PSYC 332 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: David Buss, Neurophysiology, Body Fluid

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 332
• Professor: Richard Koestner

Document Summary

Trait talk = generalization (talking and characterizing about people on a daily basis: could be true and useful, but do not apply to a person"s everyday instances. Trait attributions = relative, approximations: no single trait can characterize any person too many different situations. Trait talk = a natural way to account for human individuality. Generalized behavior patterns in response to emotions. The first and fourth positions contradict: cannot be neuropsychic structures that cause the behavior if they are at the same time, fictions of the mind of observers, most contemporary psychoogistis view traits as dispositions (second position) And exist in interaction with situational factors. Traits are not simply descriptive summaries of act categories, but also have certain predictable behavioural ats (third positon) Some also believe that traits reflect brain structure and function (first position) The meaning of traits is determined by its cultural conext. History of traits: four humors: a bodily fluid associated with a particular trait.