Individual Differences in Sec B

Question 1

Describe the assumptions of the individual differences area.

Answer 1

• focuses on studying diffs between people rather than things we have in common, + so assumes behaviour can be largely explained by personality traits, intelligence, normality, ways of thinking + emotional responses
• assumes researchers should focus on dispositional explanations of human behaviour, where behaviour is caused by individual, not situation you are in, + every individual is unique.

Question 2

Describe the individual differences area in the Nature vs Nurture debate. Link to a study.

Answer 2

• individual differences area looks at how individuals are unique + diffs between people rather than what they have in common, so could be argued to support nature side of debate

E.g. Baron-Cohen’s findings about people w/ autism indicate role of nature, which has implications for workplace, since their social ability would be hard to change so their diffs must be accommodated.

Question 3

Describe the individual differences area in the Individual vs Situational debate. Link to a study.

Answer 3

• individual differences area supports individual side of debate

E.g. Baron-Cohen found autistic pps performed worse on Eyes Task compared to normal + tourettes group, so concluded individuals w/ autism lack theory of mind: ability to interpret mental states of others, which shows individual differences supporting individual side of debate.

Question 4

Describe the individual differences area in the Reductionism vs Holism debate. Link to a study.

Answer 4

• area of individual differences = reductionistic as assumes behaviour + experiences can be explained by looking at individual only, so discounting role of situation

E.g. Freud concluded Little Hans developed phobia of horses as was in phallic stage of psychosexual development + was going through Oedipus Complex: where he had subconcious sexual desires for mother + feared father would castrate him. Freud proposed Hans transferred fear of father onto horses, as horse’s blinkers + black mouthpiece represented father’s glasses + moustache. But, a more plausible explanation = Hans developed horse hobos due to situation, where he observed a horse collapse + so learnt to fear them after this negative experience. This shows individual differences area ignoring more plausible situational side of debate, and only examining individual for explanation of behaviour.

Question 5

Describe the area of individual differences in the Determinism vs Free Will debate. Link to a study.

Answer 5

• area of individual differences is deterministic as assumes behaviour is pre-determined by dispositional traits, so we have no control over actions

E.g. Freud proposed all children = pre-determined to go through psychosexual stages of development, + Baron-Cohen proposed autistic individuals = pre-determined to lack theory of mind. So individual diff area ignores free will side of debate as a possibility for our behaviour.

Question 6

Describe the individual differences area in the Usefulness of Research debate. Link to a study.

Answer 6

E.g. Baron-Cohen’s study informed us of difficulties faced by autistic individuals in social interactions + so training can be put in place (e.g. SPELL) to help individuals have needs met in schools + by parents.

Question 7

Describe the individual differences in the Psychology as a Science debate. Link to a study.

Answer 7

• area of individual differences does not support idea of psychology as a science, as often case studies conducted over a long period of time, in which qualitative data is obtained from self-report methods like interviews.

E.g. Freud’s study = v biased as data obtained by Hans’ father who was a fan of Freud + so may have not been objective in his interpretations. So lacks replicability and validity, + means it’s subjective and cannot be regarded scientific.

Question 8

Describe the area of individual differences in the Ethics debate. Link to a study.

Answer 8

• individual differences approach raises ethical issues of labeling people as different / abnormal

E.g. Baron-Cohen found autistic pps unable to interpret mental states of 25 B&W pics of eyes in Eyes task + so lacked Theory of Mind, compared to normal + tourettes group. So these individuals at risk of being labelled different, which may create a self-fulfilling prophecy – where individuals begin to act in accordance with their labels, raising a large ethical concern, thanks to individual differences approach here.

Question 9

Describe the individual differences area in the Socially Sensitive Research debate. Link to a study.

Answer 9

E.g. Freud’s study could be considered socially sensitive as deals w/ private info + analysis of psychosexual behaviour, which may be considered ‘taboo’.

Question 10

State the strengths of the individual differences area.

Answer 10

• has developed several psychometric tests to measure diffs between individuals in terms of qualities (e.g. Personality / intelligence)
• research often high in ecological validity as often takes place in real life environments
• provides many useful practical apps to understand people w/ mental health probs, + so can treat their abnormality
• often collects qualitative data from case study method, so rich, detailed insight can be obtained.

Question 11

State the weaknesses of the individual differences area.

Answer 11

• adopts an idiographic approach + so research lacks generalisability
• takes a reductionist approach + ignores situational explanations of behaviour
• raises ethical issues by labelling people as different / abnormal
• does not support psycho as a science as research based on qualitative data gained via subjective methods, so explanations may lack validity.