Individual differences Week 1 â Introduction Individual differences ...
Individual differences Week 1 – Introduction Individual differences: how people differ psychologically from one another Personality Intelligence/mental ability
Two branches of psychology 1. Experimental: how and why people in general behave the way they do 2. Correlational: how and why do individuals differ psychologically Cronbach stated we must understand and incorporate both branches. Includes individual differences and situation/context (IV)
Personality: the consistencies within individuals that lead to differences between people • • • • • •
Psychodynamic Humanistic Trait Behavioural Cognitive Biological
Have to consider culture – influence personality • •
Individualistic: emphasis on individual Collectivist: emphasis on group
Mental ability: behaviours (assume no knowledge) that can be sensibly evaluated (required successful completion of a task) – discrete properties • • • •
Specific Physical Emotional Thought
Intelligence: capacity/source of knowledge – underlies mental abilities Much controversy around intelligence – might not exist (construct that doesn’t measure what it really is), knowledge acquisition and value laden (associated negative connotations) • •
Factor analytic approaches (‘g’, primary mental abilities, hierarchical models) Alternative approaches (triarchic theory, multiple intelligences)
Psychometrics: scientific measurement of individual differences • •
State measures: short lived, 1 point in time and volatile moods/emotions, motivational states Trait measures: enduring, general behaviours and stable attainments, abilities, personality
1. Standardisation: administration (uniform procedures etc.) and norms (compare individual score to norm) 2. Reliability: consistency (produce same/similar scores) o Test re-test: time to time o Alternate forms: form to form o Internal: item to item o Inter-rater: rater to rater 3. Validity: scale measures what it’s meant to measure Scale can be reliable but NOT valid however, for a scale to be valid it MUST be reliable
Two branches of psychology 1. Experimental: how and why people in general behave the way they do 2. Correlational: how and why do individuals differ psychologically Cronbach stated we must understand and incorporate both branches. Includes individual differences and situation/context (IV)
Personality: the consistencies within individuals that lead to differences between people • • • • • •
Psychodynamic Humanistic Trait Behavioural Cognitive Biological
Have to consider culture – influence personality • •
Individualistic: emphasis on individual Collectivist: emphasis on group
Mental ability: behaviours (assume no knowledge) that can be sensibly evaluated (required successful completion of a task) – discrete properties • • • •
Specific Physical Emotional Thought
Intelligence: capacity/source of knowledge – underlies mental abilities Much controversy around intelligence – might not exist (construct that doesn’t measure what it really is), knowledge acquisition and value laden (associated negative connotations) • •
Factor analytic approaches (‘g’, primary mental abilities, hierarchical models) Alternative approaches (triarchic theory, multiple intelligences)
Psychometrics: scientific measurement of individual differences • •
State measures: short lived, 1 point in time and volatile moods/emotions, motivational states Trait measures: enduring, general behaviours and stable attainments, abilities, personality
1. Standardisation: administration (uniform procedures etc.) and norms (compare individual score to norm) 2. Reliability: consistency (produce same/similar scores) o Test re-test: time to time o Alternate forms: form to form o Internal: item to item o Inter-rater: rater to rater 3. Validity: scale measures what it’s meant to measure Scale can be reliable but NOT valid however, for a scale to be valid it MUST be reliable
