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 Draft (Changes/Additions)  - Reinforcement sensitivity theory

Reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) proposes three brain-behavioral systems that underlie individual differences in sensitivity to reward, punishment, and motivation. While not originally defined as a theory of personality, the RST has been used to study and predict anxiety, impulsivity, and extraversion. The theory evolved from Gray's biopsychological theory of personality to incorporate findings from a number of areas in psychology and neuroscience, culminating in a major revision in 2000. The revised theory distinguishes between fear and anxiety and proposes functionally related subsystems. Measures of RST have not been widely adapted to reflect the revised theory due to disagreement over related versus independent subsystems. Despite this controversy, RST informed the study of anxiety disorders in clinical settings and continues to be used today to study and predict work performance. RST, built upon Gray's BIS and BAS understanding, also may help to suggest predispositions to and predict alcohol and drug abuse. RST, a continuously evolving paradigm, is the subject of multiple areas of contemporary psychological enquiry.

Origins and evolution of the theory

Gray's Biopsychological theory: behavioral activation and inhibition system

Unlike Eysenck, Gray believed that personality traits and disorders could not be explained by classical conditioning alone. Gray proposed the Biopsychological Theory of personality in 1970 based on extensive animal research. His theory emphasized the relationship between personality and sensitivity to reinforcement (i.e. reward and punishment). Eysenck’s theory emphasized Extraversion, Neuroticism, and arousal, while Gray’s theory emphasized Impulsivity, Anxiety, approach motivation, and avoidance motivation.

In his original theory, Gray proposed two new dimensions to Eysenck's theory- anxiety and impulsivity. Gray's anxiety, or BIS, correlates with Eysenck's neuroticism. Gray's impulsivity, or BAS, correlates with Eysenck's extraversion. Even though Gray's original theory was modified later by Gray himself, the original theory still made some contributions to the study of biological systems and their role in personality. The largest of these contributions was that the biological central nervous system can be linked to a psychological reward system, composed of approach and inhibition systems.

Behavioral activation system (BAS) Behavioral inhibition system (BIS) Fight-or-Flight system (FFS) Clinical Applications
 * The BAS includes brain regions involved in regulating arousal: cerebral cortex, thalamus, and striatum. The system is responsive to conditioned and unconditioned reward cues. BAS regulates approach behaviors and is referred to as the reward system. It has also been called the "go" system because it motivates actions that lead to rewards. Individuals with active BAS may be more outgoing, explorative, and curious than those with low activity in this system. However, individuals with unregulated high BAS activity tend to be more impulsive and may have difficulty inhibiting their behavior when approaching a goal. Furthermore, BAS is related to stimuli associated with the presence of reward and/or the cease of punishment, also understood as positive reinforcement.
 * The BIS also includes brain regions involved in regulating arousal: the brain stem, and neocortical projections to the frontal lobe. Other major contributors to the BIS include the hippocampus, which is associated with memory and learning, and the amygdala, which is associated with emotion and when stimulated can trigger reactions of fear and aggression. BIS is responsive to punishment, novelty, uncertainty, and non-rewarding stimuli. BIS regulates avoidance behaviors and is often referred to as the punishment system. It has also been called the "stop" because it encourages inhibition of behaviors. Individuals with more active BIS may be vulnerable to negative emotions, including frustration, anxiety, fear, and sadness. Furthermore, BIS is related to stimuli associated with the presence of punishment and/or the cease of reward, also understood as negative reinforcement.
 * The FFS encourages extreme reactions in response to extreme threats. These include reactions of rage, panic, and fight or flight, and is sensitive to unconditioned aversive stimuli. FFS is often referred to as the threat system. A common misunderstanding can be that FFS is a measure of one's reaction to lean more towards fighting or to lean more towards fleeing in response to perceived threats; however, FFS is a measure of one's intensity to respond with either fight or flight behavior, as opposed to reacting not so acutely to perceived threats. Individuals with more sensitive FFS are quicker to fight or flee in dangerous situations.

The BIS and BAS sensitivities are associated with individual differences in positive and negative affect. This association has been largely explored in clinical populations exhibiting extreme scores on BIS/BAS measures. In their 2009 review, Bijttebier and colleagues summarized studies showing that high BIS sensitivity is present in individuals with anxiety, depression, and anorexia nervosa, whereas low BIS sensitivity is associated with psychopathy. Extremely high BAS sensitivity is characteristic of individuals with bipolar disorder, ADHD, and bulimia, while extremely low BAS often characterizes individuals with anhedonic depression. BIS and BAS may differentiate, as illustrated above, between sub-types of eating disorders and depression. These findings are correlational, and causal mechanisms were not directly tested. Researchers in fields ranging from cognitive science to self-regulation and attention are using the RST to investigate causal mechanisms that underlie the relationship between personality traits and psychopathology.

A study by Masuyama et al. suggests that treatment interventions, which increase trait resilience, may be helpful in decreasing depressive symptoms. High BIS was found to correlate directly with stronger depressive symptoms, while high BAS was found to correlate directly with low depressive symptoms. This confirmed results from previous studies. The study tested trait resilience as a mediator and found that trait resilience correlates negatively with depression. Therefore, high BAS leads to high trait resilience, which in turn leads to lower depressive symptoms. High BIS leads to decreased trait resilience, which in turn leads to increased depressive symptoms.

'''Some research shows that BIS and BAS levels may be useful in predicting onset of substance use disorders. Individuals with a stronger, more-sensitive BAS system correlated with early onset of substance use disorders.'''

Levels of BIS and BAS can be used to predict levels of substance use. Individuals with low BIS levels combined with high BAS levels showed activation patterns similar to activation patterns of heavy substance users in past studies. Individuals with high BIS levels and low BAS levels showed patterns of expectancy activation similar to those of light or non-users.

- More considerations to add:

- in Applications section, add information on applications in the educational field and learning --- sensation-seeking and curiosity as motivations to learn. Then, also include note in second-to-last sentence of first paragraph; this sentence refers to the Applications section of the article.

- add measures of FFFS in Measures section

- weaknesses/limitations of RST in measuring temperament ; comparisons (pros/cons) to other modern personality models which have a biological basis, being careful not to show persuasion toward using one model over any other - simply state comparisons

- Double check citations if waiting for access to full article.

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Week 8: Begin to Draft Article

- fix references to Gray's theory/"theories" in History section of article (it is not similar to his other theory but a version of his sensitivity reinforcement theory)

- start discussion in Talk page of article to initiate conversation about confusing the versions of his theory, after finding sources to support this idea

- more sources found by contributor Lil' Runner 2.0:

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886998001585?via%3Dihub

- https://personality-project.org/revelle/publications/wr.gray.chapter.pdf

- https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/24494952/A_closer_look_at_carver_and_White_s_BISBAS_scales.pdf

- mention Gray's sensitivity reinforcement theory as an updated version of the original biopsychological theory that includes Fight-Flight response in addition to BIS and BAS (find reference to explicitly point this out so that it is not opinion or interpretation)

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Week 7: Article - Gray's biopsychological theory of personality


 * Individual Differences and Personality (course textbook), section 5.3.1 Gray's Theory (pages 113-115)
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886904000546 - Comparison of the construct validity of the Gray-Wilson Personality Questionnaire and the BIS/BAS scales
 * https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460305001243 - Gray's model of personality and addiction
 * https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2723784/ - BIS, BAS, and response conflict: Testing predictions of the revised reinforcement theory

- will request access to articles through school library system and check if they are primary or secondary sources (if some are papers written about studies/experiments or are the paper directly written by the experimenters about the study they conducted first-hand - in that case, would not be an appropriate source)

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