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Individual Difference Psychology (also regarded as differential psychology) is a branch of psychology that studies how and why individuals differ. Its main sub-branches are the study of cognitive abilities, motivation, personality, and temperament (including both mood and emotion). This also examines how people are similar and how they differ in their thinking, feeling and behavior.
Individual differences can be characterized by the following attributes:
1. Variability and Normality – We have mentioned how even organisms within a species vary greatly in their pattern of adaptive behavior and how anatomical, physiological differences exist among different people.
2. Differential rates of growth and learning – Developmental schedules vary for all individuals. These variations can be seen in cognitive abilities, in physical, emotional and moral aspects of growth.
3. Interrelation of traits – The growth of personality for instance, is the result of the continuing interaction of many factors – biological, social or environmental and we cannot accurately attribute the causations of behavior to one factor alone.
4. Hereditary and environmental factors – Hereditary and environmental contributions can never be completely separated because they are in continuous interplay in the production of every physical and psychological trait.
Factors Affecting Individual Difference
1. Physiological factors
Endocrine gland activity, brain tissue damage, as a result of accidents, illness infection or chemical stimulation can cause changes in intellectual functioning, mood and relations with others.
2. Cultural influences
In some cultures, physical stature and muscular strength are socially attractive. These norms affect individual self-concepts as well as social adjustments. These values can also change within a society.
3. Interaction between biological and social factors
An individual, as a complex product of many interacting variables, is really more than the simple sum of different influences. One physiological characteristic may produce a different effect in another social context or a given social context will affect an individual differently depending on the physical conditions imposed.
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Personality is our distinctive and characteristic patterns of thought, actions and behavior. It is all about the most essential psychological aspects of a person’s life – our thoughts, feelings, motives, skills, and behaviors.The term is coined from the Latin word ‘persona’ meaning ‘mask’. This means that people put on a ‘mask’ that distinguishes them from the rest. We can choose to portray different personas which constitute to our personality but our inner selves have a greater representation of our true characters.
Fundamental Characteristics of Personality
Our personalities may be collectively characterized into four fundamental characteristics:
1. Consistency -This means that we demonstrate a pattern of regularity or uniformity to our behaviors as recognized and identified by other people. In essence, we tend to act in similar ways and respond similarly to various situations.
2. Impacts behaviors and actions- It causes us to take action or respond to various situations and experiences in certain ways aside from affecting how we act and react in certain situations.
3. Psychological and physiological – A person’s character and identity is built up by the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behavior. However, some researches would mention that biological aspect also affects or influences personality.
4. Multiple expressions -It is more than just a person’s attitude or behavior but also identified through patterns of thoughts, emotions, relationships, and interaction with other people.
Theories of Personality
a. ) Psychoanalytic
Sigmund Freud created the psychoanalytic theory. Although the psychoanalytic approach has its shortcomings as a scientific theory, its account of personality remains the most comprehensive, far-reaching, and influential amongst other personality theories and also determined by the struggle between our instincts, our logical thinking, and our conscience. This theory has been one of the most influential theories of our time. It breaks the human personality down into three critical parts: Id, Ego and Superego.
- The Id is the most basic part and is present at birth. The Id functions with the pleasure principle. This means it tends to be a little animalistic. It can be irrational and illogical.
- The Ego works to maintain or control the Id. It operates on the reality principal and tries to keep the Id straight. The Ego makes a person have rational and realistic thoughts while interacting with others.
- The Superego is the conscience. It contains the principles and ideals of society. The Superego operates on idealism. Its goal is to inhibit the desires of the Id and convince the Ego to work towards more moral goals rather than realistic ones.
b.) Person-Centered Theory
This theory claims that individuals perceive the world in a unique phenomenological way so that no two people's perceptions of the world are the same. This was developed by psychologist Carl Rogers and is one of the most widely used models in mental health and psychotherapy. The PCT places great emphasis on the individual's ability to move in positive directions. Rogers believes in the trustworthiness of individuals and in their innate ability to move toward self-actualization and health when the proper conditions are in place. He also believes that individuals have the inner resources to move themselves in such positive directions.
c.) Somatotypes
Somatotype is the word used by the famous psychologist William Sheldon to describe a body-type using his method of classifying the human physique. According to him, the body type of a person reflects one’s personality. Human physique is classified into three: (1) Endomorph (feature: rounded body, characteristic: pleasure lover and friendly); (2) Ectomorph (feature: skinny and thin, characteristic: loner and introvert) and; (3) Mesomorph (feature: athletic body, characteristic: adventure-seeking).
Psychological Assessment is a process of testing that uses a combination of techniques to help arrive at some hypotheses about a person and their behavior, personality and capabilities.
1. Norm-Referenced Tests
A standardized psychological test is a task or set of tasks given under standard, set conditions. It is designed to asses some aspect of a person’s knowledge, skill or personality. A psychological test provides a scale of measurement for consistent individual differences regarding some psychological concept and serves to line up people according to that concept.
2. Interviews
Valuable information is gained through interviewing. When it’s for a child, interviews are conducted not only the child, but the parents, teachers and other individuals familiar with the child. Interviews are more open and less structured than formal testing and give those being interviewed an opportunity to convey information in their own words.
3. Observations
Observations of the person being referred in their natural setting — especially if it’s a child — can provide additional valuable assessment information. In the case of a child, how do they behave in school settings, at home, and in the neighborhood? Does the teacher treat them differently than other children? How do their friends react to them?
4. Informal Assessment
Standardized norm-referenced tests may at times need to be supplemented with more informal assessment procedures, as such as projective tests or even career-testing or teacher-made tests. For example, in the case of a child, it may be valuable to obtain language samples from the child, test the child’s ability to profit from systematic cues, and evaluate the child’s reading skills under various conditions.The realm of informal assessment is vast, but informal testing must be used more cautiously since the scientific validity of the assessment is less known.
References:
www.psychcentral.com;
www.wikipedia.com
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