Lecture 1

Question 1

Differential psychology

Answer 1

– the study of individual differences
– deals with aspects of cognition, emotion, motivation, behaviour, abilities, health etc. as individuals differ on these

Question 2

pioneers of differential psychology (2)

Answer 2

Galton - individual differences of talent and character (1865), and developed an index of correlation (1888)

Spearman - General intelligence & introduced factor analysis, enabling data-driven study of individual differences

Question 3

Heymans: questionnaire study finding

Answer 3

He concluded that impulsivity is hereditary to between 42 and 48%

(he collected observer data (from ~400 family doctors) for 2415 individuals from 437 families )

Question 4

first intelligence test

Answer 4

Simon-Binet test, 1905

Question 5

early 20th century advancements

Answer 5

• the use of intelligence tests to screen immigrants at Ellis Island in the US
  • IQ as the ratio of mental age to chronological age (Stern, 1914)
  • the introduction of ability (the Army Alpha test) and emotional testing for military selection
• and advancement in psychometrics – the theory and technique of measurement

Question 6

Cattell theories

Answer 6

distinguished between surface traits and source traits, and dynamic ability and stable temperaments

fluid-crystallised g model of intelligence, and the Sixteen Personality Factors Inventory (16PF)

Question 7

Eysenck theory

Answer 7

used behavioural measures to search for consistency in individual differences. He developed his biological theory of personality, the well-known PEN model

Question 8

late 20th century focus:

Answer 8

“Big-Five” dimensions

A steadily accumulated body of evidence indicated that most self-report personality inventories can be explained by the so-called “Big-Five” dimensions

turn away from the study of individual differences – behaviourism dominated psychology during this period

number of influential studies showed the predictive values of personality

Question 9

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI enables observation of brain structure and brain function

Answer 9

– MRI studies have found association between intelligence and cortical thickness in frontal and temporal lobes
– fMRI studies have demonstrated that heightened left hemisphere activation is associated with approach temperament
– Patients with PTSD showed smaller amygdala volume in MRI

Question 10

What percentage of heritability does genetics explain for variance intelligence?

Answer 10

explains 20-60% of individual differences in intelligence

family studies, twin studies, and adoption studies allow to estimate

Question 11

Behaviour genetics techniques enable identification of specific genes - what do these make up?

Answer 11

phenotypes

Question 12

movement towards “situated person”

Answer 12

an emphasis on the importance of situation in behaviours, e.g., Mischel & Shoda, 2010

Question 13

Advancements in research methodolog

Answer 13

factor analysis, but also brain imaging, has considerably enabled development of theories

individual differences typically accounted for by multiple perspectives integrating genetic, neurobiological, and environmental/socio-cultural accounts