2017 Personality 16: Biology/Traits: Incentive Reward/Neuroticism

In this lecture, I continue my discussion of the relationship between subcortical brain processes and the big five personality traits identified by psychometric researchers, focusing on the relationship between positive/negative emotion and extraversion/neuroticism.

This is a repost from a 2014 lecture, but the slides are edited in. I was not available for this class, and the scheduled replacement speaker had to cancel.

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[isambo]

These free lectures are better than all the lectures I paid 10 grand a year for combined

[Hexanitrobenzene]

Pretty detailed outline of the lecture:
1:58 Largest part of motivational system is in hypothalamus.
3:40 Emotions track progress towards goals.
3:54 Basic motivations.
4:30 Mental equivalents of pain: grief, frustration, disappointment, loneliness.
8:52 Book: Jaak Panksepp "Affective neuroscience".
9:55 Rats can laugh :) Ultrasonically, though.
10:20 Father's role in a socialization of children.
13:55 Half of hypothalamus is devoted to exploration.
17:38 Goals and consciousness.
19:50 Parts of hypothalamus.
20:40 Model of nervous system functional organisation.
25:38 Somatomotor neuron pools.
26:40 Locomotor pattern generator.
27:24 Experiment with paraplegic people.
28:01 Locomotor pattern controller.
29:27 "Hypthalamic" animal is hyper-exploratory.
32:07 Sensory systems have dual outputs.
36:41 Integration of motor system and hypothalamus.
37:32 Effect of trauma. Dangers of abstraction.
40:50 Constraints on sensorimotor perception-action hierarchy.
43:45 Basic emotions. Two kinds of positive emotions. Consummatory reward.
46:20 Incentive reward.
49:39 Negative emotions.
51:15 Encountering novelty.
54:10 Predicted/unpredicted outcome.
55:45 Neuroticism roughly corresponds with the strength of negative emotion system.
Same with extroversion and positive emotions.
56:47 Learning theory. Rewards.
57:04 Serotonin is a satiating neurochemical.
57:37 Dopamin is an exploratory neurochemical.
59:49 Extraversion and neuroticism are not mutually exclusive.
1:01:00 Learning theory. Punishments.
1:02:00 Negative emotions are dampened by serotonin and GABA.
GABA is anxiolitic (anxiety reducing).
1:02:45 Test for susceptibility to alcoholism.
1:04:15 Women are higher in neuroticism in general.
1:06:15 Hippocampus.
1:07:44 Reticular activation circuit.
1:09:21 How worried should you be when something you don't expect happens ?
1:11:50 One of the reasons why people don't like their beliefs being challenged.

[Pentamicle]

The more I watch these lectures, the more I understand how badly me and many people who I see around me were raised.

[joebanuelos]

Jordan Peterson has among the best comment sections in youtube.

[yohami]

It's amazing that this is ONE CLASS. What an education these guys are getting.

[ulilulable]

"I know that's a lot to take in, but... Well, it doesn't matter, that's how it is." Basically this course in a nutshell, then, learning how it actually is for once. 49:14

[JasonDearmin]

The hypothalamus is absolutely NO JOKE

[ayah]

i love that i get to watch these lectures at 23 for free while i still have got time to plan my life i really feel lucky for that

[tanyamalan]

I am a woman in my 50's. I have always found the complexities and mechanics of our human brain fascinating whether it was at a conscious, subconscious, chemical, emotional, hormonal or involuntary level and how does this influence decision making & behavioural patterns. How much is based on instinctual wiring, environmental factors and learnt or taught behaviour..What makes us tick essentially. I find these lectures highly beneficial and eye opening to my curiosities on the subject. We are a truly a highly complex force of nature on all spheres. Which is something to marvel at. I have been searching for years to find a person who can really dig down into the mechanics of our grey matter and so eloquently and coherently lecture on the subject that makes me curious for more! I have always considered myself to think in black and white with no grey areas. Since a child, I have always had an inquiring mind, which sometimes drove my parents insane because for every question I'd ask, their answers (bless them) would never really satisfy me. My standard "but why" or "how is this possible" often got met with, " you'll understand when you're older". Which made me wish for coherant understanding, sooner rather than later! Dr Peterson's lectures have reignited my insatiable interest on this subject, and I am better for it. Thank you Dr Peterson.

[pranjalsisodia]

For my own reference-
0:58 Learning Theory (Behaviorism).
2:05 Goals tune/filter your perceptions according to the relevancy to the pursuit of the goal. Goals -> perceptions -> facts collected (only ones relevant to the goal)
3:51 Basic motivations. (Sigmund Freud associated them with the "Id").
4:56 Pain, Psychological pain, Loneliness.
5:36 Chronic psychological pain (depression) often also generates physical pain.
5:47 Loneliness as a psychological pain state, Opioids, Analgesics. 6:29
6:45 Two types of aggression - defensive aggression (associated with Neuroticism) & predatory aggression.
7:16 Predatory aggression circuit & Maternal solicitude (care) circuit evolved to be at the opposite ends of the same normal distribution. (Seems like an inference)

14:28
15:18
20:30
23:25 Humans as not just good at thinking but also movement. Can perform body movements that no other animal can. (Computation capacity > any other hardware.)
29:05 Episodic memory.
29:29 29:47
33:06
36:21
37:53 Dangers/disadvantages of the ability to abstract. 40:05 Susceptibility of depressed people to over-generalize (especially negative things).
40:20 The correct approach to diagnosing/solving a problem - (solve locally first) diagnose the problem locally first, then, if still persisting, more laterally & vertically up the tree of abstraction tree.
43:44 Basic Emotions (& their Classification into Behavioural activation & Behavioural inhibition)
43:50 Extraversion & Neuroticism. 55:40 Inclination towards the Positive-emotion system (extraversion) Vs towards the Negative-emotion system (neuroticism) 55:52 Units of positive emotion per unit of promise/hope contrasting with units of negative emotion per unit of threat.
43:56 Two types of classifications of positive emotions - Satiation (successful full execution of a motivated frame, consummatory reward, unconditioned/unlearned reward) & Incentive (moving forward or the perception of progress).
45:57 Satiation reward brings the motivated frame to an end.
46:58 Have their roots in the Hypothalamus.
47:27 Incentive (dopaminergic) rewards are more intense/powerful than satiation (serotonergic) rewards. (Atomic Habits book says the same thing.)
47:54 Incentive & conditioned rewards are generally categorized into the same bucket but they are not always the same.
48:48
50:52 Disgust is not associated with Neuroticism. (But is with Conscientiousness)
53:51
56:44 Summary of positive rewards.
57:02 Consummatory rewards decrease Neuroticism (Signals ascendancy in the dominance/competence 1:02:00 1:02:04 Serotonergic keeps everything in balance.
1:00:59 Summary of punishments.
1:02:13 GABA - decreases anxiety. Alcohol (dampens anxiety. Also dopaminergic for some people.)
1:04:19 The Neurotic difference b/w men & women is more enhanced in egalitarian countries (contrary to conventional thinking). 1:04:33 As you equalize the society in terms of gender, the personality difference b/w the two genders aggravates (not converge).
1:05:23 Evolutionary hypothesis for the reason for a std deviation more neuroticism in women. (Inference, not a fact)
1:07:12 The Hypocampus inhibits the negative emotion system (Amygdylla & Hypothalamus) if there's a match b/w expectation & desire (crudely expectation & outcome). Activates it otherwise. 1:09:09
1:10:10 The reason for the existence of many different temperaments in a population.
1:11:49 Don't refute other people's faith or beliefs unnecessarily. It punches a hole & sometimes even destroys their abstraction hierarchy. Many atheists are guilty of doing this.
1:12:29 Summary of the lecture through the Medusa example.

Words associated with satiation (serotonergic) rewards - peace, content, gratitude, tranquil. (Signals ascendancy in the dominance/competence hierarchy)

Words associated with incentive (dopaminergic) rewards - happy, hope, curiosity, excitement, enthusiasm, novelty, assertiveness.

The above notes imply that without a goal & its pursuit, there's no happiness.

[Milestonemonger]

I've always loved psychology, but JBP takes it to a whole new level.

[jacobaguiar]

I've sat in a lot of lectures. I've had a lot of great teachers and Prof. but I have never felt compelled to applaud a lecture. That is some next level shit. Dr. P drops atomic truth bombs.

[gojualt]

I never had a idol, someone who I look up to, to be like. This guy is first.

I'm young tho.

[zuzusuperfly]

Very interesting to hear that panic and escape are connected. A had a panic attack a couple of months ago for the first time, and most of the experience was tingling in my feet and the desire to stand up, go down stairs and pace back and forth. The desire to change location felt unstoppable.

[OscarGeronimo]

4:30 Pain (physical and mental equivalence)
21:45 Kinetic Melodies (Alexander Luria)
1:02:13 GABA and alcohol.

[chriskii]

Anyone doing this while on lockdown in 2020? Perfect time to do a university course! Stay safe everyone :)

[cristobalmoncada]

I love how this is a free "behind the making" of sorts of 12 Rules for Life.

[obiwankenobi]

Watching these and seeing other people’s reactions to this really makes me feel grateful for having an awesome family and supportive parents which others do not have

[MarthMain]

Yo this lecture was mind blowing. The way he articulates these ideas is such a treat to listen to. It’s honestly a joy.

[mpo]

18:30 What consciousness does (slide up and down levels of abstraction)
Thinking is exploring
26:20 Spine is smart. Senses, generates patterns, moves. Paraplegic people can walk controlled by only spine.
28:40 Cats can live with only hypothalamus. Exploration is old. Memory is inhibitory.
32:00 visual data branches in 2 directions. Occipital and directly to the motor system.
33:00 animals are fundamentally simple machines with complexity layered on top.
34:20 Snakes are patterns easily recognized by primates.