Chapter 12: Individual Differences

Question 1

Individual Differences

Answer 1

Stable patterns of performance that differ qualitatively/quantitatively across individuals

Question 2

Sources of Individual Differences

Answer 2

Aging, intelligence, expertise, bilingualism, gender, etc.

Question 3

Individual Difference Approach

Answer 3

Look to explore/explain the differences between individuals or use those differences to inform our understanding of cognition in general

Question 4

Experts Vs. Novices

Answer 4

Experts and novices given equal exposure to info, acquire different amounts of it
Experts perceive more distinctions, especially subtle ones
Experts and novices differ in their conceptual representations of information and problem solving

Question 5

Aging & Semantic Memory

Answer 5

Semantic memory for names and labels of objects, vocabulary levels, and general word knowledge remain intact and continue to increase over the lifespan
Relatively preserved performance on tests of non declarative memory (indirect assessment of memory)

Question 6

Aging: Brain Changes

Answer 6

Reductions in brain volume stemming from grey and white matter atrophy (shrinkage)
Synaptic degeneration that impairs neuron communication
Reductions in regional cerebral blood flow to brain (rCBF)

Question 7

Aging & Well-Practiced Skills

Answer 7

Piano player used selection (play fewer pieces), optimization (practice more often), compensation (impression management by playing more slowly before fast segments to make it appear faster)

Question 8

Aging: Compensatory Strategies

Answer 8

Older adults show more brain activity in frontal lobes compared to younger adults during episodic encoding, episodic memory retrieval, working memory, perception, and inhibitory control

Older adults may adapt to the decline in neural structures by increasing activation in other homologous parts of the brain
Supports better processing than older adults who don’t show this compensation in other brain areas

Question 9

Aging: Effects of Exercise

Answer 9

Physical exercise helps people maintain cognitive abilities, including memory, well into old age
In a few studies in men/women over 65, those who exercised for at least 15-30 minutes 3+ times per week were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, even if they were genetically predisposed

Question 10

File Drawer Problem

Answer 10

Hard to publish null findings

Question 11

Experimenter Expectancy Effects

Answer 11

When experimenters expect to find a certain effect, they are more likely to find it

Question 12

Sex Differences In Verbal Ability

Answer 12

Women tend to outperform men on tasks involving receptive and productive language, and on high level verbal tasks (analogies, comprehension of prose, episodic memory)

Question 13

Sex Differences in Spatial Ability

Answer 13

Men outperform women on tasks assessing visuospatial ability

Question 14

Sex Differences: Theories

Answer 14

Socialization factors (Reading materials, communication styles, access to puzzles and video games)
Lateralization (Neurological differences in male and female brains may cause gender differences)

Question 15

Lateralization

Answer 15

Females tend to have cerebral hemispheres that are less lateralized, or specialized in function, than males

Males show more asymmetries in functioning of two cerebral hemispheres
E.g. females have language functions represented in both hemispheres, and show better recovery of language after left hemisphere damage than men with the same damage