Individual Differences Key Terms Flashcards

Question

Five Factor Model in context of disability, illness and health

Answer 1

These personality traits influence how individuals cope with health challenges and how they perceive their disability or illness. As well as how they manage recovery and overall well-being.

Answer 2

Attentional Bias- we selectively allocate our attentional resources towards or away from specific stimulus. Useful for avoiding threat.

Answer 3

Not a disorder on its own State shyness- situation/state-dependent. Trait shyness- relatively stable persistent trait Can be: Publicly shy Privately shy Socially anxious shy

Answer 4

A learning difficulty/reading disability involving reading/writing/spelling. 7% prevalence. More prominent in men. There are risks of developing depression. No bearing on intelligence. Some genetic evidence. Can be acquired later in life through brain damage. Subtypes - Surface= difficulties reading irregular words i.e. through - Phonological= difficulties reading pronounceable non-words i.e. could read shirt but not chirt.

Answer 5

Dyslexia is caused by phonological representation deficits. Difficulties representing, storing, and retrieving speech sounds. Language processing is impaired at the phoneme level.

Answer 6

How easily one can retrieve and name a familiar visual stimulus. Naming speed is measured. There may be a visual-verbal disconnection reflected in difficulties reading in dyslexic people.

Answer 7

Dyslexics spend effort decoding words.

Answer 8

Learning difficulty relating to maths. Often occurs with dyslexia. Difficulties include: backwards counting, slower maths calculations, poorer mental arithmetic, uncertainty when answers are correct. It is heterogeneous, as it varies widely from person to person. People experience different challenges. 3-6% of children.

Answer 9

Time urgency, hurried, competitive, dislike time wasting, anger, hostility

Answer 10

Laid back, relaxed, hard workers when necessary, less compulsive, unhurried.

Answer 11

Distressed, consistent with coronary heart disease, worrisome, low mood, pessimistic, easily irritated, lack of hope.

Answer 12

Seeing challenges as their own fault and out of their control. Negative outlook, fearful of the future, helplessness. Increased stress Mental Health risks Avoidance- may avoid challenging situations or give up more easily because they expect failure.

Answer 13

See challenges as a setback. Hopefulness and confidence about the future or success of something. Expect positive outcomes and believe that things will work out in the end, even in the face of adversity. See setbacks as temporary, specific to a situation and within their control. Resilience! Better mental health Better health- stronger immune system, lower stress levels etc. More motivation.

Answer 14

The biological and physiological factors that define male, female or intersex people.

Answer 15

Socially constructed roles, behaviours and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men, women and non-binary people.

Answer 16

There is still a lot of discrimination and prejudice in many sectors of society. Women are much less likely to major in STEM subjects. More women than men leave their faculty jobs and less likely to be promoted. Even though the majority of psychology undergraduates are females, the board of staff is dominated by males. Trends are improving, however there are still 10 differences affecting women: 1) Career Advancements 2) Financial Compensation 3) Service Assignment and Practices 4) Lifestyle Roles and Work-Family Conflict 5) Gender Biases 6) Holding Positions of Power 7) Intersectionality 8) Harassment 9) Agency, self-esteem, self-promotion 10) Lack of belonging

Answer 17

It is difficult to measure sex differences in general intelligence, as tests are designed to not take into account sex differences and items that show sex differences are removed. Research has shown that men and women tend to perform equally on intelligence tests. There are some differences though: Males perform better on tasks involving spatial reasoning, while women tend to perform better in tasks involving verbal ability or empathy. Historically, early IQ tests were criticised for being culturally biased and referencing gender stereotypes. Tests like the Stanford-Binet test have been altered to remove any overt biases, in order for the test to focus on ability and individual, ideographic differences rather than nomothetic differences.

Answer 18

Skills that allow a person to understand, remember and manipulate shapes, objects and spaces. Includes: spatial perception, mental rotation, spatial visualisation, spatio-temporal ability, general and maintenance of a spatial image. Men may have a slight advantage on spatial reasoning tasks. But not much of a difference.

Answer 19

Young girls are more proficient in language skills than boys including vocabulary growth and reading proficiency. Women tend to do better than men in verbal reasoning and writing ability.

Answer 20

There is limited evidence for attentional differences, but some studies show that men have greater vigilance while women have enhanced inhibitory control associated with the dorsolateral and anterior cingulate cortex areas of the prefrontal cortex. A study showed that variability of the short term memory and attention switching in women was identified. But this was associated with lower cognitive abilities. For memory differences, females appear to have am advantage in episodic memory but this does depend on the nature of the task.

Answer 21

Baroncohen suggests that men are on average biologically predisposed to systematise and women are predisposed to empathise. This could link to biological essentialism and the evolutionary theory. Does not touch on socio-cultural explanations.

Answer 22

The concept that the hemispheres in the brain act independent to each other and have specific abilities. Some research shows that men appear to have more pronounced hemispheric asymmetry. More bilateral improves cognitive abilities such as resilience to damage, problem solving etc. Male brain superior for spatial skills, meanwhile women brain more superior for verbal skills.

Answer 23

Individuals perform worse on tasks when they are aware of negative stereotypes about their social group. - Activation of stereotypes- individuals are reminded of a stereotype and so they may feel subconscious pressure to prove or disprove this stereotype. - Performance Anxiety- stress/anxiety impairs cognitive function - Confirmation Bias- Individuals begin to doubt their abilities and so may underperform. Negative stereotypes affect female mathematical performance and women are more strongly affected by negative stereotypes than men.

Answer 24

Many studies suggest that trans individuals are more similar to their preferred gender with respect to cerebral and grey matter volume and performance on gender-biased cognitive tasks. Impact of Hormone Treatment= Trans men: Increase in- - visual memory performance - 3D Spatial Memory performance - Aggression - Sexual arousal - Positive Mental health Decrease in- - Verbal fluency - Arithmetic answering strategies Trans women: Increase in- - Verbal fluency - Positive mental health Decrease in- - Anger and aggression - sexual arousal - spatial ability

Answer 25

Openness- highest in young adulthood and decreases with age/goes flat. Conscientiousness- tends to increase with age, peaking in the middle of adulthood- planning. Extraversion- decreases with age Agreeableness- tends to increase with age Neuroticism/Emotional Stability- decrease with age due to more emotional stability and resilience The way these traits change and manifest is influenced by age.

Answer 26

The degree to which an individual's personality traits remain consistent over time as they age. BUT Not everyone experiences the same patterns of stability and change. Stability does not mean that personality does not change with age. While personality traits remain consistent over time, they may evolve and manifest in response to life experiences.

Answer 27

Personality traits remain expressed in the same way.

Answer 28

Underlying traits remains the same but manifestation/expression changes and evolves.

Answer 29

Relative consistency of individual's positions on a particular trait. Whether someone's standing on a specific trait compared to others remains the same.

Answer 30

Average level of a trait within a population. Looks at whether the overall amount of a specific trait increases, decreases or stays the same across a group of people as they age.

Answer 31

Cross-sectional design- can study mean level stability, but is confounded by cohort effects (having being born in a different time or region or having different life experiences can alter the outcomes of studies) Longitudinal design- can study rank order and mean level stability. Based on a single cohort.

Answer 32

Personality traits become stable as people age. The experiences, choices and roles that individuals take on reinforce their personality traits, making them more consistent and less likely to change. Makes them more predictable.

Answer 33

Holistic combination of factors. We are genetically predisposed to change and develop. Twin studies show personality development is largely genetic in childhood, but in adulthood it only plays a small role. Life experiences are arguably more important and closely related to age. Maturity principle- as people age, they become more emotionally stable, more agreeable and more conscientious.

Answer 34

Transformation is possible. Environment can change personality through reward or punishment. Corresponsive Principle of Personality= the environment and personality interact to promote personality continuity. Personality traits are not static. Key components: - Attraction- people are drawn to certain environments that align with their personality traits. This can reinforce existing personality traits. - Selection- people choose environments that fit their personality traits. Can happen passively or actively. Reinforce original personality characteristics. can be good and bad- no stepping out of comfort zone could perpetuate mental illness. -Attrition- people gradually remove themselves from environments or relationships that do not align with their personality traits. Reinforce traits, as filtering out negative vibes. - Manipulation- people actively influence and shape their environments to better fit their personality. Solidifies personality. These four components work together to develop a continuous feedback loop that reinforces an individual's personality.

Answer 35

A lot of research ignores cultural factors. Queer temporality- what happens when your life stages don't follow a typical timeline. Does not account for these ideographic differences.

Answer 36

Average IQ scores have been rising over time across generations in many parts of the world even though tests are adjusted to account for age and time differences. Fluid intelligence- 15 points per generation Crystallised intelligence- 9 points per generation Environmental influences- schooling (probably not), test-taking sophistication, parental styles, visual and technical environment, nutrition. Explanations: Cognitive Stimulation Hypothesis: Interaction of genetics and environment higher IQ. Individuals seek out stimulating environments. Nutrition Hypothesis

Answer 37

Used experience and knowledge, vocab, recognition, comprehension, problem-solving

Answer 38

Information processing, reasoning, working memory, reaction time/processing speed

Answer 39

Men and women have developed different psychological traits and behaviours because their role in reproduction and survival were fundamentally different. It is shaped by natural selection. Traits that increase an individual's chance of survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed on to future generations. A key concept of this theory: Parental Investment- amount of time, energy and resources invested in offspring differs between men and women which leads to different reproductive strategies. Another key concept is: Sexual Selection- subset of natural selection that focuses on traits that increase an individual's chance of attracting a mate and reproducing. Intra-sexual selection- competition within the same sex.

Answer 40

Behaviour is shaped by principles of behaviourism: punishment, reinforcement and imitation. These contribute to the development of gender-specific behaviours and identities. These gender roles are learnt through social interaction and cognitive processing of experiences. Internalised gender norms acquired through observing and imitating role models shapes behaviour. E.g. Bandura- boys more likely to demonstrate aggression towards a BoBo Doll after observing a same sex model demonstrate aggression.

Answer 41

Gender differences are determined by external factors like culture and other people. They stem from social norms and restrictions. Gender socialisation is a major influence of behaviours.

Answer 42

Differences in agreeableness and neuroticism. Women tend to score higher on agreeableness on average i.e. due to internalised gender norms, gender socialisation, evolutionary perspective. Women tend to also score higher on neuroticism- ingrained values that men should not expose their emotions and are supposed to be emotionally neutral. Could be due to hormones, social and cultural factors and social norms.

Answer 43

Larger differences in personality in most egalitarian societies. Could be due to biological factors- egalitarian culture means men and women are freer to express evolved dispositions. Social explanation- egalitarian culture changes frame of reference from group to population and so exacerbates differences. Increased gender role flexibility, also. Increased self-expression. Shift in traditional gender roles.

Answer 44

There is limited research. But, personality traits of trans men change with testosterone administration. Decreased neuroticism and depression, but harder to disentangle relationship with mental health though.

Answer 45

Men self-report lower neuroticism and mental health issues than women. But, men experience significantly higher rates of suicide and substance abuse than women i.e. 12 men commit suicide every day. Links to evolutionary theory and social cultural theory. BUT Male Psychology section of BPS helps to improve mental health of men and raises awareness, advocates for interventions and challenges gender stereotypes. APA 2019 issued guidelines on working with men and boys with negative effects of traditional masculinity. These are criticised for being disparaging towards men and dissuading men and traditional families from seeking counselling.

Answer 46

Interest-based= intrinsically motivated. How personal characteristics affect the types of interest a person pursues. Exposure based= rooted in behavioural and cognitive theories. Examines how repeated exposure to certain stimuli and environments shape mental health.

Answer 47

Members of a category share fundamental or essential qualities that make them what they are. Sex Differences Hypothesis- Men and Women exhibit inherent biologically based differences in their cognitive abilities, behaviours and psychological traits.

Answer 48

Belief that gender differences are rooted in biological factors. People are inherently predisposed to certain behaviours or roles based on their gender.

Answer 49

2018-2023= 138% increase in reported hate crimes against trans people 111% increase in reported hate crimes on basis of sexual orientation. British Social Attitudes Survey - 2023= 64% describve themselves as not prejudiced which is a decline of 18% since 2019- 82% - in 2024 only 24% think someone should be able to have the sex on their birth certificate change- down from 58% in 2016

Answer 50

Some evidence that patterns of cognition are reversed for gay/bisexual/lesbian men and women. Explains how gender roles and gender identity evolve over the course of an individual's life.

Answer 51

Relative length of index finger and ring finger. Males typically have a lower 2D:4D ratio than women. Due to effects of prenatal testosterone and oestrogen exposure. Higher levels of prenatal testosterone exposure are associated with a lower 2D:4D ratio which is correlated with masculine traits. Pre natal oestrogen exposure correlates with higher 2D:4D ratio. Higher levels of prenatal testosterone exposure associated with greater likelihood of same sex attraction. Lower levels of testosterone or higher oestrogen exposure may be associated with heterosexual. If women have a lower 2D:4D ratio this typically predicts lesbian. If a man has lower 2D:4D ratio this predicts heterosexual.

Answer 52

Higher neuroticism among homosexuals than heterosexuals. Lower neuroticism among homo women than hetero women. Higher openness in homosexuals than heterosexuals. No differences in consicentiousness, extraversion and agreeableness. Bisexuals are more open than homosexuals. And hetereosexuals are less open than homosexuals. Bisexuals are less conscientious than hetero and homo. Age has an effect. All effects decrease as sample age increases.

Answer 53

Used to understand the complexity of sex orientation and behaviours. it challenges traditional, binary concepts of sexuality. Focuses on fluidity and multidimensionality. Sexuality is fluid and context-dependent. Sexual attraction, identity and behaviour are distinct but are interconnected. They vary independently and can change over time. Sexuality is a social construct and is not just biological.

Answer 54

112% increase in hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation across England and Wales over last 5 years. Police Scotland report that 67% increase in hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation.

Answer 55

British Social Attitudes Survey- 67% says same sex relationships are not wrong. Hate crimes rising.

Answer 56

Very negative attitudes. More negative than attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. Double stigma- from both communities. Lots of unfair and inaccurate myths. Less positive attitudes. 32% say that they would not date people who are bisexual due to perception as unstable or unsure of themselves.

Answer 57

Biliguals have a unique competitive advantage regarding decision making. They often exhibit better executive control. They can better ignore distractions and focus on important information. Being bilingual improves working memory. Framing effects are important- people make different choices based on how information is presented. Bilinguals are less susceptible to framing effects when making decisions in their non-native language i.e. L2. Non-native language creates a psychological distance from emotional content of decision.

Answer 58

L2 promotes psychological distance meaning less emotional stress. Less affected by loss aversion.

Answer 59

Learn new language and get new soul. Higher extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness in English (L2). Lower agreeableness in Spanish. Higher extraversion and neuroticism in Spanish. Not new soul but instead a different way of displaying and perceiving personality.

Answer 60

Linguistic and cultural multiplicity are independent. I.e. you can be monolingual and bicultural. Not a shift in personality, just a shift in context- cultural frame shifting.

Answer 61

bilinguals acquire and use language for different purposes, in different domains of use with different people

Answer 62

A social construct

Answer 63

A concept that refers to the point in the past at which al individuals in a population had a common ancestor. Highlights how all humans are related at some level. Reflects how genetic diversity in a population get reshaped over time due to migrations, population bottlenecks etc.

Answer 64

Proportion of variability in a phenotype that is accounted for by variation in genotype.