Before you begin this assignment please read carefully there are two parts to this discussion and the reading is attache as well.

Week 5: Biological and Behaviorist Theories

Recall the factors you studied in Week 1 that influence personality. They include genetic determinants, environmental determinants, culture, social class, family, and peers. Looking at that list, it is fairly easy to distinguish what would be considered “biological” and what would be more “behaviorist” in influence. As you begin this week, you may want to return to your Week 1 Discussion post and reflect on which factor or combination of factors stood out to you as the biggest influence on personality development. It may tell you where you naturally lean in the “nature versus nurture” debate that has fascinated psychologists for decades.

This week you will continue your exploration of theories of personality by delving into biological and behaviorist theories. You will examine different views on whether personality traits are lasting or can change over time, and, in your Assignment this week, consider how fraternal twins raised in the same household could have opposite likes, preferences, and overall personalities. As you have in every week, you will work to expand your understanding of people and personality by evaluating the effectiveness of biological and behaviorist theories in explaining human behavior.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze biological theories to understanding of temperament
• Analyze behaviorist theories to understanding of temperament
• Evaluate biological and behaviorist theories as explanations of human behavior
• Compare biological and behaviorist theories
• Apply biological and behaviorist theories in explaining personality differences
• Evaluate effectiveness of biological and behaviorist theories in explaining human behavior
• Demonstrate an understanding of biological and behaviorist theories

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings

Cervone, D., & Pervin, L. A. (2019). Personality: Theory and research (14th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chapter 9, “Biological Foundations of Personality” (pp. 242-272)
Chapter 10, “Behaviorism and the Learning Approaches to Personality” (pp. 273-300)Review these chapters of the text to support your Discussion and Assignment in Week 5. Also note that the Week 5 Test for Understanding is based on the material in these chapters.

Websites

Boeree, C. G. (2006). Personality theories: B. F. Skinner. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/skinner.html
Continue building your knowledge of noted personality theorists with this profile of Skinner. Consider the information to support your Discussion post and Assignment this week.

Spiegel, A. (2010, November 22). Siblings share genes, but rarely personalities. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2010/11/18/131424595/siblings-share-genes-but-rarely-personalities
This article, which is also available as a podcast on the website, profiles two brothers and their very different temperaments. Consider the information to support your Discussion post and Assignment this week.

Required Media

TED (Producer). (2012). Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are (21:02)
Note: You viewed this video in Week 1. View it again this week to consider how it informs your thinking on biological and behaviorist theories of personality.

Optional Resources

Plomin, R., & Daniels, D. (2011). Why are children in the same family so different from one another? International Journal of Epidemiology, 40(3), 563–582. Retrieved from http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/40/3/563.full

Discussion Spark

By Day 1

Read the Discussion Spark topic/question or comment posted by your Instructor in the Discussion Thread.

By Day 2

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a 1- to 2-paragraph response to the Discussion Spark.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:
Week 5 Discussion Spark Rubric

Read by Day 1 and Post by Day 2

To participate in this Discussion:
Week 5 Discussion Spark

Discussion: Biological and Behaviorist Perspectives of Temperament

The glossary of your text defines temperament as “biologically based emotional and behavioral tendencies that are evident in early childhood” (Cervone & Pervin, 2019, p. 427). With that definition in mind, recall the results of your personality trait assessment in Week 4 and, based on what you know about yourself as a young child, consider how many of those traits have described your personality since early childhood. Were there traits revealed on the assessment that you had never connected to yourself, or ones that seem to have evolved as you have grown older?

Your Discussion post this week is not dependent on those answers, but they may help you in sorting out biological and behaviorist theories of personality and arriving at your views on which—biology or environment—has more influence on temperament. In other words, will traits a child shows at birth be lasting, or do outside influences play a greater role in shaping temperament?

For this Discussion, you will explore the concept of temperament and how it is viewed from biological and behaviorist perspectives. You will also need to take a position and defend it. Note that the reading in the text this week is different from other chapters, as the authors state. It is less a discussion of theories and more a presentation of scientific findings, which you can use to support your point of view. You are also required to find an additional scholarly resource not included in the Learning Resources to bolster your pro-biology or pro-environment perspective. Begin now to prepare to join this longstanding debate: Does nature or nurture have more influence on temperament?

To prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources for this week.
• Consider how biological and behaviorist theories apply to your experience with temperament—both your own and that of others you know well.
• Based on the Learning Resources and your experience, take a position on whether biology or environment is more influential in explaining temperament.
• Research in the Walden Library or other sources for a scholarly resource that provides additional evidence for your position.

By Day 3

Post a response that includes the following:

• In your own words, explain how temperament is viewed from the biological and behaviorist perspectives.
• State your position on whether biology or environment is more influential in shaping and explaining an individual’s temperament. Support your position with findings from the Learning Resources, the scholarly resource that you found, and examples from your experience

Note: Be sure to support the responses within your initial Discussion post (and in your colleague reply) with information obtained from the assigned Learning Resources, including in-text citations and a reference list for sources used. For information regarding how your Discussion will be evaluated, please review the grading rubric located in the Course Information area of the course.

By Day 5

Respond to at least one of your colleagues in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question and provide insight into how you would answer your question and why.
• Ask a probing question and provide the foundation, or rationale, for the question.
• Expand on your colleague’s posting by offering a new perspective or insight.
• Agree with a colleague and offer additional (new) supporting information for consideration.
• Disagree with a colleague by respectfully discussing and supporting a different perspective.

Support your reply to a colleague’s post with at least one reference (textbook or other scholarly, empirical resources). You may state your opinion and/or provide personal examples; however, you must also back up your assertions with evidence (including in-text citations) from the source and provide a reference.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:
Week 5 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5

To participate in this Discussion:
Week 5 Discussion