Unit 1-3

Question 1

Personality and Intelligence

Answer 1

A branch of psychology that seeks to explain why people differ from one another an dhow it is possible to measure those differences. Focuses on personality, intelligence and abilities. Concepts such as mood, motivation, and personality.

Question 2

‘Feeble-Mindedness’

Answer 2

a discriminatory medical catch-all term that could be used to classify underachievers and people with learning disabilities, used by the Eugenics movement of the late 19th-early 20th centuries

Question 3

Eugenics

Answer 3

A movement in the late 19th to early 20th centuries (add more information!)

Question 4

Psychometrics

Answer 4

The science of measuring mental capacities and processes

Question 5

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Answer 5

An index of intelligence that reflects the degree to which a person’s score on an intelligence test deviates from the average score of others in the same age group

Question 6

test

Answer 6

a systematic procedure for observing behaviour in a standard situation and describing it with the help of a numerical scale or a category system

Question 7

norms

Answer 7

Descriptions of the frequency at which particular scores occur, allowing scores to be compared statistically

Question 8

statistical reliability

Answer 8

the degree to which a test can be repeated with the same results

Question 9

statistical validity

Answer 9

The degree to which test scores are interpreted correctly and used appropriately.

Question 10

psychometric approach

Answer 10

a way of studying intelligence that emphasizes analysis of the products of intelligence, especially scores on intelligence tests

Question 11

intelligence

Answer 11

refers to the capacity to perform higher mental processes, such as reasoning, remembering, understanding, problem solving and decision making.

Question 12

Aptitude tests

Answer 12

tests designed to determine a person’s ability in a skill or field of knowledge

Question 13

Cognitive ability tests

Answer 13

Tests designed to measure an individual’s cognitive function in a specific area, such as verbal reasoning, spatial awareness or mathematics

Question 14

Idiographic

Answer 14

an approach to the study of personality that emphasizes the uniqueness of individuals and aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the individual. It is usually researched qualitatively to produce case studies, and make some generalizations across a series of case studies if possible. Data collection occurs through interviews, diaries, narratives, and the treatment of session data. An advantage is the depth of understanding of the individual, but it can be difficult to make generalizations that can be more widely applied.

Question 15

Nomothetic

Answer 15

an approach to the study of personality that focuses on similarities between groups of individuals. Individuals are only unique in the way that their traits combine. It’s aim is to identify the basic structure of personality and the minimum number of traits required to describe personality universally. It uses Quantitative methods to explore the structures of personality, produce measures, explore the relationships between variables across groups, and usually collects data through self-report questionnaires. A strength is the discovery of general principles that provide a predictive function. But it can lead to a fairly superficial understanding of any one person. This can be somewhat minimized through training, so that profiles can be analyzed more accurately.

Question 16

OCEAN

Answer 16

A pneumonic device representing major and subdivisions of personality that can be reliably assessed:

Openness (to new experiences such as feelings, Ideas, values actions, fantasy, aesthetics)
Conscientiousness: Competence, achievement striving, self-discipline, orderliness, dutifulness, deliberation
Extraversion (gregariousness, activity level, assertiveness, excitement seeking, positive emotions, warmth)
Agreeableness (trust, altruism, straightforwardness, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness)
Neuroticism (anxiety, self-consciousness, depression, vulnerability, impulsiveness, angry hostility)

Question 17

Incremental Validity

Answer 17

a type of validity that is used to determine whether a new psychometric assessment will increase the predictive ability beyond that provided by an existing method of assessment.

Question 18

Interpersonal

Answer 18

understanding and interacting with others

Question 19

Intrapersonal

Answer 19

understanding one’s own interests and goals

Question 20

Abilities Focused Approach (in EI)

Answer 20

One of the three main theoretical approaches of emotional intelligence which focuses on the ability to appraise emotions, label emotions and recognize the emotions of others. Usually measured through self-report scales which can lead to inaccuracies due to people having difficulty identifying their own level of emotional intelligence.

Question 21

Integrated approach (in EI)

Answer 21

One of the three main theoretical approaches of emotional intelligence which combines emotion related abilities with non-emotional abilities. This is measured similarly to cognitive ability tests, where there are correct and incorrect answers.

Question 22

The trait approach (in EI)

Answer 22

One of the three main theoretical approaches of emotional intelligence which focuses on the tendency or disposition to behave in a particular way (rather like personality), such as creative ability and social competence.