The following essay title/questions were set for the 2017/18 PS2050 main exam. In addition the exam included 45 multiple choice questions (sample MCQs will be provided in a separate document available on Moodle). Students had 2 hours to complete both parts of the exam. Answer ONE of the following questions: 1. Your personality is a product of your genes. Critically discuss. 2. Personality traits and general intelligence have real-world consequences. Critically discuss. 3. The Big Five is a good description of human personality. Critically discuss. Below is the generic marker feedback for the above exam questions Q1. Your personality is a product of your genes. Discuss What was done well: - This was a popular essay, chosen by nearly half of candidates. - The majority of students stuck closely to the question, and grasped that they needed to discuss the nature/nurture debate. - The vast majority focused on twin studies, first discussing evidence from the classic twin design, then raising criticisms such as violation of the equal environment assumption, and then discussing how adoption studies such as MISTRA could address this critique. - Some answers also brought in evidence from non-human animals, and heritability of brain structures linked to personality traits. - Discussion of contrasting evidence, for example studies showing how trauma, life experience, and peer influence can modify personality, and the behaviourist perspective, was well-described. - The strongest answers linked evidence for both nature and nurture, for example referring to the idea that genes set a range for a given trait, with environment playing a modulatory role. A few very strong answers referred to concepts such as gene- environment correlation and interaction (although not in those terms). - Many essays used material across lectures creatively, for example discussion of the heritability of 'dark triad' personality traits. - Most essays provided at least the key references, were logically structured and reasonably easy to read. Common pitfalls: - The logic of the twin study method was not always well-described. In particular, students did not always state the importance of the MZ vs. DZ comparison. Weaker answers did not prioritise discussion of the twin method. - The low contribution from shared environment was sometimes discussed as a lack of overall environmental contribution.
- Irrelevant material was often included, for example discussion of the link between brain structure and personality traits, without an explicit link to heritability. - Some essays discussed Freudian theories of personality without adequate critique, and/or without a clear link to genetics. - Very few essays discussed the search for genetic polymorphisms that could contribute to variance in personality. Q2. Personality traits and general intelligence have real-world consequences. Discuss What was done well: - This question was chosen by around a quarter of candidates, and it seemed to differentiate particularly strong candidates well. - Most students stuck closely to the question, and split the essay reasonably equally between personality and intelligence - The strongest essays integrated material from across several lectures, for example discussion of emotional intelligence and the dark