New Research in Personality Theory Term Paper

Total Length: 602 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

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Personal Psychology

Describe and discuss the nature-nurture dichotomy as it relates to personality psychology; the key associated areas of research; and the key research findings.

The study of personality progresses in tandem with advances in neuroscience and behavioral studies, fields that reflect the nature-nurture dichotomy of human development. The word dichotomy is misleading in that it describes a division between two mutually exclusive and contradictory elements or conditions. Yet, contemporary research in personality indicates that there is not an actual nature-nurture dichotomy. Instead, experts assert that, "Both genetic and environmental factors are important to personality" (Krueger & Johnson, 2008, p. 287). Indeed, new conceptual and methodological advances have shifted research questions from a focus on which influences are the strongest in personality development and expression to a focus on determining how "genetic and environmental influences actually come together to shape personality" (Krueger & Johnson, 2008, p. 287).

A molecular psychology of personality is being shaped by a perfect storm of innovation in noninvasive brain mapping, molecular biology, and genetics.

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Brain mapping technology enables neuroscientists "to associate personality traits with individual difference in brain structure and function" through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and electroencephalograms (Canli, 2008, p. 311). Innovations in molecular biology and genetics enable the identification of genetic variations that can now be mapped through a synergistic new field of study called "imaging genetics" (Canli, 2008, p. 311). Canli asserts that an agentic view of personality -- in which an individual acts to change his or her own environment -- is missing from these new lines of research. Canli's observation is pivotal to the eventual development of psychological thought that does not rest on "the individual as a passive recipient of environmental and genetic input" (2008, p. 323).

Building on the seminal work….....

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"New Research In Personality Theory", 20 March 2014, Accessed.17 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/new-research-personality-theory-185543