Browsing by Subject "Psychology, Personality"
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Item Open Access Contra-Trait Effort and Trait Stability: A Self-Regulatory Personality Process(2010) Gallagher, Matthew PatrickDespite the considerable influence of situational factors and the resulting variability in behavior, individuals maintain stable average ways of acting. The purpose of the studies presented in this paper was to investigate one possible explanation of this trait stability. It is hypothesized that contra-trait behaviors, those that are different from typical trait levels, demand more effort, or self-control, than do trait-typical behaviors. In Study 1, participants reported on the trait content of their behavior along with several other variables. In Study 2, participants completed several tasks in the lab and were instructed to act at contra-trait or trait-typical levels of conscientiousness. Support for the contra-trait effort hypothesis was found in Study 1: Participants reported that contra-trait behavior was more effortful than trait-typical behavior. In addition, habitual contra-trait behaviors, which do not require self-control, were exempt from this effect. In Study 2, no support was found for contra-trait hypotheses: Participants generally did not rate contra-trait behaviors as more effortful, and subsequent behaviors were not affected by contra-trait behaviors. The implications of the findings and the possible explanations of the non-findings are discussed.
Item Open Access Investigating the Effects of Fantasy Proneness and Instructions to Fantasize(2011) Cuper, Prudence FrancesFantasy prone individuals spend much of their time fantasizing, focusing on a rich internal world of imaginary people or stories, vivid memories, or dreams. Fantasy proneness has been linked to psychological distress and psychiatric disorders. However, few experimental studies have been conducted with fantasy prone individuals; therefore, little is known about the behavioral correlates of fantasy proneness. The current study investigated associations between self-reported fantasy proneness, as measured by a frequently used questionnaire, the CEQ, and behavior during a laboratory task of attention, the SART. A potential mood regulating function of fantasy also was explored. Results of the study support the assertion that fantasy proneness is associated with variations in behavior that can be observed in the context of the laboratory. Specifically, fantasy proneness correlated with fewer instances of on-task thought and more frequent instances of mind wandering without meta-awareness during the attention task. It also correlated with more task errors and higher levels of self-reported fantasy thought during the task (though not with higher levels of other types of off-task thought). Finally, fantasy thought was found to have a protective effect on positive affect during the mundane task. There was no relationship between fantasy thought and negative affect.
Item Open Access Molecules to Mind: the Construction of Emotion(2009) Perlman, Susan BethIn recent years, there has been increasing scientific interest in the biological basis of emotion. By characterizing the neural and genetic basis of affective functioning, new research has the potential to contribute to our scientific understanding of both typical social development and aberrant trajectories for emotional disorders. The four studies detailed here investigated the biological substrates of affective functioning from a multiple-levels-of-analysis perspective in order to understand potential interactions of genes, the brain, personality and behavior in emotion. The first study examined the relationship between personality and the ways in which individuals look at faces. Results indicated a robust positive correlation between the personality trait of neuroticism and the amount of time spent looking at the eyes of faces, especially the eyes of fearful faces. A follow up study found that subjects high in neuroticism also fixated most on fearful faces placed within an array of objects. This effect remained strong even when controlling for negative mood state. The second study involved an experimental manipulation of activity in the face processing system of individuals with autism. The results showed that by manipulating visual scanpaths to involve increased fixation on the eye region of a face, the hypoactivation of the amygdale and fusiform gyri, an established characteristic of social brain functioning in autism, was temporarily reversed. A third study investigated the neural correlates of emotion regulation across development using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results revealed increases in anterior cingulate to amygdale connectivity during episodes of regulatory demand. Magnitude of ACC activity was correlated with both age and levels of fearful temperament in children. Finally, the last study integrated the results of previous experiments and illustrated interactions among a common polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5HTTLPR), brain activity, personality, and visual scanpaths. Results contribute to the growing body of literature characterizing the development of individual differences in the perception, feeling, and regulation of emotion. In addition, these findings have the potential to inform our understanding of abnormal emotional development by detailing a complex system in which genetic vulnerability produces increased attention to emotionally arousing aspects of the environment through differential brain activation.
Item Open Access The Situational Adaptiveness of Implicit Theories of Intelligence and Achievement Goal Orientations(2009) O'Keefe, Paul AndrewPrevious research has largely highlighted the maladaptive consequences of holding an entity theory of intelligence and the adaptive consequences of holding an incremental theory (for reviews, see Dweck, 1999; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). This research, however, has largely ignored the role of the achievement context and how it may conflict with the goals that naturally arise from implicit theories of intelligence. The present research demonstrates that the adaptiveness of theories of intelligence may depend on the demands of the situation. Across two studies, the most adaptive motivation, affect, and use of self-regulatory resources was observed when entity theorists pursued performance goals and when incremental theorists pursued learning goals (fit). Conversely, maladaptive outcomes were observed when entity theorists pursued learning goals and when incremental theorists pursued performance goals (nonfit). For several achievement-related outcomes, however, this pattern of results was moderated by perceived competence, suggesting that fit may be most adaptive when confidence in abilities is high, and nonfit may be most adaptive when it is low. Implications for achievement motivation and goal pursuit are discussed.