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Individual Differences and Personality PDF

376 Pages·2010·5.55 MB·English
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Individual Differences and Personality Third edition This page intentionally left blank Individual Differences and Personality Third edition Colin Cooper School of Psychology, Queen’s University, Belfast First published in Great Britain in 2010 by Hodder Education, An Hachette UK Company, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH © 2010 Colin Cooper All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without either prior permission in writing from the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the United Kingdom such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency: Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Hachette UK’s policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. The advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of going to press, but neither the author nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 978 1 444 10859 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cover credit: © Dougal Waters/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images Typeset in 11 on 13pt Minion by Phoenix Photosetting, Chatham, Kent Printed and bound in Italy What do you think about this book? Or any other Hodder Arnold title? Please send your comments to To Wesley Summary 5 Suggested additional reading 55 Contents Answers to self-assessment questions 56 References 57 Preface ix 5 Emotional intelligence 1 Introduction to individual differences Background 60 Introduction 1 Introduction 60 Main questions 2 Goleman’s contribution 61 How can we discover individual The nature of emotional intelligence 62 differences? 3 Models of emotional intelligence 63 Summary 6 Can tests of emotional intelligence References 6 predict behaviour? 71 Validity of measures of trait EI 71 2 Kelly and Rogers Suggested additional reading 74 Background 7 Answers to self-assessment questions 74 Introduction 7 References 75 An introduction to George Kelly’s personal construct theory 8 6 Narrow personality traits The person-centred theory of Carl Background 78 Rogers 17 Introduction 78 Evaluation 20 Sensation seeking 80 Suggested additional reading 21 Schizotypy 84 Answers to self-assessment questions 21 Conservatism and authoritarian References 23 atitudes 87 Morningnes 89 3 Depth psychology Self-estem 90 Background 25 Summary 91 Freud’s theories 25 Suggested additional reading 92 Testing Freud’s theories 32 Answers to self-assessment questions 92 Summary 35 References 93 Carl Jung 36 Alfred Adler 38 7 B iological, cognitive and social bases Suggested additional reading 39 of personality Answers to self-assessment questions 39 Background 96 References 40 Introduction 96 Social determinants of personality 97 4 Broad trait theories of personality Biological bases of personality: Background 43 Eysenck’s theory 99 Introduction 43 Problems with Eysenck’s theory 101 Factor analysis applied to personality 44 Eysenck’s biological theory of Discovering the origins of personality 45 personality: empirical results 102 The lexical hypothesis and Cattell’s Reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) 106 theory 46 Summary 112 The ‘big five’ model of personality 50 Suggested additional reading 113 The work of Eysenck 52 Answers to self-assessment questions 113 vi Disenting voices 54 References 115 8 Structure and measurement of abilities Politics of individual differences 172 Methods of studying the nature/ Background 118 nurture debate 174 Introduction 118 Genetic influences over the lifespan 176 Structure of human mental abilities 119 Methods of quantitative genetics 177 Factor analysis of ability 122 Multivariate genetics 179 Empirical results 123 Molecular genetics 179 Spearman and Thurstone: one ability Genetics of ability 180 or 12? 123 Genetics of personality 182 Guilford’s model 128 Summary 185 Gardner’s theory of multiple Suggested additional reading 185 inteligences 129 Answers to self-assessment questions 186 Sternberg’s triarchic theory of ability 131 References 186 Notion of IQ 132 Suggested additional reading 134 12 Psychology of mood and motivation Answers to self-assessment questions 134 Background 189 References 136 Introduction 189 9 Ability proceses Mood 190 Motivation 197 Background 138 Summary 203 Introduction 138 Suggested additional reading 203 Neural processing and general ability 139 Answers to self-assessment questions 203 Direct measurement of neural References 204 conduction velocity 140 Indirect measurement of neural 13 Applications of individual differences conduction velocity 140 Background 207 General ability and cognitive tasks 147 Introduction 207 Working memory and the Practical problems using tests 207 neuropsychology of intelligence 149 Occupational psychology 211 Summary 150 Educational psychology 219 Suggested additional reading 151 Clinical/counselling psychology 220 Answers to self-assessment questions 152 Forensic psychology 221 References 153 Health psychology 222 Summary 225 10 Personality and ability over the lifespan Suggested additional reading 225 Background 156 Answers to self-assessment questions 226 Introduction 156 References 227 Ability change 158 Personality change 164 14 Measuring individual differences Summary 167 Background 230 Suggested additional reading 167 Introduction 230 Answers to self-assessment questions 168 Traits and states 232 References 168 Measuring traits 233 Scoring tests 237 11 E nvironmental and genetic determinants Use of test scores to predict behaviour 241 of personality and ability Obtaining and using tests 241 Background 171 Summary 243 Introduction 171 Suggested additional reading 243 vii Answers to self-assessment questions 243 Methods of test construction 311 References 244 Next steps 314 Summary 315 15 Reliability and validity of psychological tests Suggested additional reading 315 Answers to self-assessment questions 315 Background 246 References 316 Introduction 246 Random errors of measurement 247 19 Problems with tests Systematic errors of measurement 248 Reliability 251 Background 317 Validity 256 Introduction 317 Summary 261 External bias in tests 318 Suggested additional reading 261 Internal bias in tests 321 Answers to self-assessment questions 261 Response styles 322 References 262 Factors that affect performance on ability tests 324 16 Factor analysis Summary 325 Suggested additional reading 326 Background 264 Answers to self-assessment questions 326 Introduction 264 References 327 Exploratory factor analysis by inspection 266 A geometric approach to factor analysis 268 20 Conclusions Factor analysis and component analysis 275 Uses of factor analysis 278 Generally agreed issues 329 Summary 279 Controversial issues 330 Suggested additional reading 280 Under-researched issues 332 Answers to self-assessment questions 280 Conclusions 333 References 282 References 333 17 Performing and interpreting factor analyses Appendix A Background 283 Correlations 334 2 Introduction 283 The importance of r 338 Exploratory factor analysis 283 Correlation and causality 338 Factor analysis in matrix notation 298 Correlations and group differences 338 Confirmatory factor analysis 299 Dichotomous data 339 Summary 302 References 340 Suggested additional reading 302 Appendix B Answers to self-assessment questions 302 References 303 Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education: prepared by the Joint 18 Constructing a test Committee on Testing Practices 341 Background 306 Subject index 346 Introduction 306 Writing test items 307 Author index 361 viii Preface This book is all about personality, intelligence, mood and motivation – the branches of psychology that consider how (and, equally impor- tantly, why) people are psychologically very different from one another. It also considers how such individual differences may be measured using psychological tests and other techniques. The book is primarily aimed at undergraduate students in psychology departments who are taking courses such as individual differences, personality, intelligence and abil- ity, psychometrics or the assessment of individual differences. However, students in other disciplines (such as education) and at other levels (e.g. postgraduate courses in occupational psychology) are also likely to find much to interest them – as is anyone else who is interested in the nature, causes and assessment of personality and intelligence. The book sprang from a course of lectures that I have taught at Queen’s University, Belfast, and it was written largely out of a sense of frustration with existing texts. There are plenty of excellent textbooks covering per- sonality theory, but using one of these in isolation has always seemed to me to be inadequate, since students graduating in psychology should surely also know something about the psychology of abilities, mood, motivation, and so on. Moreover, several texts confine themselves to a historical survey of theories and are remarkably non-evaluative – they offer a selection of theories and leave it to the reader to try to discover which are useful. Several theories are now recognized as deadends and I think that it is important that students should be aware of promising modern work, rather than what seem now to be ancient follies. Furthermore, few texts consider how individual differences can be assessed or how tests can be evaluated. Given that a statistical method (factor analysis) underpins most modern attempts to describe personality and mental abilities and that theories can only be tested through the use of well-designed psy- chological tests to measure personality, mood, mental abilities and so on, it is also necessary to consider how these characteristics should best be measured. It is otherwise quite possible to draw wrong conclusions from studies based on ill-conceived tests. In addition, most readers of this book are likely to use tests in some shape or form (e.g. as a part of their project work or in their professional careers). The book, therefore, comprises two sections, as such: the first deals with theories and applications of individual differences and the second with the necessary methodology. However, this is not a psychometrics textbook, so readers will search the second section in vain for the math- ematical formulae that are fundamental to this branch of psychology. Given psychology students’ notorious dislike of matters mathemati- cal, I have instead tried to provide a conceptual understanding of the ix

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