Week 3 - Introduction to individual differences

Question 1

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What are the two general aims of studying INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES?

Answer 1

1. To understand the psychological variation between people
2. To develop theories to explain how and why such variations come about

Not just how people behave, but why they behave that way

Question 2

What is The History of Individual Differences?

Answer 2

CHARLES DARWIN (1859) - Theory of Natural Selection
* Within species, individuals will differ from one another (heritable variation)
* As a result of these differences, some individuals will have more offspring than other (differential reproductive success)
* Given the ultimate goal of survival, certain characteristics can become more prominent among a species
* BUT changing environmental conditions can mean that a characteristic associated with reproductive success may not always lead to success.

Question 3

HISTORY OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

What did FRANCIS GALTON (11822-1911) do?

Answer 3

• Pioneered the study of individual differences in people
• Focus was on ‘‘general ability’’ - which he believed could be assessed via reaction time and sensory capacities
• Founder of EUGENICS MOVEMENT

Question 4

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What are EUGENICS?

Answer 4

• Form of social DARWINISM
• '’The science of racial betterment’’ Yakushko, 2019
• Aims to advance civilisation by increasing levels of intelligence, character, and health
• Underlying assumption: Human social problems stem from the overpopulation among the poor - and other marginalised groups - coupled with a decline in birth rate among the social elite
• Ideas were popular at start of 20th century, arose in opposition to FREUDIAN ideas
• now understood as culturally and socially biased

Question 5

IDIOGRAPHIC approach to individual differences

Answer 5

• Individual focus
• Psychoptherapy / Analysis
• Emphasises uniqueness
• Emphasises differences

Question 6

NOMOTHETIC approach to individual differences

Answer 6

• Finite number of traits
• Identify traits
• Generalisable
• Allows for norms/averages/predictuions to be established

Question 7

What 3 classes are traits grouped into?

Answer 7

1. Abilities
2. Attinments
3. Personality

Question 8

What are the definitions of these 3 classes?

Answer 8

Abilities: concerned with cognitive performance - they test thinking, rather than knowledge.
Attainments: how an individual performs in a certain area, tests knowledge
Personality: persons style of behaviour, how a person usually behaves

Question 9

What are PSYCHOMETRICS

Answer 9

Branch of psychology which deals with the measurement of individual differences
* Often measure traits
* Aim to develop a test which corrleates with the theoretical concept it is designed to measure

Question 10

Why are psychometrics important?

Answer 10

• To be able to accurately make predictions about behaviour

The extrent to which a test measures the concept it aims to measure is known as contrust validity

Question 11

What are the clinical applications of people who score highly on a measure of neuroticism?

Answer 11

• Found to have a mixture of anxiety and depressive symptoms - whether clinically diagnosed or not
• Feelings of depressed mood have been found to have the same physiological basis in both clinical and non-clinical populations

Question 12

What are the individual differences in brain structure in individuals with major depressive disorder?

Answer 12

There is a relationship between damaged white matter and depressive symtpoms in highly neurotic individuals.

Question 13

What tests do employers use to determine if someone is suitable for a role?

Answer 13

• Verbal reasoning test
• Deductive reasoning test
• Numerical reasoning test