Deck 7: The Neuroscience of Personality

Question 1

A technique for studying brain structure that use radio frequency waves is known as

A) MRI.
B) CT scan.
C) radio scan.
D) GSR.

Answer 1

MRI.

Question 2

It is most likely that you will employ ____________________ in your procedure.

A) fMRI
B) EEG
C) PET
D) EMG

Answer 2

fMRI

Question 3

The nervous system is made up of the central nervous system and the

A) spinal cord.
B) peripheral nervous system.
C) autonomic nervous system.
D) cerebrospinal system.

Answer 3

peripheral nervous system.

Question 4

According to the textbook, all of the research that has been done to explore physiological and neurological differences in personality fits into one of the following categories

A) brain programming.
B) brain structure.
C) brain activity.
D) biochemical activity.

Question 5

You already have brain images, but now your team would like to see the activity of the brain in response to high pitched sounds. You are most likely to use which of the following techniques?

A) CAT scan.
B) evoked potential.
C) EEG.
D) electromyography.

Question 6

A technique for looking at brain activity that uses radioactive glucose-like substance is called

A) evoked potential.
B) electroencephalogram.
C) functional magnetic resonance imaging.
D) positron emission tomography.

Question 7

A technique for studying brain structure that uses high-resolution x-rays is known as

A) fCAT.
B) MRI.
C) a brain X-ray.
D) a CT scan.

Question 8

All of the following are characteristics of temperament

A) Relatively stable across the life span.
B) Unique to Homo Sapiens.
C) Present from early childhood.
D) Expressed through general energy level

Question 9

If you are interested in studying the biochemical activity of the brain you might focus on any of the following

A) galvanic skin response.
B) neurotransmitters.
C) hormones.
D) drug responses.

Question 10

They may unintentionally bias their results by selecting the wrong regions of the brain. This potential problem is called the _____________ error.

A) observer
B) nonindependence
C) selection
D) bias

Question 11

All of the following are neurotransmitters

A) epinephrine
B) monoamine oxidase
C) dopamine
D) serotonin

Question 12

This technique is called

A) electroneural stimulation.
B) transcranial magnetic stimulation.
C) evoked potential.
D) brain switching.

Question 13

Which of the following is a chemical used in the brain to regulate the availability of several neurotransmitters?

A) glucosamine
B) 5-HT
C) monoamine inhibitor
D) monoamine oxidase

Question 14

Brain activity is measured by all of the following

A) cortical stimulation.
B) cytology.
C) fMRI
D) transcranial magnetic stimulation

Question 15

In addition to its research potential, transcranial magnetic stimulation has been used to treat

A) depression.
B) schizophrenia.
C) ALS.
D) chronic pain syndrome.

Question 16

All of the following are problems that a researcher needs to keep in mind when their research uses methods of looking at brain activity to find areas of brain localization

A) Seeing that an area is active to a given response could mean that it is indeed the center responsible for that activity or it could mean that it was the area their technique focused on and another brain region is actually more important.
B) If a region responds to stimulation it is difficult to tell if that region is necessary or sufficient for that activity. Perhaps it is sufficient only if other parts are also involved.
C) If a PET scan finds increased glucose consumption in response to a stimulus it is hard to decide if this is because that region is important to that activity or if that region is damaged and, as a result, requires more glucose to do minimal processing.
D) Many regions of the brain contain mirror neurons that fire with considerable activity when other regions fire even though their firing has no functional connection to the first region's activity.

Question 17

Research using control groups suggests that mindfulness meditation

A) does nothing better than the control condition.
B) does reduce blood pressure, but has no psychological effects.
C) can change how the brain functions, making people more open to positive emotions.
D) can change how the brain functions, producing both positive and negative changes.

Question 18

It is likely that you will focus on levels of all of the following

A) monoamine oxidase.
B) serotonin.
C) norepinephrine.
D) GABA.

Question 19

All of the following problems are raised

A) Thoughts start within milliseconds whereas blood flow takes about 2 seconds.
B) Objections about the danger of the radioactivity used in the techniques are raised.
C) The expense of the equipment means only small sample sizes can be used.
D) The nonindependence error is raised.

Question 20

The brain is protected by

A) cerebrospinal fluid.
B) the ventricles
C) the parasympathetic system.
D) redundant programing.

Question 21

Extraversion and Neuroticism are related to structural differences in the

A) CNS.
B) amygdala.
C) reticular system.
D) thalamus.

Question 22

The psychologist who developed the "PEN" model is

A) Gray
B) Eysenck
C) Cloninger
D) Butcher

Question 23

All of the following are evidence of the biological nature of the traits in Eysenck's model

A) There is evidence that the three factors exist in diverse cultures.
B) The is great consistency in the measures of the Eysenck traits over long time periods.
C) All three Eysenck traits have moderate heritability traits.
D) For at least one trait, psychoticism, a specific allele has been found to cause it.

Question 24

Two main areas of the brain show differences in size depending on personality differences in Extraversion and Neuroticism: the cortex and the

A) cerebellum.
B) amygdala.
C) adrenal cortex.
D) cingulate.

Question 25

Is called

A) Neuroticism.
B) Impulsivity.
C) Psychoticism.
D) Extraversion.

Question 26

You will be looking for methods of assessing the activity in which the regions of the brain?

A) cerebellular systems
B) ventricular systems
C) cingulate gyrus
D) frontal regions of the cortex

Question 27

The lack of positive emotion is a state called

A) Neuroticism.
B) Aneroticism.
C) Anhedonia.
D) Psychoticism.

Question 28

In the reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) the system that is hypothesized to resolve conflicts is called the ______________ system.

A) fight-flight-freeze
B) behavioral inhibition
C) approach-avoidance
D) conflict-resolution

Question 29

Impulsivity is similar to Eysenck's concept of Psychoticism that Eysenck's third factor contains an element of

A) hallucinations.
B) delusions.
C) antisocial behavior.
D) impulsivity.

Question 30

You have focused your attention on the reticular activating system, which is activated when an individual attempts to focus attention on an object or task. Based on Combe's observation about cerebral blood flow you would be most likely to adopt which procedure?

A) The use of drugs such as Ritalin to improve blood flow
B) The development of a virtual reality game that rewards concentration
C) The introduction of transcranial magnetic stimulation procedures
D) The use of a biofeedback mechanism

Question 31

A new advance in fMRI called ________ can trace the diffusion of water in brain cells highlighting connections between cortical and subcortical regions.

A) PEt
B) TMS
C) EEG
D) DTI

Question 32

Eysenck theorized that the reason people high in Neuroticism were vulnerable to negative emotions is that they had overactive or over sensitive _____________.

A) sympathetic nervous systems
B) parasympathetic nervous systems
C) cerebral cortexes
D) pineal glands

Question 33

In one study by Wright, people high in __________ had less gray matter in parts of the left hemisphere than people low in ___________.

A) Introversion; Introversion
B) Extraversion; Introversion
C) Neuroticism; Extraversion
D) Neuroticism; Neuroticism

Question 34

Each of the following is one of these basic systems

A) Fight-flight-freeze.
B) Reinforcement.
C) Behavioral approach.
D) Behavioral inhibition.

Question 35

All of the following are brain regions currently theorized to be involved in the three temperaments of Neuroticism, Extraversion and low impulsivity

A) nucleus Accumbens (NAcc)
B) hippocampus
C) parietal lobe
D) amygdala

Question 36

When did he make this observation?

A) 1790
B) 1836
C) 1918
D) 1972

Question 37

According to theory and research people with strong BAS are more sensitive to ____________while people with a strong BIS are more sensitive to ____________.

A) disgusting smells; pleasant smells
B) smell; taste
C) reward; punishment
D) punishment; reward

Question 38

This logic was at the heart of the 18^th century science of

A) witchcraft.
B) phrenology.
C) dialectics.
D) neurology.

Question 39

Contemporary thinking suggests that people may drink frequently or excessively either as a means of gaining a reward or

A) as a means of avoiding punishment.
B) as a way of acting against society.
C) because they are incapable of inhibiting a response.
D) because they are addicted to alcohol.

Question 40

Eysenck theorized that introverts had greater cortical arousal than extraverts, particularly in the

A) adrenal gland.
B) thalamus.
C) cerebral cortex.
D) reticular activating system.

Question 41

An enzyme found in the brain that regulates the availability of dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine is called _____________.

Question 42

In choosing subjects you are interested in subjects who have a short allele of a serotonin transporter that causes them to have less serotonin in their system, but it's also likely that this group would be using an SSRI, a group of drugs that reduce serotonin re-uptake. So you are looing for people high in _____________ who are not currently using an SSRI.

A) Extraversion
B) Psychoticism
C) Anxiety
D) Neuroticism

Question 43

Eysenck's third factor, in which people tend to be loners, egocentric, manipulative, hostile, and withdrawn, is called_______________.

Question 44

_________ studies brain structure using radio frequency waves.

Question 45

All of the following are a subscale of this test

A) experience seeking.
B) fear seeking.
C) disinhibition.
D) boredom susceptibility.

Question 46

The theorists Jeffrey Gray developed the ___________ ____________ theory.

Question 47

Gray's second brain-behavior system, which organizes reactions to appetitive stimuli, is called the _______ _______ system.

Question 48

Richard Davidson, using fMRI, found that which group had the most extreme left asymmetry ever discovered?

A) Depressed, schizophrenic patients off their medications
B) Extremely extroverted children
C) Tibetan monks with over 10,000 hours of meditation
D) Prisoners with over 10,000 hours of solitary confinement

Question 49

Eysenck is associated most closely with the _______ model.

Question 50

In their search for the biological basis of personality, nearly all major personality typologies converge on three primary _________________: Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Impulsivity.

Question 51

A line through the cloud of points in a scattergram that estimates the correlation between two variables is known as a _______________ line.

Question 52

Research suggests that extraverts have greater ________ activity than introverts in general

A) dopamine
B) serotonin
C) GABA
D) estrogen

Question 53

In responding to novel stimuli, as measured by GSR, heart rate changes, etc., high sensation seekers are more likely to react with a(n) _____________ reflex while low sensation seekers are more likely to react with a(n)_______________ reflex.

A) orienting; defensive startle
B) defensive startle; orienting
C) attention; avoidance
D) avoidance; attention

Question 54

According to the textbook, the _______________ cortexes are more active during negative emotions, whereas the ________________ are more active during positive emotions.

A) thalamic; frontal and prefrontal regions
B) left frontal and prefrontal; right portion of these regions
C) right frontal and prefrontal; left portion of these regions
D) parietal; limbic regions

Question 55

When the right side of a brain region responds or functions differently than the left side of the same region, it is called

A) brain asymmetry.
B) left-right asymmetry.
C) left-right anomaly.
D) This does not occur in human brains.

Question 56

Research has found evidence that ____________ makes people more open to experiencing positive emotions and less likely to reactive to negative emotions,

Question 57

In ______________, a radioactive glucose-like substance is injected into the brain and a person is placed in a scanner similar to a CT scanner.

Question 58

For Eysenck, the fact that his three factors occur in diverse cultures suggested a _________, rather than a cultural, explanation.

Question 59

Sweating is measured by _____________ skin response.

Question 60

All of the following show correlations with sensation seeking and impulsivity

A) MAO.
B) norepinephrine.
C) dopamine.
D) serotonin.

Question 61

Describe the attributes of the three primary temperaments, on which nearly all personality typologies agree.

Question 62

In 1998 Hans Eysenck suggested that "there must be biological intermediaries between DNA and personality…" Briefly discuss what Eysenck meant by this.

Question 63

Extraverts have a higher concentration of gray matter in the left __________ than introverts, and people high in Neuroticism have a lower concentration of gray matter in the right ___________ than people scoring low in Neuroticism.

Question 64

Briefly describe the brain and behavioral changes evidenced by the controlled study of meditation in the textbook.

Question 65

Your research team has focused on the structure of the human amygdala. During your research you have noticed that there are individual differences in the structure of the amygdala. One of your team is suggesting that your data may connect with research in personality and may offer an opportunity to replicate some findings from that field. Describe the areas of potential overlap and the types of personality data you may wish to incorporate into your studies.

Question 66

Briefly describe the three neurological systems defined by reinforcement sensitivity theory (Gray).

Question 67

A recent advance of fMRI technology that can give detailed pictures of the brain and can highlight connections between cortical and subcortical regions is called __________.

Question 68

Describe the three basic pieces of evidence that led Eysenck to conclude that basic differences in personality are genetic and biological in nature.

Question 69

Much evidence suggests that high sensation seekers either have higher levels of ________ or are simply more reactive to that neurotransmitter than low sensation seekers.

Question 70

Franz Joseph Gall developed the science of _________, which suggested that certain functions of the brain are localized in parts of the cerebral cortex.

Question 71

Introverts are more sensitive to fluctuations in the neurotransmitter __________ in the brain as a result of sensory input, which may explain their preference for quiet and solitude.

Question 72

Evidence suggests that people who score high on measures of Gray's behavioral inhibition system (BIS) are more sensitive to _______________.

Question 73

Research suggests that high ___________ seekers have greater pain tolerance, higher Extraversion, less hypochondriasis, and higher sensory thresholds compared to low sensation seekers.

Question 74

Extraversion and Neuroticism are each correlated with activity in the temporal and frontal parts of the cortex, areas that control consciousness (frontal) and ____________ (both temporal and frontal).

Question 75

______ is the extent to which people have lowered social inhibitions and enjoy letting loose in the company of others, without a thought about decorum, proper behavior, or social norms.

Question 76

A consistent finding in personality research is that a central difference between Extraversion and Neuroticism is in how emotions are experience. Discuss.

Question 77

Compare and contrast the method and results of one procedure for studying brain structure and one for studying brain activity.

Question 78

____________ seeking is the seeking of varied novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, and legal risks for the sake of the experience.

Question 79

Describe the current nature of and uses for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Question 80

Briefly describe the relationship between diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and phrenology. Ddescribe the type of information that can be gathered by DTI.