Introduction to Individual Differences Flashcards
what is personality?
individual characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour
personality paradigms
- psychoanalytic approach
- phenomenological/humanistic approach
- trait approach
- learning approach
- cognitive approach
psychoanalytic approach
neo-freudian approach that focuses on the unconscious mind and motivation through the resolution of internal conflict and childhood
phenomenological/humanistic approach
individuals have conscious experience of the world which results in personal responsibility and acceptance of self and personality
trait approach
how people differ, and conceptualising and measuring differences
believes there is a continuum of traits and behaviours
learning approach
informed by behaviourism and social learning theory, through the role of reward, punishment, and interpersonal interactions
cognitive approach
role of perception and memory, and the different ways people process information
models of intelligence
- two-factor model
- multiple-factor model
two-factor model
believes there are two factors that influence levels of intelligence
spearman’s (g)
underlies all intelligence performance
spearman’s (s)
related to individual ability to succeed on testing
cattell’s fluid intelligence
not reliant on prior experience
cattell’s crystallised intelligence
relies on education and experience
multiple-factor model
believes two factors are too reductionist, and there are more involved
thurstone’s seven mental abilities
- verbal comprehension
- verbal fluency
- number
- spatial visualisation
- memory
- reasoning
- perceptual speed
triarchic theory of intelligence
derived from a balance between analytical, creative, and practical domains
gardener (1983) argued IQ is limited to seven capacities
- linguistic
- logical
- musical
- spatial
- kinetic
- interpersonal
- intrapersonal
emotional intelligence
capacity to recognise own and others’ emotions and respond
ability EI
cognitive ability focused on information processing, assessed similarly to IQ
trait EI
dispositional tendency which can be assessed similarly to personality theories
three approaches to addressing the social and individual
- person-situation debate
- trait activation theory
- interactionism
person-situation debate: what can situational variables predict?
behaviour in specific situations
person-situation debate: what can personality traits predict?
persistent patterns of behaviour across situations and time
person-situation debate: effect of the personality variable depends on…
the situation they are in
person-situation debate: effect of the situation depends on…
the kind of person who is in it
person-situation debate: reciprocal determinism
sees the person and situation as fully interdependent
trait activation theory: what do tett and gutterman (2000) believe?
traits become activated by situational factors at play
trait activation theory: what do judge and zapata (2015) believe?
traits are more predictive when situations are weak, and when situations activate them
interactionism: what did reynolds (2010) encourage?
movement away from mechanical interactionism towards dynamic interactionism
mechanical interactionism
interaction between person (stable characteristics) and situation (external environment)
dynamic interactionism
reciprocal interaction between persons and situations they encounter
