3a: Individual differences

Question 1

What are the 5 components of Big Five personality theory?

Answer 1

OCEAN

1. Openness to experience
2. Conscientiousness
3. Extraversion
4. Agreeableness
5. Neuroticism

Question 2

Describe low/high scorers in each component of the Big Five personality theory

Answer 2

Openness to experience
+ Imaginative, creative, curious, original
- Down-to-earth, uncreative, uncurious, conventional

Conscientiousness
+ conscientious, hard-working, well-organised, punctual
- Negligent, lazy, disorganised, late

Extraversion
+ Active, talkative, affectionate
- Loner, quiet, passive, reserved

Agreeableness
+ Trusting, lenient, soft-hearted, good-natured
- Suspicious, critical, ruthless, irritable

Neuroticism
+Worried, self-conscious, emotional
- Calm, comfortable, unemotional

Question 3

How are personality and health linked?

Answer 3

Neuroticism - NEGATIVE impact on health:

• Increasing reporting of symptoms
• Higher rates of mental disorders & healthcare usage
• Less adherence

Conscientiousness - POSITIVE impact on health

• Better health behaviour
• Higher medical engagement/adherence

Question 4

Definition of IQ and intelligence?

Answer 4

IQ = mental age/chronological age x100
100 IQ is average 
68% of population within 1 SD of mean
95% of population between 70-130 IQ
Normally distributed

Intelligence = Ability to acquire knowledge, think and reason effectively, and deal adaptively with environment

Binet-Simon scale measures mental age

Question 5

What are the limitations of IQ?

Answer 5

There are many different types of intelligence

Also cultural and educational influences on IQ

Question 6

Crystallized vs fluid intelligence

Answer 6

Crystallized = ability to use previously acquired knowledge to current problems (improves with age)

Fluid intelligence = ability to solve NEW problems (declines with age)

Question 7

Explain Baron Cohen’s Empathizing/Systematizing theory

Answer 7

Autism is more prevalent in males

The theory uses Empathising Quotients (EQ) and Systemising Quotients (SQ) to explain the social/communication symptoms in autism

In autism, you have LOW Empathising (EQ) but HIGH Systemising (SQ)
Males are always in middle. Females have high EQ and low SQ

Empathising = being able to infer thoughts/feelings of others and having an appropriate emotional reaction

Systemising = the drive to analyse/construct any kind of system (i.e. identifying the rules that a govern a system) in order to predict how that system will behave
(Example: “I like using train timetables and learning about machines” probably high SQ)