PE7028 - Individual Differences

The module is delivered entirely online via our electronic learning platform (elp). You will interact with a range of materials on the module site. The module home page provides you with quick access to detailed information about the module in an interactive, easily accessible format. The syllabus topics will be introduced using mini video lectures. On occasions the activities will be driven by you within an online group context. Psychometrics exercises will provide hands-on experience of research tools/test evaluation. Discussion board forums will be used to encourage students to exchange ideas with their peers. Together, the mini lectures, directed and independent learning, and online discussion will enable you to gain greater depth of knowledge in the fields of personality and intelligence.

You will be an autonomous, self-motivated learner within a supportive distance learning environment. You will be introduced to the module by the module tutor in an introductory video. The online module sessions and interactive tasks form the cornerstone for supporting you during your study. Academic support is available from the teaching team throughout the module. Discussion board forums, which are monitored regularly, can be used to ask questions, discuss ideas, and interact with the module team and your peers. The academic team also host three live webinars. The webinars provide an important opportunity to engage in real-time discussions with the module team and your peers in a virtual environment. The other opportunities for real-time discussions come in the form of regular ‘coffee morning’ sessions. The coffee morning sessions offer an informal virtual environment in which you can ask questions, discuss course related topics, and have broader conversations with the module team and your peers. You can also contact the module team by email and responses will be fed back either directly or via the module discussion board. In advance of each assessment a video presentation is uploaded to support you in your assessment preparation. This is followed by an online live question and answer webinar session prior to submission of your assessed work. Focused academic support coupled with timely formative and summative feedback should enable you to meet your full academic potential on this module.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• MKU1: By the end of the module you will be expected to discuss, and critically evaluate current knowledge derived from theoretical and empirical evidence drawn from the field of individual differences.
• MKU2: By the end of the module you will be expected to critically examine and interpret psychometric data.
• MKU3: By the end of the module you be expected to apply your knowledge of individual differences and psychometrics to real world contexts.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• MIPSA1: By the end of the module you will be expected to deploy your understanding of constructs and psychometric procedures in novel ways in order to tackle applied issues.
• MIPSA2: By the end of the module you will be expected to employ a range of techniques relevant to psychological enquiry.

The first assessment, with a 50% weighting, is a timed short-answer question (SAQ) exam. (MKU1, MIPSA2). You will receive feedback in the form of an overall grade and mark achieved per question. The module team will provide additional general feedback on the elp.
The second assessment, with a 50% weighting is a written psychometrics report assignment with a word limit of 3000 words. (MKU1, MKU2, MKU3, MIPSA1, MIPSA2). You will receive feedback in the form of an overall grade, highlighted marking rubric, and specific feedback comments. The module team will provide additional generic feedback on the elp.

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The aim of this module is to provide you with an opportunity to understand and critically reflect upon how psychologists have approached the constructs of intelligence and personality. The weekly sessions are designed to introduce you to research and theoretical literature on intelligence and personality. You will additionally engage in independent reading and reflect on the contemporary debates associated with intelligence and personality. The learning on this module will enable you to develop an understanding of how these constructs are measured and how psychologists critically evaluate the properties of these measures. You will also be required to critically assess the psychometric properties of a research tool. Thus, you will be able develop not only the conceptual knowledge associated with these fields, but the research skills associated with the development and validation of psychometrics measures required to study these constructs .