Psychological Attributes, Cognitive
Abilities and Behaviour
Dieter Wolke & Zach Estes
University of Warwick
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Opportunities
• Address questions at the interface between social
science, psychology and biomedical research (might
include gene x environment interactions).
• Longitudinal design, household recruitment and sample
size make UKHLS uniquely suited to studying
- Transitions across entire lifespan (inc pre-conception)
- Effects of household and family on each others
psychological functioning (generational effects, family
environment)
- Ethnic differences
• Psychological attributes should show clear individual
variation at each “stage” of development
• Linkage to routine data sources (e.g. educational records:
SATs etc.)?
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Challenges
• Limited questionnaire space and interview time
• Respondent fatigue
• Interviewer training and equipment costs for even basic
psychological assessments (e.g. IQ, perception, memory
etc.)
• No funding beyond some core measures
• Non-participation in psychologically invasive
procedures (e.g. romantic relationships, sexuality etc.)
• Optimum measurement frequency will vary greatly and
according to age
• Huge range of potential psychological maeasures
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
BHPS Measures
• Personality
• Attitudes
• antisocial behaviour/crime
• education
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Core Measures: Initial
UKHLS Focus
Personality & Social Skills
Describing personality characteristics (normal variation) or
social relationships/inclusion (e.g. bullying and
exclusion0
Cognitive “Capital”
Globally or specific (IQ or specific skills)
Both, particular interest in understanding Vulnerability,
Resilience and Protective factors (e.g. labour
participation, income potential, family planning…)
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Longitudinal Research:
Assessments 60 years apart
Deary, I. J., Whiteman, M. C., Starr, J. M., Whalley, L. J., & Fox, H. C. (2004).
The Impact of Childhood Intelligence on Later Life: Following Up the Scottish
Mental Surveys of 1932 and 1947. Journal of Personality & Social
Psychology, 86(1), 130-147.
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Childhood IQ
and Longevity
(Inter-individual change
in intra-individual
Development)
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Non-core Funding
FACTORS FOR WHICH THE LIFESPAN TRAJECTORY IS
KNOWN
• Working Memory (WM): linked in childhood and adolescence
with several core cognitive processes (e.g., language abilities,
theory of mind, reasoning skills, etc) and in older adulthood
with the decline of several other cognitive processes (e.g.,
inhibition, strategy use, source monitoring, etc).
• Study in context: Generational effects; impact of drug use,
diet, video gaming etc.
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS
Non-core Funding
EXAMPLES
• Romantic Relationships and Sexual Relationships
(Relevance teenage sex, STI’s to quality of partner
relationship, divorce and household composition)
• Achievement (e.g. educational vs. potential)
• Socio-emotional processing (social cognition)
• Motor and Perceptual Skills
UKHLS Consultation Launch, 19/06/07, RSS