Types Of Individual Differences Research Articles

Personality traits, risk aversion and endowment effects on residential mobility outcomes

The psychology literature offers substantial evidence suggesting that personality traits are associated with different residential mobility patterns. Our study extends this previous work by examining whether the effects of personality traits on mobility are attenuated by risk aversion and endowment effects. We also investigate whether personality traits exert an indirect influence on mobility through risk aversion and endowment effects. We draw on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey over the period 2014–2018. We find that openness and extraversion have positive associations with residential mobility, but risk aversion and endowment effects reduce the likelihood of moving. Moreover, risk aversion and endowment effects act as mediators through which openness and extraversion exert an indirect influence on residential mobility. These mediators account for 35 % and 30 % of the total effect on mobility exerted by openness and extraversion respectively. The types of individual differences that matter for residential mobility also vary by sex and age, reflecting the influence of life course contexts on residential mobility outcomes.

On the Influence of Individual Differences on the Second Language Acquisition of Middle School Students and Its Teaching Implications

For every middle school student, English learning is very indispensable. The New National Middle School English curriculum standard requires teachers to face all students, carry out quality education, take students as the center and respect individual differences. However, in the actual middle schools English Teaching, the teacher’s teaching and teaching requirements and objectives often run counter to each other. For example, the limitation of native language, the lack of interest and motivation of students. Therefore, how to improve the quality of middle school English teaching and develop students’ personality has aroused the author’s thinking. The first part of this paper reveals the current situation of middle school English learning in China. Then, it analyzes the reasons for these phenomena. In addition, it introduces different types of individual differences and points out the influence of different kinds of individual differences on the speed and order of SLA. At last, the paper introduces the enlightenment of individual differences to teachers and students. It is hoped that the writing of this paper can cultivate students’ interest in English learning, improve the quality of English teaching and promote the development of students’ personality.

Researchers' commercial video game knowledge associated with differences in beliefs about the impact of gaming on human behavior

Over the past thirty years, research situated in many individual sub-domains of psychology has investigated the potential impact of video game play on behavior. Interestingly, although researchers in the various sub-fields are (presumably) versed in the results of the published research, there nonetheless remain significant individual differences in opinion across researchers regarding what exactly the given literatures “say.” Previous work has suggested that some individual difference factors, such as prior gaming experience, can account for some of this variance. The current study expands this work by examining several additional individual difference factors including field of study (e.g., whether one primarily studies links between video games and aggression, cognitive skill, or well-being) and video game knowledge.Both types of individual differences were associated with differences in belief regarding the state of the literature. In particular, video game knowledge was negatively associated with the belief that video games can lead to addiction and cause aggression and violence, and higher knowledge scores were positively associated with a belief that games can model prosocial behavior. Results are presented in a larger discussion of how researchers’ primary domains of knowledge influence the study of technology of effects, such as those from video game play.

Responding to students’ learning needs: how secondary education teachers learn to implement differentiated instruction

ABSTRACT As student populations in schools become more diverse in many western countries, the urge for teachers to provide instruction that caters for students’ needs increases concurrently. Teachers however find it difficult to put differentiated instruction into practice. This study is based on an action research project that documented teachers’ professional development. Three teams of secondary education teachers were trained and coached to implement differentiated instruction in their classrooms. They planned their instructional design collaboratively to align with the contextuality of their school and while implementing the planned instructional design, they responded to students with diverse readiness levels or learning profiles. Teachers’ implementation of differentiated instruction was observed and interpreted using an action research methodology. Results show that teachers struggled in assessing students’ differences. Moreover, teachers’ responsivity appeared to be determined not only by cognitive traits but also by other types of individual differences. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Measures of inhibitory control correlate between different tasks but do not predict problem-solving success in a fish, Poecilia reticulata

Once considered a human characteristic, the presence of correlations between individuals' performance in cognitive tasks has now been reported in a range of vertebrates. In humans, an important source of cognitive variability is inhibitory control: some individuals are consistently more efficient in inhibitory tasks and this affects individual differences in other cognitive tasks, including measures of general intelligence. We looked for these two types of individual differences in a teleost fish, the guppy Poecilia reticulata. First, we observed guppies in two inhibitory control tasks. In the tube task, guppies had to inhibit the tendency to attack live prey sealed into a transparent tube. In the cylinder task, guppies had to inhibit the tendency to swim directly toward a food item placed inside a transparent cylinder and rather detour and enter the cylinder from the open sides. Individual rank performance was maintained between the two inhibitory tasks, suggesting individual differences in inhibitory control across tasks in this species. Then, we tested the same set of guppies in a problem-solving task, whereby they had to learn to dislodge an object that prevented the access to a food reward. Neither the tube task nor the cylinder task score predicted guppies' problem-solving performance. Our study demonstrates that fish exhibit consistent individual differences in inhibitory control, as expected if this trait has a common evolutionary origin in vertebrates. Yet, in fish, these individual differences appear not to be related to other cognitive processes such as those required for problem solving.

Predisposed to prejudice but responsive to intergroup contact? Testing the unique benefits of intergroup contact across different types of individual differences

Recent research demonstrates that intergroup contact effectively reduces prejudice even among prejudice-prone persons. But some assert that evidence regarding the benefits of contact among prejudice-prone individuals is “mixed,” particularly for those higher in social dominance orientation (SDO), one of the field’s most important individual differences. Problematically, person variables are typically considered in isolation despite being intercorrelated, leaving the question of which unique psychological aspects of prejudice proneness (e.g., authoritarianism, antiegalitarianism, cognitive style) are responsive to intergroup contact unresolved. To address this shortcoming, in a large sample of White Americans ( N = 465) we simultaneously examined the contact–attitude association at varying levels of ideological (SDO, right-wing authoritarianism), cognitive style (need for closure), and identity-based (group identification) indicators of prejudice proneness. Examining a broad range of intergroup criterion measures (e.g., racism, support for racial profiling) we reveal that greater contact quality is associated with lower levels of intergroup hostility for those both lower and higher on a variety of indicators of prejudice proneness, simultaneously considered.

Effects of Individual Differences in Working Memory on Plan Presentational Choices.

This paper addresses research questions that are central to the area of visualization interfaces for decision support: (RQ1) whether individual user differences in working memory should be considered when choosing how to present visualizations; (RQ2) how to present the visualization to support effective decision making and processing; and (RQ3) how to evaluate the effectiveness of presentational choices. These questions are addressed in the context of presenting plans, or sequences of actions, to users. The experiments are conducted in several domains, and the findings are relevant to applications such as semi-autonomous systems in logistics. That is, scenarios that require the attention of humans who are likely to be interrupted, and require good performance but are not time critical. Following a literature review of different types of individual differences in users that have been found to affect the effectiveness of presentational choices, we consider specifically the influence of individuals' working memory (RQ1). The review also considers metrics used to evaluate presentational choices, and types of presentational choices considered. As for presentational choices (RQ2), we consider a number of variants including interactivity, aggregation, layout, and emphasis. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of plan presentational choices (RQ3) we adopt a layered-evaluation approach and measure performance in a dual task paradigm, involving both task interleaving and evaluation of situational awareness. This novel methodology for evaluating visualizations is employed in a series of experiments investigating presentational choices for a plan. A key finding is that emphasizing steps (by highlighting borders) can improve effectiveness on a primary task, but only when controlling for individual variation in working memory.

Genetic Factors of Individual Differences in Decision Making in Economic Behavior: A Japanese Twin Study using the Allais Problem.

Why does decision making differ among individuals? People sometimes make seemingly inconsistent decisions with lower expected (monetary) utility even when objective information of probabilities and reward are provided. It is noteworthy, however, that a certain proportion of people do not provide anomalous responses, choosing the alternatives with higher expected utility, thus appearing to be more “rational.” We investigated the genetic and environmental influences on these types of individual differences in decision making using a classical Allais problem task. Participants were 1,199 Japanese adult twins aged 20–47. Univariate genetic analysis revealed that approximately a third of the Allais problem response variance was explained by genetic factors and the rest by environmental factors unique to individuals and measurement error. The environmental factor shared between families did not contribute to the variance. Subsequent multivariate genetic analysis clarified that decision making using the expected utility theory was associated with general intelligence and that the association was largely mediated by the same genetic factor. We approach the mechanism underlying two types of “rational” decision making from the perspective of genetic correlations with cognitive abilities.

Can’t wait or want it now? Two types of individual differences in delay discounting

When choosing between immediate and delayed rewards people discount the subjective value of the latter. This rate of temporal discounting varies in tandem with psychometric impulsiveness and relevant behaviours. Do such individual differences contain distinct styles originating from different underlying processes? Sixty students chose imaginary monetary rewards in a modified delay discounting task where the sooner option was available immediately in one condition but was delayed in another. A mixed model decomposition of areas under the discounting curves revealed two types of individual differences. Delay Sensitivity captured the condition-independent discounting variability while Immediacy Sensitivity isolated the variance induced by the immediacy of the sooner option. Of the two, Immediacy Sensitivity was more strongly related to Big Five facets associated with impulsivity and trait Conscientiousness as well as risky alcohol consumption. The results implicate Delay and Immediacy Sensitivity as reflections of at least partially independent pathways to impulsive behaviour.

Comment dépasser le constat d’un niveau de performance à un test de raisonnement ? Exemple d’une épreuve

To answer one of the criticisms most often formulated about the logical reasoning tests, i.e. characterizing the persons only on their global score, we have created a test aiming to take into account two other types of individual differences: the success profile and the errors. From the use of such a test on 562 persons, the results analysis confirm that our test allows both to collect information and to calculate specific indicators on these two aspects of the performance. The discussion topic turns on the advantage of such approaches.

Attitudes do matter: The role of attitudes and personality in DUI offenders

Several studies have related personality variables with antisocial behavior. Among antisocial behaviors, driving under the influence (DUI) has received growing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to the role of personality. However, it has been shown that personality alone is not sufficient to accurately predict DUI. As a result, there is growing interest in identifying other types of individual differences that might predict this behavior better, such as attitudinal variables. The aim of this study was to examine differences in personality dimensions and attitudes between a group of DUI offenders and a comparison group. Ninety-eight subjects were assessed: 51 subjects who had been convicted of a DUI offense following a diversion program, and 47 drivers without criminal records. Personality was measured with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and antisocial attitudes were assessed with the Jesness Inventory-Revised. Results indicated that offenders were more prone to show antisocial attitudes (p<.001) than comparisons. In terms of personality, there were no significant differences between the two groups. These findings suggest that attitudes may be useful predictors of DUI and should be taken into account in interventions designed to avoid recidivism.

Fostering Inclusive Values in Children: What Families Can Do

promoting the success of inclusion programs, including teaching their children to appreciate individual differences. Although children’s knowledge and acceptance of individual differences are influenced by their families, family members may be reluctant to address issues of individual differences with their children. This article presents guidelines that educators can employ to help family members take actions that show their acceptance of individual differences and foster inclusive values in their children. Even though these guidelines are presented in the context of families of young children without disabilities and individual differences related to disability, they can be used by all educators and families to foster an acceptance of all types of individual differences in all children. Michael: Why does Joan have braces on her legs? Michael’s mother: Many people use things to help them do things that are hard for them. Your father wears glasses to help him see and Joan wears braces to help her walk. What are some things that you use to help you do things that are hard for you? Melissa: Why does Billy talk “funny”? Melissa’s father: It’s not funny. You mean you have difficulty understanding Billy. We all have different voices, and people are hard to understand for different reasons. Some people are hard to understand because they need more time to learn to speak, or their mouth muscles are still growing. Remember when you were younger, you used to say “free” when you wanted to say “three.” What are some ways to help you understand Billy? Brenda: James acts “retarded.” Brenda’s grandmother: You just hurt James’s feelings. We don’t talk that way. If James did something you don’t like, tell him what he did that you don’t like. You need to think before you speak or act. What are you going to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? • What are good ways for family members to respond to these situations? • How might these responses affect children’s understanding of individual differences?

Interplay of Biomechanical Constraints and Kinematic Strategies in Selecting Arm Postures

In this study, the authors examined the interplay between biomechanics and control strategies in the resolution of excess degrees of freedom at the joint level. Seven participants made aimed arm movements from 30 starting points and several starting postures to targets. Final arm postures for movements to a target exhibited substantial joint angle variation. Through regression modeling and by comparing observed final arm postures with biomechanically plausible postures, the authors identified 3 kinematic strategies: (a) Maintain deviations from the average angle at the starting point to the joint's final posture; (b) make torso rotations that are a fixed proportion of shoulder rotations; and (c) adopt a characteristic combination of 4 wrist-positioning approaches. The results demonstrated that kinematic strategies can account for substantial variance in final arm postures, if one takes into account 2 types of individual differences—those that arise inevitably from biomechanical constraints and those that reflect choices in movement strategy.

Endocrine Basis for Two Types of Individual Differences in Lordosis Reflex Intensity

We have identified individual differences in two independent types of lordosis reflex intensity. Overall lordosis reflex intensity, averaged across 9.4 ± 0.99 days (range = 1 - 18 days), differs among cycling individuals and is a biomarker for the rate and pattern of reproductive aging. Although estrogen is necessary to permit lordosis reflex responding and manifests individual differences in progesterone that correlated negatively with the individual variation in overall lordosis reflex intensity; females with intense overall lordosis reflexes had low progesterone throughout the estrous cycle. Independent of their overall reflex intensity, females also displayed individual variation in lordosis reflex intensity on proestrus. Among females that still maintained a cyclic lordosis reflex, those with intense lordosis reflexes on proestrus had high levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) at lights out. Among females that displayed intense lordosis reflexes throughout the estrous cycle (i.e., had entered constant lordosis), those with intense proestrous lordosis reflexes had low levels of LH at lights out on proestrus. Females who had entered constant lordosis tended to have lower overall progesterone than females who still maintained cyclic patterns of lordosis. Thus, constant lordosis. Thus, constant lordosis was identified as an important component of the changes of reproductive aging.

The Ideal Free Distribution of Unequal Competitors: Predictions from a Behaviour-Based Functional Response

1. The spatial distribution of foraging predators differing in foraging traits was investigated theoretically. Three types of individual differences were investigated: dominance that determines the outcomes in fights for food, searching efficiency and prey handling efficiency. The basic assumptions were: (i) predators search for prey; (ii) encountered prey takes time to handle; (iii) the handling process may be interrupted by a searching competitor initiating a conflict about the prey; (iv) conflicts take an expected time to settle; and (v) the winner resumes handling and the loser resumes searching. 2. Stable equilibrium distributions were found in all cases, in the sense that no competitor could achieve a higher intake rate from switching patch. 3. When it was assumed that each of the predators was different from the others, the ideal free distributions of the dominance model and the handling efficiency model resembled one another. A boundary phenotype existed with more dominant/efficient competitors only occurring in the high prey density patch and less dominant/efficient ones occurring mixed across patches. This was labelled semitruncated distribution. In the search efficiency model, the distribution was truncated, i.e. competitors less efficient than the boundary phenotype only occurred in the high prey density patch whereas the more efficient competitors occurred in the low prey density patch. 4. The models were also analysed with the predators classified into two types. As the density of competitors increased, the solution approached a set of neutral equilibria where a few predators of the more efficient type could be exchanged for a larger number of the less efficient type to reach a new equilibrium. 5. The density of predators may be negatively correlated with patch productivity and prey density when predators differ in handling efficiency. Prey-searching efficiency of predators was negatively correlated with predator density, patch productivity and prey density. Its consequences for the conservation of species are discussed

USING CUMULATIVE RANKS TO DETECT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SENSORY PROFILING

ABSTRACTThis paper is about detection of individual differences among assessors in sensory profiling. A discussion of different types of such differences are given and a graphical tool that can be used for detection of some of them is presented. It is also discussed how this tool, the so called Eggshell plot, can be used in practice and how it is related to the different types of individual differences. The theory is illustrated by two examples from sensory profiling, one from analysis of sausages and one from analysis of cheese.

DETECTION AND INTERPRETATION OF VARIATION WITHIN AND BETWEEN ASSESSORS IN SENSORY PROFILING

ABSTRACT.In this paper we discuss methods that can be used to evaluate the performance of sensory panels. In particular we concentrate on detection of variation within and among panelists. A systematic presentation of some simple, graphically oriented tools will be given. Interpretation aspects of the tools will be emphasized. The methods will be illustrated by computations from a sensory experiment based on 4 sausage products. The example demonstrates how the tools can be used to evaluate the reproducibility of the assessors and also how they can be used to detect different types of individual differences among the assessors.

Anxiety, cognitive interference, and performance.

Why do people get the scores they receive on aptitude and intelligence tests? Why do employees differ in their attainments on the job? It would be convenient if the explanation of performance involved nothing more than the operation of purely intellective ability, and traditional cognitive processes. Unfortunately, there is growing evidence that this type of explanation is often indequate. People also bring to task performance situations distinctive sets of needs, motivations, and dispositions that influence their perceptions of the situations and how they approach them. To the extent that these types of individual differences are related to performance they should be included in research designs and the planning of educational programs. This paper describes a program of research on the relationship of text anxiety to cognitive interference and performance under both neutral and stress-arousing conditions.