Biological Perspective The biological perspective focuses on how our physical body affects our actions. Our body affects our actions in two main ways, genetics and external stimuli. Through our genetics, the biological perspective asserts that we are predisposed to have certain personality characteristics. Our Brains Ourselves pg. 12. These personality characteristics, whether it be shyness, depression, aggression, or thrill-seeking, affect how we react to different situations whether we intend them to or not. This is a central underlying theme of the biological perspective; our bodies affect our actions. This is also true when it comes to our bodies being exposed to external stimuli. Our bodies prefer a sense of homeostasis. When this stability is interrupted, whether it be through temperature, malnourishment, or stress, our bodies react negatively. Whether we recognize it or not, these conditions can affect our attitudes and decisions. The type of evidence the biological perspective seeks is evidence of how our physical bodies are affected. As I mentioned before, two common ways our bodies are affected are through our genetics and external stimuli. Both affect our body which in turn affects our behavior. Displacement Theory …show more content…
However, the displacement theory focuses more on the influence asserted by our unconscious mind or psyche than our physical bodies. As the Precursors of the Concept of Enemies and Allies article explains, from birth we are all faced with internal conflicts. We are trying to identify a concept of what it means to be an individual. As we mature, our minds find a variety of ways to cope with those conflicts. Some examples of these coping mechanisms are externalization, projection, and displacement. As our mind copes in these ways, it can inadvertently affect our
Biological focuses on the body and brain being the dominant influences of behavior and thinking.
A layman would define personality as an individual’s characteristics in terms of how they think and behave. Many theorists, however, interprets personality differently resulting in various personality theories. Personality is determined by traits which are behaviours displayed by a person in most given situations. How a person reacts to common circumstances may also be used to foresee future behaviours. Traits are then categorized into types that allow easier comparisons to be made between each individual’s attributes. The focus of this paper would be on the biological aspects of personality whereby traits are thought to be inheritable through genetics and associated with the central nervous system. Behavioural genetics are research that makes use of results from studies done on family, twins and adoptions. The findings of how both genes and environment influences personality from the studies will be discussed. Some researchers found possible issues with the representativeness of such studies. The outline of Eysenck’s biological model of personality and arousal, Gray’s BAS/BIS theory and Cloninger’s biological model of personality will further explain the biological effect on personality.
Every single individual has a personality; it is the very quintessence of human existence. Personality drives our interactions with others, our desires – conscious and unconscious, our perceived needs, and to a certain extent, even our actions. Psychodynamic approaches to personality are focused on the belief that we have virtually no control over our own personality, that it is primarily controlled by unconscious powers. Social cognitive approaches to personality centers around the belief that we still have little to no control over our own personality, and that the cognitive influence, that is to say thoughts, feelings, expectations and values – along with the observation of others behavior is the primary influence on personality. These two approaches to personality are so radically different, and yet both have their own merits – they are two of many, and nobody is quite sure what the truth is.
The main idea behind this paper was to answer this question: "Who are you?" The article makes you think about how psychologists are able to determine whether a trait being physical or psychological is hereditary, is it taught over your upbringing by your parents, or is that just part of your own personal make up. The article states that “most humans feel that the way that they act and perceive the world is built around an environmental basis rather than being a genetic trait. ”(Are You a Natural)
The biological approach to psychology makes the assumption that all behaviours are associated with changes in the brain function and that psychopathology will be caused by a disorder within the brain, neuroanatomy. Many biological psychologists tend to assume that most behaviours, normal and disordered, involve an inherited component from the biological parents. In theory this suggests that all behaviours can be related to changes in brain activity.
Neurophysiology is the study of the brains behavior. Personality affects how a person will behave in certain situations. Human’s attitudes are determined by their environments, personal preferences and dislikes all reflex their everyday actions. Personality is 50%-70% hereditary and that home environment has little impact on child development. Motivated behavior; extraverts demonstrate an increased sensitivity to reward signals. There are three criterions necessary to establish the neurobiological basis of such a personality: a) define the network of neural structures associated with the trait, b) explain how individual differences occur within the functioning of that network and c) identify the sources of individual differences. Neurobiology investigates these questions with a reductionism approach, examining chemical release at synapses and correlating such activity with behavior. Personality research has a long history in the field of psychology. Only in the last forty years, however, have scientists begun to look for biological explanations. Is it possible that eventually neurobiology will be able to explain personality on the same level as motor responses or our sense of hearing? Still, the chemical basis of personality gives us great insight into how and why we behave as we do. It can help explain why different people react differently to similar situations. Perhaps most importantly, it offers the potential to alter such behavior, from treating mild cases of anxiety to severe personality disorders.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Each bodily physiological system has an individual established set point, or level of balance; however, some fluctuations in these levels are tolerated. The balance of any system can be, and regularly is, disturbed by internal and/or external events of the mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, and/or social types. When this balance is disrupted, and involuntary mobilizations of biological processes are not able to re-establish it, an alarm reaction is activated (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). This reaction is referred to as a stress response, and the activating agent is the stressor (Selye, 1936). Recently, studies of stress have shifted from demonstrating relationships between psychological factors and somatic outcomes, to investigations of the mediational pathways involved in these associations. For example, (Cohen and Williamson, 1991) have built on the work of Lazarus’ model by suggesting that once an environmental event is encountered, it is appraised, and an affective response is made.
Biological evolution is the change in the inherited and genetic characteristics of a species. Much of what makes us human is our physical appearance and biological adaptations. Human ancestry originates in primates and over time, we have physically evolved a great deal in order to become the modern humans that we are today. Humans have larger brain sizes, longer legs, and are habitually bipedal all of which biologically separate humans from other animals and create the human identity.
Personality is patterns of thinking, behavior and emotional responses that make up individuality over time. Psychologist attempt to understand how personality develops and its impact on how we behave. Several theories attempt to explain personality, using different approaches. The social-cognitive and humanistic approaches are two of many theories that attempt to explain personality. This essay will identify the main concepts of social-cognitive and humanistic approach, identify perspective differences and discuss approach limitations.
Personality is defined as “the pattern of enduring characteristics that produce consistency and individuality in a given person” . It is the emotional qualities and behaviors that differentiates us from one another. This concept embodies the many factors that influence us to act consistently in different situations and over extended periods of time. According to the psychodynamic approaches to personality (established by Sigmund Freud), personality is “motivated by inner forces and conflicts about which people have little awareness and over which they have no control” . In this chapter, different approaches reveal the characteristics of the mind and how one’s personality performs under certain situations.
The basis of this approach is that psychological factors play a major role in determining behaviour and shaping personality. Freud argued that personality is composed of three major systems the id, the ego, and the superego. The id (biological part of personality) is present at birth and consists of inherited instincts and all psychological energies. The id operates according to the pleasure principle, seeking to reduce tension, avoid pain and obtain pleasure. The ego (executive part of personality) is conscious part of the mind, the “real” us.
Personality can affect many things in a person’s life. This includes how a person will react to a situation. One can attribute different personality traits to different dispositional or learning theories, such as linking the dehumanizing of a victim to social cognitive theory. One can make an association between interpersonal relational aspects and some of these theories. Personality is an aspect of the self that people often think about but most never truly contemplate the meaning or depth of personality.
The biological approach emphasizes physical and biological bases of behaviour. It looks at how brain functions influence different behaviours and personality. The study of nervous system has played a major role in the development of biological approach to psychology. On the other hand, the psychoanalytic approach explains personality, motivation and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, unconscious motives and conflicts. This essay attempts to explain biological and psychoanalytic approaches to psychology with focus on their core assumptions, key features, similarities and differences.
"The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all actions, feelings, and thoughts are associated with bodily events." Biological psychologists examine how all of the electrical impulses, hormones, and chemicals flowing through the body can effect behavior and how changes to these bodily functions can change behavior. They are concerned with how the aspects of biology effect peoples' emotions, learning abilities, and their perception of events.
Looking first at the personality traits most associated with the biological approach; neuroticism, psychoticism, and extroversion-introversion. With the extroversion-introversion trait