CIE AS Cognitive Psychology

Billington et al 2007 Cognitive style predicts

Learning and Individual Differences, 17, 260-268

Men and Women

What differences are there between mens and womens behaviour?

And why?

What are men generally better at than women and what are women generally better at than men?

Look at the following page

 and - can you add more?

Mathematics Mental 2d & 3d rotation Empathy Map reading Social nuances Judging character Comforting Emotional responses

Physics

Building

What do you think are the key words or phrases in this title?

Billington J., Baron-Cohen S. & Wheelwright S., 2007

Cognitive style predicts entry into physical sciences and humanities: Questionnaire and performance tests of empathy and systemizing
Well have a look at all parts of this title as we look at the study
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Cognitive style

Do you know your cognitive style?

How do you think? Logical/Rational? Intuitive/Instinctive?

How do you solve problems?

Mathematical problems? Relationship problems? Others problems?

You have no problems??

Empathizing & Systemizing

260-1

Empathizing

definition 261, p1

Cognitive + affective components Cog: Understanding anothers mind (ToM) Aff: the resulting emotional response

Empathising & Systemising

260-1

Systemizing

definition 261, p2

Analyses rules which underlie systems Input Operation Output

technical, natural, abstract, social, spatial, organisable

May have physiological basis in R hemisphere

LEFT Systemizing?

RIGHT Empathizing?

The E-S model

261 & 263

Two self-report questionnaires, forced choice format

SQ (& SQ-R) EQ

Evaluate this method

E.g. objectivity, experimental validity, turning qualitative experience into quantitative data, reductionism anything else?
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E-S theory predicts

Baron-Cohen 2002

261

What does E-S theory predict about and drives, on average?

N.b. There are always atypical males and females. E-S theory predicts a tendency.

and select different fields of study and/or occupations

not due to gender, but S>E and E>S differences What courses/careers are more popular for S>E personalities? And for E>S?

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E-S theory: some evidence

262

Wheelwright et al. (2006)

Physical science students: S>E Humanities students: E>S

Her study did not include any performance measures as validation.

Billington et al. (2007) use questionnaire and performance measures of E and S.

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Aims

262

1. Retest sex ratio in physical sciences and humanities 2. Test if show S>E profile and show E>S profile using performance and questionnaire assessment 3. Test if physical science students show S>E and humanities students show E>S using q. and p. assessment 4. Test if cognitive style > sex in explaining enrolment into courses
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Method 1/5

262-3

Participants
Who were they? Can you spot any ethnocentric bias? Is that an issue for external validity? Why test for handedness? Were any participants excluded?

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Method 2/5

263

Ps completed two questionnaires and two performance tasks online. Evaluate:

Experimental validity Reliability Convenience

Anything else?

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Method 3/5
Psychometric questionnaires EQ and SQ-R 5 brain types

263 This graph is an illustration and does not show the results for Billington et al 2007.

2.5%
35% 65% 97.5%

xE, E, B, S, xS Why those %?

Billington et al. said so

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Method 4/5

263-4

Embedded Figures Task

Forced choice (of 2) Tests what?

Eyes Task

Baron-Cohen et al., (2001)

Forced choice (of 4) Tests what?

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Method 5/5

264

Scoring

Reflects error rate and reaction time

0-24 for FC-EFT (12 items) 0-72 for Eyes test (36 items)

move on

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Results

264-268

Sex difference & type of study?

59% physical science students 70% humanities students

Sex difference & cognitive style?

66% 29% 37% 10%

S or xS E or xE
So WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN in terms of aims 1&2?
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Sex difference & performance tasks?

Eyes test > FC-EFT no sig. diff.

Results

264-268

Type of study & cognitive style?

Physical science 56% S/xS, 14% E/xE Humanities 42% E/xE, 30% S/xS

Type of study & performance tasks?

FC-EFT Eyes Task

phys. sci. > hum. hum. > phys. sci.

What does this all MEAN in terms of aim 3?
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Results

264-268

Which of these IVs the strongest predictor for entry into a subject?
Sex FC-EFT Eyes Task

Brain type / cognitive style

And what does this MEAN in terms of aim 4?

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Results exam practice

So now

What were the main findings of Billington et al. 2007?

Practise the skills: (knowledge + analysis = full marks )

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Conclusions

266-7

What relationships are there between 1. sex, 2. cognitive style, 3. cognitive performance and 4. academic degree subject?

As many as you can

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Evaluation
Approaches: ind diffs, cog, phys, dev, soc Issues

Validity: Eco. Eth. Exp. Ext. Reliability Usefulness

Debates
Situation vs. Disposition Reductionism vs. Holism Nature vs. Nurture

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Applications

266-7

E- or S-style seems a better predictor of academic / career suitability than gender Better use of success-prediction resources, e.g. careers advice Classrooms educators can adapt their methods
e.g. Gredlein & Bjorklund 2005

Improve understanding between &

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Terminology testing time

Empathizing

& EQ
Systemizing

& SQ-R

Cognitive

style / brain type Theory of mind Cognitive & affective components Traits Dimorphic / dimorphism
262

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Further reading

Go back to the first slide. Click on the researchers pictures to open their homepages.
Also: Cognitive styles Learning styles Autism Right and left brain hemispheres

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Some AS exam questions

Paper 1A (Specimen 2012) Billington, Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright (empathizing and systemizing) used a forced choice version of the Embedded Figures Task to measure systematizing. (a) What is meant by a forced choice task? [2] (b) The Eyes Task collected quantitative data. Why might psychologists choose to collect quantitative data? [2]
Paper 2B (Specimen 2012, edited) (a) Outline what is meant by quantitative and qualitative data. [2] Using the studies from the list below, answer the questions which follow. Billington, Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright (empathizing and systemizing) Piliavin, Rodin and Piliavin (subway Samaritans) Dement and Kleitman (sleep and dreaming) (b) Describe the quantitative and/or qualitative data in each of these studies. [9] (c) What problems may psychologists have when their research has only quantitative or qualitative data? [9]

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