Psych 3003 Exam 1
Three Levels of Analysis - correct answer-1. Human Nature 2. Group and Individual
Differences 3. Individual Uniqueness
Three Levels of Analysis: Human Nature - correct answer-How we are "like all other people"
Three Levels of Analysis: Group and Individual Differences - correct answer-How we are
"like some other people"
Three Levels of Analysis: Individual Uniqueness - correct answer-How we are "like no other
person"
Human Species Universals - correct answer-Language, need to belong, helping/altruism,
social cognition, emotions such as happiness/disgust/fear/anger/surprise/sadness etc.
Goals of Individual Differences Research (3) - correct answer-1. Explain HOW people differ
from each other
2. Explain WHY people are different from each other
3. Link these differences to important life outcomes
Self-Report - correct answer-A person's evaluation of his or her own personality
-Questionnaires or surveys
-Most FREQUENT data source
-High face validity (the degree to which an assessment instrument appears to measure what
it is intended to measure"
Observer or Informant Report Data - correct answer-Judgments by knowledgeable
informants about general attributes of the individuals personality
-Acquaintances, coworkers, psychologists, etc.
-Based on observing people in whatever context they know them from
-Used frequently in daily life
Life Outcomes (Biodata) - correct answer-Verifiable, concrete, real-life outcomes that may
hold psychological significance
-Obtained from archival records or self report
-The results or "residue" of personality
Direct Behavioral Observations - correct answer-"The most visible indication of an
individual's personality is what she/he does"
-Information that is carefully and systematically recorded from direct observation
Natural Observation Data - correct answer--Based on real life
-Diary and experience sampling methods
-Reports by acquaintances
-Naturalistic observations
, -Advantage, realistic. Disadvantage, difficult and expensive; desired contexts may seldom
occur.
Laboratory Observational Data - correct answer-Experiments.
-Make a situation happen and record behavior
-Examine reactions to subtle aspects of situations
-Represent real-life context that are difficult to observe directly
Distributions - correct answer--The trait value is plotted on the horizontal (X) axis, and the
frequency of the trait is on the vertical (Y) axis.
-Most important distribution in describing individual differences is the normal distribution
-Most behavioral phenotypes (ex: personality, intelligence) show a frequency distribution
similar to the normal
Mean - correct answer-The arithmetic average
-A measure of central tendency or location
-Answers the question, "around which score do the numbers tend to cluster?"
-A single variable statistic
Variance - correct answer-The variance of a distribution is a measure of individual
differences around the mean
-a measure of the degree to which scores are dispersed around the mean
-can range from 0 to a large positive number
Standard Deviation - correct answer-The square root of the variance
-single variable statistic
-can be partitioned
Correlational Coefficient - correct answer-A measure of the strength of the association
between 2 variables
-Ranges from -1 to +1
-Direct (positive) relationships and inverse (negative) relationships
-Can be visualized using scatter plot
-A two variable statistic
Causal Modeling - correct answer-Used to test hypothetical causal models, can estimate
associations between measured variables (manifest) and unmeasured variables (latent).
-Multivariate technique (need to measure at least 2 variables)
Quality of Data: RELIABILITY - correct answer-The tendency of an instrument to provide the
same comparative info on repeated occasions
Internal Consistency Reliablity - correct answer-Reliability ACROSS ITEMS
Inter-rater Reliability - correct answer-Reliability ACROSS PEOPLE
Test-Retest Reliability - correct answer-Reliability ACROSS TIME
Three Levels of Analysis - correct answer-1. Human Nature 2. Group and Individual
Differences 3. Individual Uniqueness
Three Levels of Analysis: Human Nature - correct answer-How we are "like all other people"
Three Levels of Analysis: Group and Individual Differences - correct answer-How we are
"like some other people"
Three Levels of Analysis: Individual Uniqueness - correct answer-How we are "like no other
person"
Human Species Universals - correct answer-Language, need to belong, helping/altruism,
social cognition, emotions such as happiness/disgust/fear/anger/surprise/sadness etc.
Goals of Individual Differences Research (3) - correct answer-1. Explain HOW people differ
from each other
2. Explain WHY people are different from each other
3. Link these differences to important life outcomes
Self-Report - correct answer-A person's evaluation of his or her own personality
-Questionnaires or surveys
-Most FREQUENT data source
-High face validity (the degree to which an assessment instrument appears to measure what
it is intended to measure"
Observer or Informant Report Data - correct answer-Judgments by knowledgeable
informants about general attributes of the individuals personality
-Acquaintances, coworkers, psychologists, etc.
-Based on observing people in whatever context they know them from
-Used frequently in daily life
Life Outcomes (Biodata) - correct answer-Verifiable, concrete, real-life outcomes that may
hold psychological significance
-Obtained from archival records or self report
-The results or "residue" of personality
Direct Behavioral Observations - correct answer-"The most visible indication of an
individual's personality is what she/he does"
-Information that is carefully and systematically recorded from direct observation
Natural Observation Data - correct answer--Based on real life
-Diary and experience sampling methods
-Reports by acquaintances
-Naturalistic observations
, -Advantage, realistic. Disadvantage, difficult and expensive; desired contexts may seldom
occur.
Laboratory Observational Data - correct answer-Experiments.
-Make a situation happen and record behavior
-Examine reactions to subtle aspects of situations
-Represent real-life context that are difficult to observe directly
Distributions - correct answer--The trait value is plotted on the horizontal (X) axis, and the
frequency of the trait is on the vertical (Y) axis.
-Most important distribution in describing individual differences is the normal distribution
-Most behavioral phenotypes (ex: personality, intelligence) show a frequency distribution
similar to the normal
Mean - correct answer-The arithmetic average
-A measure of central tendency or location
-Answers the question, "around which score do the numbers tend to cluster?"
-A single variable statistic
Variance - correct answer-The variance of a distribution is a measure of individual
differences around the mean
-a measure of the degree to which scores are dispersed around the mean
-can range from 0 to a large positive number
Standard Deviation - correct answer-The square root of the variance
-single variable statistic
-can be partitioned
Correlational Coefficient - correct answer-A measure of the strength of the association
between 2 variables
-Ranges from -1 to +1
-Direct (positive) relationships and inverse (negative) relationships
-Can be visualized using scatter plot
-A two variable statistic
Causal Modeling - correct answer-Used to test hypothetical causal models, can estimate
associations between measured variables (manifest) and unmeasured variables (latent).
-Multivariate technique (need to measure at least 2 variables)
Quality of Data: RELIABILITY - correct answer-The tendency of an instrument to provide the
same comparative info on repeated occasions
Internal Consistency Reliablity - correct answer-Reliability ACROSS ITEMS
Inter-rater Reliability - correct answer-Reliability ACROSS PEOPLE
Test-Retest Reliability - correct answer-Reliability ACROSS TIME
