Processes in Individual Differences

"One of the most fascinating topics in psychology is how and why people come to develop different personalities and abilities - the psychology of individual differences. Questions such as 'why do different children in the same family seem to have such different natures and abilities?', 'What influences the way in which we interpret other people's personalities?', 'how can personality affect the way in which we process information?' and 'is personality shaped by society, our biological make-up or both?' are fundamental to the subject. Unlike many books on the structure and measurement of individual differences, this collection seeks to shed light on underlying processes. There is now some agreement about the basic structure of human abilities and personality, which makes it possible to provide at least partial answers to the above questions. \_Processes in Individual Differences\_ reviews and explores what is known about the social, biological, genetic and cognitive processes that underlie various aspects of intelligence, personality and mood. It contains contributions from international experts in their fields, and provides non-technical but state-of-the-art descriptions of the processes that underpin various aspects of personality, moods and ability, together with some new empirical results. \_Processes in Individual Differences\_ will give the advanced student, the researcher and the professional test-user a good understanding of why precisely people are so very different. The collection honours the work of Paul Kline, D.Sc., who recently retired from the only chair of psychometrics in the country." 1. Process Models In Individual Differences Research / Paul T. Barrett -- 2. Can Personality Study Ever Be Objective? The Role Of Experiment In Discovering The Structure Of Personality / Hans J. Eysenck -- 3. The Genetic Basis Of Personality / Jim Stevenson -- 4. Anxiety And Cognitive Processes / Michael W. Eysenck -- 5. The Social Psychology Of Personality / Sarah E. Hampson -- 6. Mood Processes / Colin Cooper -- 7. The Neurophysiology Of G / Arthur R. Jensen -- 8. Biometric Analyses Of Human Abilities / Nancy L. Pedersen And Paul Lichtenstein -- 9. Cognitive Processes, Mental Abilities And General Intelligence / Gerry Mulhern -- 10. Epilogue / Paul Kline. Edited By Colin Cooper And Ved Varma. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. - List of illustrations - List of contributors - Preface - Introduction 1. "Process models in individual differences research", Paul T. Barrett 2. "Can personality study ever be objective? The role of experiment in discovering the structure of personality", Hans J. Eysenck 3. "The genetic basis of personality", Jim Stevenson 4. "Anxiety and cognitive processes", Michael W. Eysenck 5. "The social psychology of personality", Sarah E. Hampson 6. "Mood processes", Colin Cooper 7. "The neurophysiology of _g_", Arthur R. Jensen 8. "Biometric analyses of human abilities", Nancy L. Pedersen and Paul Lichtenstein 9. "Cognitive processes, mental abilities and general intelligence", Gerry Mulhern 10. "Epilogue", Paul Kline - Name index - Subject index This collection analyses the processes underlying individual variations in personality. In so doing it moves away from other attempts to measure and analyse human difference. Further implications of these processes for psychology are also discussed. In considering the causes of individual difference in mood, personality and intelligence most researchers focus on the structure and measurement of those differences. This book seeks to shed light on the underlying processes taking place