Individual Differences in Curiosity

Looking up at the curious personality: individual differences in curiosity and openness to experience

Introduction The residential neighbourhood is thought to affect residents because of presumed neighbourhood effects; the independent effects of a neighbourhood’s characteristics on the life chances of its residents. An enormous body of research has tried to measure neighbourhood effects, however, there are no clear conclusions on how much, if any, effect the neighbourhood has on its residents. There is non-random selection of people into neighbourhoods which causes a bias in the modelling of neighbourhood effects. Any correlation found between neighbourhood characteristics and individual outcomes might be explained by selection bias and can therefore not prove the existence of a causal neighbourhood effect. The question is; do poor neighbourhoods make people poor, or do poor people live in unattractive neighbourhoods because they cannot afford to live elsewhere (Cheshire, 2007). Therefore, insight in selection is important to gain more insight in neighbourhood effects (Van Ham and Manley, 2012). For neighbourhood effects research it is important to study selective mobility and neighbourhood choice and to combine neighbourhood effects research with neighbourhood selection research (Doff, 2010a; Van Ham and Manley, 2012; Van Ham et al., 2012; Galster, 2003; Hedman, 2011). The aim of this thesis therefore is to gain more insight in both the causes and the consequences of segregation and thus to study both individual residential mobility and neighbourhood selection and neighbourhood effects. Besides the neighbourhood effects literature, also the segregation literature will benefit from better insights in selective residential mobility because selective residential mobility is one of the main driving forces of segregation. There are two main research questions for this thesis. Firstly, I try to give insight in selective mobility and neighbourhood choice and thus to study where, when and why which people move. What is the effect of personal characteristics, neighbourhood characteristics and macro level housing market developments on individual neighbourhood satisfaction, moving wishes, moving behaviour and neighbourhood selection and on macro level selective mobility patterns and segregation? Secondly, I will test presumed neighbourhood effect mechanisms. Concentration areas of ethnic minorities are seen as undesirable, because their residents are thought to have less contact with the native majority which might hamper their integration and their life chances. It is, however, unclear to what extent social contact is affected by the residential neighbourhood. The second research question therefore asks whether ethnic minorities have less contact with the native majority if they live in minority concentration neighbourhoods. Segregation Segregation is defined as the population composition of neighbourhoods in relation to each other; that is, the concentration or underrepresentation of population groups in neighbourhoods compared to a city or national level average. Selective residential mobility is one of the main driving forces of segregation. Households move to a certain neighbourhood, either because they choose to live there, or because they are constrained in their choice options. Therefore segregation can be both voluntary and involuntary. This thesis focuses on selective residential mobility as cause of segregation, therefore it tries to understand why and where people move. According to residential mobility theory, personal characteristics determine residential preferences and if the residential situation is not in line with these preferences this will lead to dissatisfaction and a desire to move (Brown and Moore, 1970). Whether a dissatisfied household succeeds in moving to a dwelling and neighbourhood more in line with their preferences, depends on their personal resources and restrictions and macro level opportunities and constraints (Mulder and Hooimeijer, 1999). Successful households will move to a neighbourhood more in line with their preferences. There are, however, differences between households in which neighbourhoods are open to choice. Low income households will only be able to select neighbourhoods in which inexpensive dwellings are available. Similarly, households who depend on the social housing sector, or on the owner-occupied sector will only be able to select neighbourhoods where dwellings of this tenure are available. In addition, there are differences between households in which neighbourhood is (deemed) most attractive. People prefer to live among others who are similar to themselves and also facilities directed towards specific groups will make especially concentration neighbourhoods of the own ethnic or income group attractive. Besides residential preferences, also other factors will affect neighbourhood selection; population groups will differ in access to information on neighbourhood attractiveness or housing opportunities and discrimination, or fear of discrimination, can limit the opportunities of minority groups on the housing market. Neighbourhood effects It is typically assumed in European and American urban policy and academic research that spatial concentrations of low income households or ethnic minorities have negative effects on their inhabitants (Friedrichs et al., 2003). An enormous body of research has tried to measure neighbourhood effects; the independent effect of a neighbourhood on its residents when controlling for individual characteristics (see for a review Dietz, 2002; Ellen and Turner, 1997; Sharkey and Faber, 2014; Van Ham et al., 2012). The research attention for neighbourhood effects started with the seminal work of Wilson (1987). He argued that living in concentration areas of the jobless lowest class, isolated from role models, mainstream values and norms, and informal job networks and social contacts with employed, has a negative effect on your life chances. Neighbourhoods can affect their residents via a number of mechanisms (Ellen and Turner, 1997; Erbring and Young, 1979; Galster, 2012). Firstly, the geographical location determines job access and thereby labour market opportunities. Secondly, pollution, noise and disturbance affect health and (thereby) life chances via environmental mechanisms . In addition, neighbourhood stigmatisation can reduce life chances because others have prejudiced ideas and low expectations of the residents of stigmatised neighbourhoods. Also, the quality of institutions such as schools, museums, libraries and sport facilities will generally be lower in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, thereby reducing the life chances of residents. Finally, neighbourhood effects can transpire via social interactions with neighbours. Through collective socialisation and peer pressure people are thought to conform to local social norms (Jencks and Mayer, 1990). Positive role models and social network contacts with individuals with more social capital can help people advance in their work or educational career (Ellen and Turner, 1997). For ethnic minorities it can be important to have social interactions with the native majority to have the opportunity to learn the majority language, standards and values (Lazear, 1999) and to have bridging network ties that can provide access to valuable information not present within the own ethnic network (Buck, 2001). Many neighbourhood effect researchers believe that living in concentrated poverty has negative effects on individuals, and policymakers try to create mixed neighbourhoods to prevent these negative neighbourhood effects. However, although “it is perfectly plausible that poor people are made poorer by the characteristics of the neighbourhoods in which they live” (…) “a close examination of the best research available does not reveal any clear evidence to support it” (Cheshire, 2007: p. ix). Almost all neighbourhood effect studies struggle with selection bias (Cheshire, 2007). Any relation found between neighbourhood characteristics and individual outcomes might be a selection effect and therefore cannot prove the existence of a causal neighbourhood effect. Neighbourhood effects researchers have tried to reduce or eliminate selection bias. Firstly this is done by using quasi-experimental study designs, using households whose residential neighbourhood is determined by external factors (Sampson et al., 2002). Secondly, advanced statistical methods such as sibling studies, fixed effects studies, instrumental variables and propensity score matching are used to reduce selection bias or to control for selection (Harding, 2003). These advancements in methodology have improved our insight in selection bias and in neighbourhood effects, however, since there are no methods that can completely eliminate selection bias, there is still no clear evidence of causal neighbourhood effects. Generally, methods that apply more controls for selection bias find smaller neighbourhood effects. Instead of trying to eliminate selection bias, this thesis tries to provide insight in selection, in why and where which people move. In addition, this thesis tests presumed neighbourhood effect mechanisms. Social interactive mechanisms assume that neighbourhood effects transpire because the population composition of the residential neighbourhood affects with whom you interact (Ellen and Turner, 1997; Galster, 2012). Therefore I test whether the ethnic composition of the neighbourhood affects interethnic contact. Individual differences in determinants of residential satisfaction<

This thesis argues that people choose specific occupational roles to satisfy individual dispositions and needs, characteristics that have arisen in childhood as a means of establishing an ecological niche of diversity within families. I first examine the notion that birth order promotes differentiation amongst siblings, and that these differences represent a distal basis for individual differences in personality variables, motives and occupational role preferences. Building on that knowledge, I then argue that organizations typically are comprised of people grouped into clusters based on their roles; the make up of each cluster is somewhat similar in terms of biographical, personality and motive variables, and each cluster is differentiated from the other clusters. The occupational role clusters of interest are 'administrative/support', 'technical/professional', and 'supervisory/managerial'. Finally, I suggest that the nature of these relatively internally homogeneous role clusters and the differences between these clusters may have consequences for an organization's capacity to be innovative. The research comprises three studies. The first examined the possibility of individual differences between siblings based on birth order. The second examined individual differences as they apply to occupational role clusters within organizations. In both of these studies, my primary interest with respect to individual differences was in 'motives', a domain of human behaviour that has been largely succeeded in the research literature by personality variables, particularly the so-called 'big-5', which I have also considered. The research therefore considered both motive and personality variables, though with more theoretical emphasis on the former. The third study, which was exploratory, examined whether more innovative organizations can be differentiated from less innovative organizations on the basis of occupational role clusters and the nature of the individual differences within and between them. In Study 1, I investigated sibling differences using a novel methodology designed to overcome criticisms of prior birth order research. The sample consisted of 379 adult participants, (151 first-borns, 136 middle-borns, and 92 last- borns) all of whom came from families of only three siblings. Respondents completed a survey seeking information about themselves and their two siblings (thus producing a total sample of 1137) with respect to motive, personality and occupational role preference variables. The data on the 1137 adults were then analysed. Results provided partial support for the hypotheses that birth order underpins motives, personality variables and occupational role preference, and strong support for the proposal that motives underpin occupational role preference. In Study 2,1 examined employees in four different organizations, three public sector and one private sector, to ascertain if different occupational roles display any relationship to the individual differences between the people occupying those different roles. The survey was sent to all staff in the four organizations, and were targeted at the three different role clusters of 'administrative/support', 'technical/professional' and 'supervisory/managerial'. The survey included questions on biographical details, birth order, motives, personality and occupational role preference. A total of 266 responses (116 administrative/support, 114 technical/professional, 36 supervisory/managerial) was received. Discriminant analysis provides strong support for the notion that occupancy of the supervisory/managerial role can be predicted successfully via individual differences. There was negligible support for the prediction of the other two roles based on individual differences, though there were effects for birth order. Study 3 explored the relationship between patterns of individual difference within occupational roles, on the one hand, and an organization's capacity to be innovative, on the other. Participating organizations were a subset of those involved in Study 2. The level of innovation within each participating organization was determined by structured face-to-face interviews with nine peer-selected staff members (three from each of the role clusters of interest) from each of the four organizations. Individual difference data, partitioned from the data captured in Study 2, were analysed to assess their relationship to the organizational-level data. Though based on a very small sample of organizations, the data provided strong support for the notion that the aggregation of individual differences into clusters and the resultant nature of those clusters demonstrate a clear relationship to organizational innovation. Again the variables related to birth order revealed their significant presence. Collectively, the three studies demonstrate a plausible link between evolutionary psychology on the one hand and contemporary management on the other.

All modern liberal democratic societies are marked by diversity and difference — differences of ethnicity, culture and religion in addition to the many individual differences which characterise the members of such societies. Traditionally liberalism has been pictured as celebrating much of this diversity, or as at least tolerant of many differences which might not be thought valuable. Yet it has become clear that the relationship between liberalism, pluralism, especially multiculturalism, and toleration is much more problematic than this simple and comforting picture suggests. In particular, while not a new problem, it has become an increasingly urgent issue of theory and practice as to how tolerant liberalism is, or can be, of cultural and religious groups which do not themselves subscribe unreservedly or without qualification to what have been taken to be the basic values of liberalism.KeywordsReligious GroupSocial TrustFree SpeechPlural SocietyLiberal SocietyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Gambling disorder is classified as an addictive disorder and is associated with significant distress and impairment in personal, social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. Although no pharmacotherapy has a formal indication for gambling disorder, data suggest potential benefits of specific medications.Area covered: This systematic review evaluated findings from 19 randomized controlled trials testing pharmacotherapies for the treatment of gambling disorder.Expert opinion: Few randomized controlled trials have studied pharmacotherapies for gambling disorder. Though results are limited, opioid antagonists like naltrexone showed promise in the pharmacological treatment of gambling disorder. Pharmacotherapy combined with psychotherapy treatments for gambling disorder may provide better rates of patient retention in comparison to pharmacology-only treatments, though further research is needed in this area. Future studies should address gaps relating to considerations of racial, ethnic, gender and other individual differences in clinical studies. Because gambling disorder often co-occurs with other psychiatric disorders, additional research is needed to test treatments for dually diagnosed patients.

The relevance of the problem is caused by the need for young people to make a conscious choice of life priorities and guidelines. The purpose of this article is to study the value foundations of individual choice and social selection in education. Different approaches to understanding the significance of the selection function of educational activity are presented. A classification of the priorities of professional and social choice, as well as criteria for choosing the optimal method of individual development, has been completed. The factors that determine the meaning of education in historical retrospect are studied. The internal mechanisms of the professional and educational structure of society, making it a channel of social mobility, are considered. At the same time, a position is presented that shows the ambiguity of the influence of one or another mechanism on the future — some events can simultaneously contribute to both vertical and horizontal mobility. The author also strives to identify the axiological principles of establishing the boundaries of attributing a particular case to different social elevators. The question is raised about the moral choice of a teacher when organizing teaching activities that take into account the abilities and prospects of students. The ambivalence of this situation in relation to the influence on the further activity of the subject is pointed out, and in this sense, both the inconsistency and the dialectical unity of social selection and personal choice are established.

A number of recent studies have indicated that individual and ethnic differences are seen in the manifestation of acute symptoms after alcohol intake (Ewing et al. 1974; Goedde and Agarwal 1986; Reed et al. 1976; Mizoi et al. 1979; Zeiner et al. 1979). Individual and ethnic differences are also associated with multiple forms of alcohol metabolizing enzymes (Von Wartburg eta/. 1965, Smith eta/. 1971, Harada eta/. 1980a,b, 1981; Goedde eta/. 1983). The first metabolite of ethanol by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is acetaldehyde, which is oxidized by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) into acetic acid. Among human ALDH isozymes, which consist of at least four different components, mitochondrial enzyme (ALDH2) contributes most to the oxidation of acetaldehyde because it has higher affinity to the substrate than the other isozymes. Our previous studies revealed that the catalytic deficiency of ALDH2 isozyme is responsible for facial flushing and other symptoms, such as tachycardia and headache. The enzyme deficiency per mits accumulation of a higher acetaldehyde level after alcohol intake and it is these high levels of acetaldehyde that are responsible for the unpleasant symp toms following alcohol ingestion (Harada et al. 1982). The deficiency of ALDH2 occurs primarily among peoples of Mongoloid origin (Harada eta/. 1980a, 1981; Goedde eta/. 1986, 1990; Harada 1989). Individuals deficient in ALDH2 refrain from excessive drinking of alcohol due to their averse reaction, thus ALDH2 defi ciency affords protection against alcoholism (Harada eta/. 1981). The latter may explain why alcoholism in Japanese and many other Mongoloid population is less common than among Caucasians.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid expansion of telehealth utilization in medicine. However, the quality measures associated with telehealth use remain unclear, particularly among vulnerable populations. This study aims to investigate the impact of telehealth on individuals' perception of overall quality care among vulnerable patient populations. This cross-sectional study utilized Health Information National Trends Survey data. The individuals' overall perception of healthcare quality was compared between populations that had at least one telehealth visit and non-telehealth users, who all had the option of utilizing telehealth. This comparison focused on vulnerable populations, considering differences in race and ethnicity (non-Hispanic white vs. non-Hispanic black/Hispanic individuals) and socioeconomic status (high vs. low). Multivariable logistic regressions were employed to ascertain the association between individuals' overall perceptions of quality care with and without telehealth utilization. A total of 2920 participants, representing an unweighted population of 114,608,302, were analyzed. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for at least one telehealth visit associated with individuals' overall perception of quality care among the entire survey population was 0.76 with a 95% CI of 0.51-1.13 (p = 0.173). The AOR was 0.83 (95% CI 0.39-1.77, p = 0.618) among the non-White population, and the AOR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.29-1.78, p = 0.462) among individuals with low SES. Although telehealth utilization has both its limitations and advantages compared to traditional clinical visits, no statistically significant differences in individuals' overall perception of quality care were identified among telehealth and non-telehealth users. These findings were also consistent across various vulnerable populations.

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to determine the health behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of well-elderly persons from Black, German, Hispanic, Vietnamese and White rural and city ethnic groups. Findings from the ethnographies and life histories of the twenty-eight informants revealed similarities and differences in health-related themes. These compared favorably with wellness dimensions of self-responsibility, social interaction, spirituality, exercise and nutrition, environmental factors, stress management and balance of work and leisure. Occupational therapists who provide health promotion and disease prevention services to minority elders can be more effective if they become sensitive to cultural as well as individual differences in treatment planing and implementation.

This investigation examines English as foreign language college interdisciplinary and intercultural differences in learning strategy use and their implications for language processing. Positivism underpins this research at the levels of ontology (standardized variables), epistemology (detachment from the subjects) and methodology, using nomothetic research strategy (survey), instruments (questionnaires) and data analysis techniques (multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of variance). Main findings show interdisciplinary differences between the Humanities and Science majors in student use of compensation strategies in favour of the Science major while finding no intermajor differences in student use of other strategies. The findings indicate no ethnic differences in learning strategy use, since European, American and Eastern ethnicities almost use typical strategies. Therefore, disagreements on alleged unmediated deterministic relationships between ethnicity and cognitive processing remain in place. Instead, curriculum and instructional designs, strategy training and individual differences rather than cultural stereotypes influence language processing. For curriculum and instructional designs to facilitate language processing and pedagogy, effective strategies should underlie national, classroom-level and school-level curriculum developments.

Research Findings: In an effort toward developing a comprehensive, effective, scalable, and sustainable early childhood education program for at-risk populations, we conducted an experimental evaluation of the value added by 2 family involvement programs to the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM). A total of 91 preschool classrooms that served minority populations of low socioeconomic status were randomly assigned to TEEM, TEEM plus Raising a Reader (RAR), or TEEM plus RAR augmented by Family Nights. Assessments of oral language and print knowledge were completed by more than 500 children at the beginning and end of the school year. Multilevel analyses of covariance controlled for classroom nesting and individual differences in age, ethnicity, and pretest scores. Although RAR alone demonstrated no added value, augmentation of RAR with Family Nights demonstrated significant impacts on measures of oral language (ts = 1.81–2.51, .05 < ps < .01) and print knowledge (t = 2.39, p < .01). Practice or Policy: Thus, parent training in shared reading practices appears to be necessary for children to benefit from programs that enrich the home literacy environment. That the combined program particularly benefited children who started preschool lagging behind in school readiness (ts = 1.64–2.49, ps < .05) suggests that this comprehensive model offers hope for closing the achievement gap.

The present study examined the development of sex typing during middle childhood, using a sample of 558 children aged 5-12 years. The purpose of the study was to provide information about the developmental course and stability of various aspects of sex typing during this period and to examine the relative contributions of cognitive and environmental factors to sex-role development. Multiple measures of sex typing were obtained, including indices of personal preference, knowledge of stereotypes, and flexibility in the domains of activities, occupations, and traits. We also collected information about the child's cognitive maturity, exposure to sex-typed models at home, and socioeconomic status. Results supported the need for an integrative theory of sex-role development, incorporating factors emphasized by cognitive-developmental, schematic-processing, and social learning theories. Knowledge of stereotypes, flexibility, and sex-typed personal preferences all increased with age during middle childhood. There were also individual differences in sex typing that were stable over a 1-year period. Distinct "cognitive" and "affective" aspects of sex typing were identified using a principal components analysis. Cognitive elements (flexibility and knowledge of stereotypes) were largely a function of the child's cognitive maturity level, although social-environmental factors such as father's presence in the home also had some effect. Affective elements (sex-typed preferences for activities, occupations, and peers), on the other hand, were related more consistently to sex typing of the home environment. Children whose mothers frequently modeled "reversed" sex-role behaviors (i.e., traditionally "masculine" household and child-care tasks) were less sex typed in their own preferences. However, cognitive factors were also important, in that children who believed gender stereotypes to be flexible were less sex typed in their choices of activities, occupations, and peers. In sum, both cognitive maturation and socialization experiences contribute to the development of sex typing during middle childhood. Potential practical implications of these findings, as well as implications for stereotyping in other social domains such as race and ethnicity, are discussed.

Orientation: The use of personality tests for selection and screening has been consistently criticised resulting from the risk of socially desirable responding amongst job applicants. Research purpose: This study examined the magnitude of culture and language group meanscore differences amongst job applicants and the moderating effect of race on the relationship between social desirability and cognitive ability. Motivation for the study: The influence of cognitive ability and potential race and ethnic group differences in social desirability scale scores, which can lead to disproportional selection ratios, has not been extensively researched in South Africa. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative, cross-sectional research design, based on secondary datasets obtained from the test publisher, was employed. The dataset consisted of 1640 job applicants across industry sectors. Main findings: Moderated multiple regression analyses revealed that the relationship between social desirability and general reasoning was moderated by culture and language, with group differences in social desirability being more pronounced at the low general reasoning level. This suggests that social desirability scales may be an ambiguous indicator of faking as the scales may indicate tendency to fake, but not the ability to fake, that is likely to be connected to the level of cognitive ability of the respondent.Practical/managerial implications: Individual differences in social desirability are not fully explained by cognitive ability as cultural differences also played a role. Responding in a certain manner, reflects a level of psychological sophistication that is informed by the level of education and socio-economic status. In relation to selection practice, this study provided evidence of the potentially adverse consequences of using social desirability scales to detect response distortion. Contribution/value-add: The exploration of cross-cultural differences in the application of social desirability scales and the influence of cognitive ability is seen as a major contribution, supported by possible explanations for the differences observed and recommendations regarding the practice of universal corrections and adjustments.

Abstract. This paper presents the results of a study that employed measures of personality, social attitudes, values, and social norms that have been the focus of recent research in individual differences. These measures were given to a sample of participants (N = 1,255) who were enrolled at 25 US colleges and universities. Factor analysis of the correlation matrix produced four factors. Three of these factors corresponded to the domains of Personality/Amoral Social Attitudes, Values, and Social Norms; one factor, Conservatism, cut across the domains. Cognitive ability showed negative correlation with conservatism and amoral social attitudes. The study also examined gender and ethnic group differences on factor scores. The overall interpretation of the findings is consistent with the inside-out view of human social interactions.

Counseling and Psychotherapy: Ethnic and Cultural Differences