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Personality Psychology Concluding Lecture Personality, Culture, and Religion

Personality Psychology Concluding Lecture Personality, Culture, and Religion. Professor Ian McGregor. Hallelujah Pachelbel’s Canon. Final Quiz Questions. How are Western and Eastern wisdom traditions wise from a goal-regulation and personality development perspective?

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Personality Psychology Concluding Lecture Personality, Culture, and Religion

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  1. Personality PsychologyConcluding LecturePersonality, Culture, and Religion Professor Ian McGregor Hallelujah Pachelbel’s Canon

  2. Final Quiz Questions • How are Western and Eastern wisdom traditions wise from a goal-regulation and personality development perspective? • Describe experimental evidence that idealistic and ideological extremes arise from goal regulation processes (i.e., P x E, personal project, goal-priming, behavioral neuroscience, and neuroscience evidence).

  3. Overview Review Various Threats  Defensive Extremes (PxE) Same Threats  Approach Motivation (PxE) Behavioral Neuroscience (right line bisection) Neuroscience (Left EEG; rEEG*ACC) (PxE) Same Threats  Religious Zeal (PxE) Self-Affirmations Eliminate Distress and Extremism Healthy-Minded Religious Devotion Eastern and Western

  4. Rigid Conviction (at low implicit)(McGregor & Marigold, 2003, JPSP)

  5. Fascist Consensus (at low implicit)(McGregor, Nail, Marigold, & Kang, 2005, JPSP)

  6. Line Bisection Task: Behavioral NeuroscienceMeasure ofRelative Cerebral Hemisphericity Please quickly look at each of the lines below and then make a short tick-mark on each line that divides it in half ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  7. Behavioral Neuroscience

  8. rLeft EEG (F7F8). Line-Bisection Task=.38

  9. Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) “Uh-Oh” detection and correction Left EEG, r = -.53, with ACC

  10. Academic Goal Frustration  Religious Zeal Which religious belief system do you most identify with? Jewish (20%) Christian (45%) Muslim (5%) Buddhist (10%) Atheist (20%)

  11. Religious Zeal (scale from 1-5) • Confident • Aspire to live and act according to • Grounded in objective truth • Most people would agree if understood • If publicly criticized would argue to defend it • Would support a war to defend • Would sacrifice my life to defend • Believe in my heart more correct than others’

  12. Results Academic goal frustration caused: Overall zeal: 3.0  3.6 Support for war: 1.8  3.0

  13. Approach Personality x Academic Threat

  14. Religious Zeal and Anterior Cingulate Cortex Religious Zeal is also negatively correlated with ACC r = -.63

  15. Highest Happiness from Contemplating Perfect Ideals and Abstract, Absolute Truth

  16. Defensive Pride and Idealism XXP

  17. Authoritarian IdeologyInsecure Attachment and Narcissism

  18. What Causes Religious Extremism?

  19. Reactive Zeal Religious rapture is a unifying state…“sand and grit of selfhood disappear” Excessively intense thoughts repress conflict…“mental dams” • Religious zeal is used as a displacement ‘goal’ • Caused by important goal frustrations • Activates clear approach-motivation processes • Relieves sensitivity to uncertainty and anxiety • Liberates vigorous (myopic) action

  20. “Self-Affirmation” Manipulations that Decrease Reactive Ideological Extremes • Love • Self-Worth • Values Affirmation • Group-Identification and Consensus • Same domains as defensive zeal (and stages) • Like zeal, self-affirmations relieve distress • Self-affirmations only work in the West • Among Eager, Idealistic People (see next)

  21. Salience of Dilemma after Conviction Expression

  22. Salience of Dilemma after Pride Expression(McGregor, 2006, BASP)

  23. Self-Affirmations, Goal Theory, and Personal Growth (in West) • Recall, completed goals fade • Approach state also relieves uh-oh (ACC) and avoidance vigilance • Allow openness to other information • Less defensive, more generous • Paradox: in West, affirm self-goals so people can let them go (i.e., past their fixations—recall Rogers).

  24. Healthy-Minded Religious Devotion traits religious commitments goals spiritual values roles relationships cultural view of myth & history self in future Narrative Integrity, Meaning, and Resilience: “Stories We Live By”

  25. Philosophies, Religions, Cultures as “Stories We Live By” • What to do? • Intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict • Way of Life; “Saved” from chaos; Hope for peace • Ritual reminders in community ‘worth-ship’ • Eastern and Western solutions

  26. Western Culture and Religion from: • Greek idealism • Pythagoras (582-500 BCE): Introspection and idealism from India to Greece; Socratic (470-399 BCE)/ Platonic (427-347 BCE) idealism for social utopia (Plato’s republic)—make a better, more ideal world • Abstract principles and categories, logical analysis, right and wrong, individually realized, “logos”—guides action • Highest happiness from contemplating self-realized, logical, abstract, ideal/essential truth (Plato and Aristotle)

  27. And from: • Empowering, Generative, Judaic Monotheisms (J, C, I) • Dominant, nature transcending, powerful, loving will of God. Humans in God’s image • Creeds, beliefs, the word, “logos,” people of the book. Ideals guide powerful action. • World is “very good.” “Let them have dominion over all the earth.” • God shapes history: Exodus from Egyptian slavery as metaphor. God’s justice & mercy as the righteous ideal • Freedom, self-responsibility, align with God’s will—from “wrestling with God” to social justice and prophetic power • Salvation by alignment with God’s will, and yoke ego (Islam = peace by submission to God); thy will be done… • Mistakes & imperfections: covenant of forgiveness & grace along way • Salvation not from being perfect but from active, hopeful, ideal approach

  28. Exodus: Deliverance from Bondage

  29. “Healthy Minded” Monotheism (J, C, I) • Affirmation from a merciful God promotes healthy personality development (Erikson, Rogers, Maslow) • Basic Trust: Grace, B-love, chosen, no death, father • Autonomy/Initiative: Freedom to choose good and evil • Industry/Self-worthy: God’s love, intervention, suffering • Identity: Clear values of one God & law; guide action • Intimacy: brothers, compassion, examples, relations, e.g., Jesus, Mary, Muhammed. • Generativity: “Cup runs over” with gratitude, empowered compassion, charity, justice, mercy, peace • Integrity: Energy, light, vision, vitality, actualization, peak experience. • Cf. Hindu path of desire to path of renunciation..

  30. Islam • “Peace” and “Surrender” • From Chaos to Harmony in Mecca • People of the Book—no doubt in this book • Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed (Koran and Hadith) • 5 Pillars • Creed • Prayer • Charity • Fasting • Pilgrimage

  31. “Sick Souled” Monotheism (in J, C, I) • Punitive God of Sin, shame, guilt • Non-affirming, threatening God causes insecurity, impedes healthy psychosocial development • Introjection of “shoulds” • Zealous idealism and intolerance as defense • Insecurity and Battle for God (Karen Armstrong) • Ideological warfare more common in the West.

  32. Self-esteem: Canadian sample

  33. Independent self-construal (Markus & Kitayama, 1991) Father Mother x x x x x Sibling Self X X x X X X X x x x Co-worker Friend x

  34. Interdependent self-construal Mother Father x X x X x x x Self Sibling x X x X x x x Co-worker X x Friend

  35. Self-esteem: Japanese sample

  36. Eastern Cultures & Religions: India • Hinduism (Oldest) • Four Wants: pleasure, success (path of desire), duty, Being (path of renunciation)… “Mukti” = liberation from limitations • Let people accomplish lower stages, they will want more • Four paths (Yogas = yokes) to true Being, suited to personalities: knowledge (O), love (A), work (E), meditation (I) • “Maya” illusion vs. True Being (Atman and Brahman) • Sounds Greek. Is this where Pythagoras got inspiration? • Advocates balanced engagement, e.g., “Dancing Shiva”, i.e., Not identifying with fruits of action. GOALS! • See notes field below for related reading…

  37. Eastern Cultures & Religions: India • Buddhism (566-486 BCE: “He Who is Awake”) • Pragmatic psychology for well-being • Reaction against Hindu authority, ritual, tradition, fatalism, superstition. • Four Noble Truths and Eightfold path (from “wandering about” to “intentional living”) • Do not over-attach to goals and fruits of goals • Meditation and mindfulness: noticing and centering on breathing (left hemisphere!) • “Strive with awareness’” “middle way” • See Shiva’s dance

  38. Eastern Culture & Religion: Chinese • Confucius (552-479 BCE), after collapse of Chou dynasty, Period of Warring States, solve social chaos • human “animal without instincts” requires tradition for social harmony— “lover of the ancients.” • Correct attitudes by following tradition • Perspective-taking: man-to-manness, compromise, social sensitivity • Putting others at ease: graciousness, face • Propriety: situational, relational, and role norms • “Doctrine of “mean between extremes” avoid pure values/ fanaticism • concrete, holistic, collectivism (vs. abstract, analytical, individualism)

  39. Eastern Culture & Religion: Chinese and Japanese • Taoism: Lao Tzu (Grand Old Master) contemporary of Confucius • Tao Te Ching (the Way and it’s power)—order life in sync with natural world (not transcending and imposing will on it) • Yin Yang: allow contradictions, avoid clear categories, no absolutes (sometimes, some situations) • Creative quiet, mystery, simplicity, humility, spontaneous flow • No self-assertion, competition, or conquering—instead, befriend emptiness (cups, doors, windows). Water metaphors. Zen Buddhism: 12 Century Japan (Buddhism + Taoism = Zen) • Inspired by Buddha’s Lotus sermon, Koans (one hand clapping); meaning of Zen (lifted little finger, kicked a ball, slapped in face). • Grapple with uncertain, experiential truth beneath words and categories. Kick habit of logical analysis. Silence and no words • Contrast this to Judaic “people of the book,” the word, logos.

  40. Goal Theory Interpretation • East and West agree that narrow ego-self striving is problematic • Western solutions bolster identification with an ideal self, which ultimately transcends itself • Eastern solutions treat self as illusion • At best, both facilitate well-being, lack of defensiveness, openness, and compassion

  41. Compassion • Axial age and Great Transformation (Armstrong) • Emphasis on compassion discourages fanatical intolerance (West) and also aloof personal enlightenment (East) • Non-divisive ideal that directly discourages ego-self-focus • Compelling exemplars to emulate • TheravedaMahayana Buddhism (Bodhisattvas)

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