PSYB30H3 Study Guide - Absolute Continuity, Frontal Lobe, Longitudinal Study

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18 Apr 2012
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Chapter 6: continuity and change in traits: the roles of genes, environments, and time. Trait terms in everyday talk are assumptions that features of psychological individuality are stable for a while. Differential continuity: consistency of individual differences within a sample of individuals over time, retention of an individual"s relative placement in a group; relative to his peers on a given dimension. Trait dimensions are calculated with a correlation coefficient; high correlation coefficients suggest high differential continuity. Low differential continuity means that people"s relative positions on dimension change unpredictably over time. Absolute continuity refers to the consistency of the average score on a given trait over time, while differential continuity is the stability of individual differences in scores. Longitudinal studies show high differential continuity in personality traits over the adult lifespan. The big five dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism show strong longitudinal consistency.