3a Individual Differences

Question 1

Describe the Big Five model of personality.

Answer 1

1. Openness– appreciation for art, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination
2. Conscientiousness– tendency to show self-discipline, planned rather than spontaneous
3. Extroversion– energy, positive emotions, and tendency to seek stimulation and company of others
4. Agreeableness– tendency to be compassionate and cooperate
5. Neuroticism– tendency to experience negative emotions

Question 2

Examples of how personality (big five) affects health

Answer 2

• Openness - no clear link
• Conscientiousness - ±2y life expectancy + better adherence
• Extraversion - lower rates of CHD, protective towards respiratory disease
• Agreeableness - hostility is associated with CHD
• Neuroticism - higher use of alcohol and smoking

Question 3

Define IQ – how is it calculated?

Answer 3

ntelligence quotient

IQ = (mental age/chronological age) x 100 An IQ of 100 is average

Question 4

What are the limitations of IQ?

Answer 4

It averages all the domains of intelligence and doesn’t consider them individually

Question 5

What are the two different types of intelligence?

As from the psychometric approach

Answer 5

• Crystallised Intelligence – the ability to apply previously acquired knowledge to current problems (based on cumulative past experience)
• Fluid Intelligence – the ability to deal with novel problem-solving situations for which personal experience doesn’t provide a solution

Question 6

How do these types of intelligence change with age?

Answer 6

Crystallised – increases with age

Fluid – shows a pattern of decline

Question 7

Describe Baron Cohen’s empathising/systematising model.

Used for explaining problems faced in high functioning autism.

Answer 7

Empathising – ability to infer the thoughts and feelings of others and have an appropriate reaction
Systematising – the drive to analyse and construct any kind of system
i.e. identifying the rules that govern the system in order to predict howthe system will behave

Question 8

What are the differences between males and females with regards to this model?

Answer 8

Females – more empathising, less systematising

Males – more systematising, less empathising

Question 9

What type of brain are people with Autism/Aspergus thought tohave?

Answer 9

They are thought to have an extreme male brain

Lots of systematising