variations in psychology

Question 1

define individual differences

Answer 1

Individual differences refer to distinctiveness and variations among people’s characteristics and behaviour patterns. Eg. People differ in height, weight, intelligence, interests, etc.

Question 2

explain situationism

Answer 2

Situationism states that situations and circumstances in which one is placed influence one’s behaviour. The situationist perspective views human behaviour relatively more as a result of influence of external factors. Eg. A person, who is generally aggressive, may behave in a submissive manner in the presence of her/his boss.

Question 3

what are the factors influencing behaviour

Answer 3

1. personal traits
2. situational factors

Question 4

what is meant by assessment? define.

Answer 4

Assessment is the first step in
understanding a psychological attribute.
Assessment refers to the measurement of
psychological attributes of individuals and
their evaluation, often using multiple
methods in terms of certain standards of
comparison

Question 5

what are the 2 types of assessment?

Answer 5

assessment may
be informal or formal. Formal assessment
is objective, standardised, and organised.
On the other hand, informal assessment
varies from case to case and from one
assessor to another and, therefore, is open
to subjective interpretations.

Question 6

The attribute chosen for assessment
depends upon our____________

Answer 6

purpose

Question 7

Psychologists
are trained in making _________ assessment
of psychological attributes

Answer 7

formal

Question 8

Psychological
assessment uses __________________ to evaluate abilities, behaviours,
and personal qualities of individuals

Answer 8

systematic testing
procedures

Question 9

“Psychological attributes are not linear or
unidimensional.” comment

Answer 9

They are complex and
expressed in terms of dimensions

Question 10

list the attributes of psychological testing.

Answer 10

1. intelligence
2. aptitude
3. interest
4. personality
5. values

Question 11

attributes are
categorised on the basis of________________

Answer 11

varieties of tests
used in psychological literature.

Question 12

define intelligence

Answer 12

Intelligence is the global capacity to
understand the world, think rationally,
and use available resources effectively
when faced with challenges.

Question 13

describe the role of intelligence tests

Answer 13

Intelligence
tests provide a global measure of a
person’s general cognitive competence
including the ability to profit from
schooling. Generally, students having
low intelligence are not likely to do so
well in school-related examinations, but
their success in life is not associated
only with their intelligence test scores

Question 14

define aptitude

Answer 14

Aptitude refers to an individual’s
underlying potential for acquiring skills

Question 15

describe the role of aptitude tests

Answer 15

Aptitude tests are used to predict what
an individual will be able to do if given the proper environment and training. A
person with high mechanical aptitude
can profit from appropriate training and
can do well as an engineer.

Question 16

define interest.

Answer 16

Interest is an individual’s preference for
engaging in one or more specific
activities relative to others

Question 17

how is interest assessment helpful?

Answer 17

Assessment
of interests of students may help to
decide what subjects or courses they
can pursue comfortably and with
pleasure. Knowledge of interests helps
us in making choices that promote life
satisfaction and performance on jobs.

Question 18

define personality

Answer 18

Personality refers to relatively enduring
characteristics of a person that make
her or him distinct from others

Question 19

role of personality tests

Answer 19

Personality tests try to assess an
individual’s unique characteristics, e.g.
whether one is dominant or submissive,
outgoing or withdrawn, moody or
emotionally stable, etc. Personality
assessment helps us to explain an
individual’s behaviour and predict how
she/he will behave in future

Question 20

define values

Answer 20

Values are enduring beliefs about an
ideal mode of behaviour

Question 21

role of value assessment

Answer 21

In value assessment,
we try to determine the dominant
values of a person (e.g., political,
religious, social or economic)

Question 22

list the several methods used for psychological assessment

Answer 22

1. psychological testing
2. interview
3. case study
4. observation
5. self-report

Question 23

define psychological test

Answer 23

A psychological Test is an objective
and standardised measure of an
individual’s mental and/or behavioural
characteristics

Question 24

explain the 2 types of tests under psychological test

Answer 24

1. Objective tests have
   been developed to measure all the
   dimensions of psychological attributes
   (e.g., intelligence, aptitude, etc.)
   described above. These tests are widely used for the purposes of clinical diagnosis, guidance, personnel selection, placement, and training.
2. psychologists have also developed certain projective tests, especially for the assessment of personality

Question 25

explain the 2 types of tests under psychological test

Answer 25

1. Objective tests have
   been developed to measure all the
   dimensions of psychological attributes
   (e.g., intelligence, aptitude, etc.)
   described above. These tests are widely used for the purposes of clinical diagnosis, guidance, personnel selection, placement, and training.
2. psychologists have also developed certain projective tests, especially for the assessment of personality

Question 26

explain interview with an example.

Answer 26

Interview involves seeking information
from a person on a one-to-one basis.
for eg- when a
counsellor interacts with a client, a
salesperson makes a door-to-door
survey

Question 27

explain case studies

Answer 27

1. Case Study is an in-depth study of the
   individual in terms of her/his
   psychological attributes, psychological
   history in the context of her/his psychosocial and physical environment.
2. Case studies are widely used by
   clinical psychologists.
3. Case analyses of the lives of great people can also be highly illuminating for those willing to learn from their life experiences.
4. Case studies are based on data
   generated by different methods, e.g.
   interview, observation, questionnaire,
   psychological tests, etc.

Question 28

explain observation with an example

Answer 28

Observation involves employing
systematic, organised, and objective
procedures to record behavioural
phenomena occurring naturally in real
time.
Certain phenomena such as
mother-child interactions can be easily
studied through observation

Question 29

what are the major
problems with observational methods

Answer 29

The major
problems with observational methods
are that the observer has little control
over the situation and the reports may
suffer from subjective interpretations of
the observer

Question 30

what is self-report

Answer 30

Self-Report is a method in which a
person provides factual information
about herself/himself and/or opinions beliefs, etc. that s/he holds.
Such information may be obtained by
using an interview schedule or a
questionnaire, a psychological test, or
a personal diary

Question 31

how does the oxford dictionary define intelligence

Answer 31

Oxford Dictionary explains intelligence as
the power of perceiving, learning,
understanding, and knowing

Question 32

how did alfred binet define intelligence

Answer 32

Alfred Binet was one of the first psychologists
who worked on intelligence. He defined
intelligence as the ability to judge well,
understand well, and reason well

Question 33

how did wechsler define intelligence

Answer 33

Wechsler, whose intelligence tests are most
widely used, understood intelligence in
terms of its functionality, i.e. its value for
adaptation to environment. He defined it as
the global and aggregate capacity of an
individual to think rationally, act
purposefully, and to deal effectively with
her/his environment.

Question 34

how have gardner and sternberg defined intelligence?

Answer 34

Gardner and Sternberg have suggested that an intelligent individual not only adapts to the environment, but also actively modifies or shapes it.

Question 35

Theories can be broadly classified as either representing a _________ approach or an _________approach.

Answer 35

psychometric/ structural or information-processing approach

Question 36

The psychometric approach considers intelligence as an_______

Answer 36

aggregate of abilities

Question 37

describe the psychometric approach

Answer 37

The psychometric approach considers intelligence as an aggregate of abilities. It an expresses the individual’s performance in
act terms of a single index of cognitive abilities.

Question 38

describe the info processing approach

Answer 38

the information-processing approach describes the processes people use in intellectual reasoning and problem solving. The major focus of this approach is on how an intelligent person acts. Rather than focusing on structure of intelligence or its underlying dimensions, information-processing approaches emphasise studying cognitive functions underlying intelligent behaviour.

Question 39

where did binets theory of intelligence arise from?

Answer 39

Binet’s theory of intelligence was rather simple as it arose from his interest in differentiating more intelligent from less intelligent individuals.

Question 40

write a note on one/uni factor theory

Answer 40

Binet’s theory of intelligence was rather simple as it arose from his interest in differentiating more intelligent from less intelligent individuals. He, therefore, conceptualised intelligence as consisting of one similar set of abilities which can be used for solving any or every problem in an individual’s environment.
His theory of intelligence is called Uni or one factor theory of intelligence. This theory came to be disputed when psychologists started analysing data of individuals, which was collected using Binet’s test.

Question 41

why did uni factor theory came to be disputed?

Answer 41

This theory came to be disputed when psychologists started analysing data of individuals, which was collected using
Binet’s test.