Question

The way a person reacts to the world, starting when they are very young, including the person's activity level is known as ______________. a. traits b. temperament c. heritability d. personality

Short answer

The correct answer is b. Temperament

Step-by-step solution

Understanding the terms

Each option is an individual term used in psychology and has a specific meaning. Traits are characteristic patterns of behavior or ways of feeling and thinking that are consistent over time. Temperament refers to the aspects of an individual's personality, like introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned. Heritability is a statistic used in the fields of breeding and genetics that estimates how much variation in a phenotypic trait in a population is due to genetic variation among individuals in that population. Lastly, Personality encompasses the long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways.

Selecting the correct term

Given these definitions, we can conclude that 'temperament' is the best fit. This term refers to the innate or biologically based individual differences in physical, emotional, and attentional reactivity and self-regulation. It captures the qualities of the question in highlighting early-stage reactions and individual activity.

Key concepts

Psychological Traits

Psychological traits are fundamental features of our personality that display patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings. These traits tend to be relatively stable over time and consistent across situations. For instance, if a person is generally outgoing and social, they exhibit extroversion, which is a psychological trait. Such traits make up our overall personality and heavily influence how we interact with the world.

Traits come in various dimensions, often represented on spectrums like the Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Each person varies in degree on each of these spectrums, which combine to create a unique personality profile. Understanding psychological traits is a pivotal step in studying personality development, as they form the building blocks for an individual's characteristic patterns of behavior.

Personality Development

Personality development is a complex, lifelong process influenced by a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors. It's the evolution of individual differences in thinking, feeling, and behaving that stabilize over the lifespan of a person. Adolescence is a crucial period for personality development, where many psychological traits become more pronounced and stable.

The interplay between inherited traits, life experiences, and maturation shapes the adult personality. Various theories in psychology, such as those by Freud, Erikson, and Piaget, describe stages of development where specific conflicts or challenges must be addressed. Successfully navigating these can lead to a well-rounded personality. Personality development is not only limited to childhood or adolescent years; adults also continue to grow and adapt their personalities based on life circumstances and experiences.

Heritability in Psychology

Heritability in psychology is a measure that reflects the extent to which genetic factors contribute to individual differences in psychological traits or behaviors within a population. This measure doesn't tell us how much of a trait is genetic in one individual; rather, it speaks to the variation among individuals that can be attributed to their genetic makeup.

It is crucial to understand that a high heritability score does not mean an attribute is unchangeable or 'fixed.' Heritability estimates may vary depending on the population studied and the environment they live in. For example, in a diverse environment, heritability may be a stronger predictor of psychological traits. Conversely, in a more uniform environment, it might be less predictive. It's also important to recognize the role of epigenetics, where genes can be turned on or off by environmental influences, impacting the development and expression of psychological traits.