Individual Differences

Question 1

Describe the Big Five model of personality.

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Define IQ – how is it calculated?

Answer 2

Intelligence quotient

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

Question 3

What are the limitations of IQ?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What are the two different types of intelligence?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

How do these types of intelligence change with age?

Answer 5

Crystallised – increases with age

Fluid – shows a pattern of decline

Question 6

Describe the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to IQ.

Answer 6

Genetic factors – ½ to 2/3 of variation in IQ

Environmental factors – 1/3 to ½ of variation in IQ

Question 7

Describe the correlation in the IQ of different pairs of individuals living together and apart that shows that genetics has a relatively larger contribution to IQ.

Answer 7

Unrelated individuals living apart –> unrelated individual living together –> siblings living together –> fraternal twins living together –> identical twins living apart –> identical twins living together

Question 8

Describe Baron Cohen’s empathising/systematising model.

Answer 8

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 how the system will behave

Question 9

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

Answer 9

Females – more empathising, less systematising

Males – more systematising, less empathising

Question 10

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

Answer 10

They are thought to have an extreme male brain

Lots of systematising