans, 2000) p.147). The most important approach to deal with temperament is to sit with a child, to understand his or her behavior, most children are self-awareness of exploring things on their own involving cognitive thinking children must understand that others might have options about the wrongness or rightness of their behavior different from their own before they can understand and feel these
The study of temperament can be used to understand the role of heredity in development. Infants show a variety of temperament in their first week of life. Some infants are irritable, difficult and unpredictable while others are easy, cheerful and relaxed.These inborn traits tend to persist in throughout their lives. The emotionally reactive newborns tend to be most reactive 9 months old, exceptionally shy children were most often the shy 13 year old and emotionally intense preschoolers tend to be emotionally active adults. Additionally, the identical twins have similar temperament compared to the fraternal twins.
The term personality refers to the characteristics that one is made up of, the influences over time, and overall reactions that occur through different stimuli. It has been defined by different people as the theatrical mask we put on, the social dimension of the individual and the reference to who one really is. Scientifically it has been defined as the study of those things that make us individuals, or a pattern of relatively stable traits. Theorists such as Carl Rogers and Sigmund Freud, amongst others, focused on different aspects of what personality is and what it is made up of. Karen Horney’s theory of personality focuses around neurosis, which develops over time and is influenced by other factors in a person’s life. Neurosis is defined as “a relatively mild mental illness that is not caused by organic disease,
Neuroticism is a condition that leads to heightened emotionality in response to almost any difficult situation (Schultz, 2015, p. 229). A person with low levels of neuroticism would have an even temperament and be calm, oppositely; a person with high levels would be angry and out of control.
Another cultural influence on infants’ development is temperament. According to (Nilsen, 2014), she suggested that along with attachment comes infants’ temperament that is an inborn characteristic trait, in that the appearance of emotions are express by infants’ reflexes, joy, and cries that vary in intensity. Some infants express contentment or joy motionless, while other actively express these emotions. Their intensity of their cries also differs, depending on their temperament instead of their discontent, and change over time by influences that have impacted their emotions such as human interaction (Nilsen, 2014). In accordance, (Bremmer and Wachs, 2010) added that temperament is also affected
Personality is a large part of being human, as each person has a unique set of characteristics and traits. One person can be kind and patient and another can be rude and ill tempered. This variability is both what makes the study of personality fascinating and incredibly difficult. Although there are a myriad of different personality traits that can be used to describe a person, psychologists have narrowed it down to five overarching ideas. These are commonly referred to as the “Big Five” personality traits and they consist of, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness. In particular, this study will focus on neuroticism, the trait that is characterized by high emotionality and instability, anxiety, and irritability (Soto, John, Gosling, & Potter 2011). Of the five, neuroticism is the only one with a negative connotation, which separates it from the others. Nonetheless, despite its poor reputation, neuroticism is an incredibly important trait to study as it is often linked with anxiety and depression (Soto et al., 2011). For example, one study found that participants who were clinically depressed and those who were not but scored highly on the neuroticism scale both had significantly greater negative self-perceptions (Thomson, 2016). Although currently there is only a correlation between these mental disorders and neuroticism, further experimentation could lead to more conclusive result. Recently, mental health has
Some psychological models assert that a proportion of our personality is inborn and permanent (Hollander, 1971), that a psychological core at the center of our personality gives us enduring, inner characteristics. Hans Eysenck (1965) suggests that our motivation and emotion are related to biological differences in brain function and proposed that 75% of our personality is based on genetic influence and 25% on environmental influence. Research by Peter Whybrow (1999) on identical twins separated at birth examined how their different environments shaped their personalities. He found that around 40% of personality should be credited to genetics, with 60% determined by outside factors.