Hypothesis 1 will be based on your prediction of the mean score for your chosen factor
under COVID19 conditions (2020) compared to non-COVID19 conditions (2017). You
will need to apply your understanding of what your chosen trait is, how stable traits are
likely to be, and the direction of the change (if you hypothesise there will be one).
Hypothesis 2 will be based on satisfaction with life. In the same vein as H1, you will
need to think about whether the mean score for satisfaction with life will have
remained the same or changed between 2017 and 2020, given the changed conditions.
HPS791 students will apply the same test to positive relations with others.
Hypothesis 3 will be based on the correlation between your chosen Big 5 factor and
satisfaction with life. This is the most challenging hypothesis and will require you to
think critically about both personality and wellbeing. You will hypothesise about the
relationship between your chosen Big 5 factor and satisfaction with life. If you predict a
change, you will need to state the direction (i.e. stronger or weaker now, compared to
then).
HPS791 students have two additional hypotheses:
Hypothesis 4, as per H2 but you will predict mean change for the PWB subscale positive
relations with others, and;
Hypothesis 5, as per H3 but you will predict whether the relationship between your
chosen Big 5 factor and positive relations with others will have changed or stayed the
same.
The first step is to develop an understanding of what the Big 5 factors are, what they
‘look like’. Which Big 5 factor you choose for your research report is up to you, but you
will need to think about how each factor might be expressed or suppressed in the
COVID19 environment. For example, how might someone high in extraversion
experience lockdown? How might someone who is high in conscientiousness behave
during a health crisis? This is an application of trait x environment critical thinking.
In order to make a prediction for hypothesis 3, you will need to think through
hypotheses 1 and 2 carefully. Once you determine what you think will happen with
your Big 5 factor and satisfaction with life/positive relations with others, you can think
through what that means for their relationship to each other.
We will spend time talking through these ideas in our seminars, but you will also need
to read relevant journal articles and apply your understanding of the unit content to
these questions.