Concept Of Individuals Differences.
It
must be clearly understood that whatever lies around us in the form of
non-living or living being differ from
each other in so many aspects. These from each other in so many aspects. These
differences and variations become more intense and remarkable as we draw closer to human beings
as one of the ultimate creation of the Almighty in the history of evolution. We
as human beings quite distinctly differ size, shape, appearance, speed of
reaction and innumerable other aspects of our personality make-up and behavior.
Among us , some are healthy and jolly, while others are weak and irritable.
Some are blue-eyed and black haired, while others are black eyes and gray hair.
Some are know as girls or woman while others are termed as boys or men and etc.
These differences that are entitled as
“individual differences.” in the languages of sociology and psychology. Two
different explanations given for this term in the “Dictionary of education” by
carter .B. Good (1959.p.172)
1.
Individual differences stand for “the
variations or deviations among individuals in regard to a single characteristic
or a number of characteristics.”
2.
Individual differences stand for “those
differences which in their totality, distinguish one individual from
another.”
The
above two dictionary meanings of the term individual differences, now can help
us in building the workable definitions with references to our discussion
earlier in this chapter.
“ The
differences among individuals, that distinguish or separate them, from
one another and make one and one as an unique individual in oneself, may be
termed as individual differences”.
TYPES
OF VARIETIES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Whatever physical or physiological
differences among the human beings, they may be generally grouped or classified
in two broad categories, namely (i) physical or physiological differences and
(ii) physiological differences. While physical or physiological differences
among us are related with the differences created on account of the differences
or variations in terms of physical or physiological make –up of our bodies,
physiological make-up or conditions generate differences among us In terms of varying intellectual potentialities,
interests, attitudes, aptitudes, emotional ,social and moral development etc.
These two broad classifications of individual
differences may give birth to a number of sub categories like below,
·
Differences related to physical growth
and development
·
Differences related to mental growth and
development
·
Differences related to motor skills and
abilities
·
Differences related to socialization and
social development.
·
Differences related to morality and
character development.
·
Differences related to aesthetic sense
and artistic ability.
·
Differences related to diversified
interests and aptitudes.
·
Differences in attitudes, beliefs and
opinions
·
Differences with regard to value system
and self concept.
·
Differences with regard to levels of
aspiration, study habits and achievements.
·
Differences with regard to acquisition
of psychomotor skills.
·
Differences with regard to status of
maturation and learning performance.
·
Differences with regard to overall
development of the personality out of the individual differences listed above,
let us discuss a few important ones.
Differences
in interest
Interest
is the central force that drives the whole machinery of the teaching-learning
process. The thins in which a learner has its interest are attended well,
learned properly retained for a long time and made use of a proper time. The
reverse is also true. If one is not interested in one or the other aspect of
learning, all the attempts of making him lean will serve no purpose. On similar
lines, the term “interest” has been defined by crow and crow (1973) as:
“Interest
may refer to the motivating force that implies us to attend to a person, a
thing or an activity” (p.248). Like for serving our own individual interests,
we are always inclined towards some persons, things or activities while not
caring or attending to others along or the other time. In other words, our
areas of interest show wide choices and diversities. We are interested in some
and not in others and it is due to this that we can observe wide individual
differences related to interests among the human beings. Just sit in the
drawing room of a family and you will notice the diversity of interests when
the members of the family begin to quarrel over watching one or the other
television channel.
Differences
in attitudes
Attitudes
is one of the important attributes of our behavior. Our behavior to a great
extent depends on our attitude towards a thing idea, person or object that
exists in our environment. As a matter of definition, we may here reproduce a
definition given by Sorenson (1977).
“An
attitude is a particular feeling about something, it, therefore involves a
tendency to behave in a certain way in situations which involves that
something, whether person. Idea or object. It is particularly rational and
partially emotional and is acquired, not inherent in an individual.”
A
particular feeling about something that makes our attitudes towards that very
thing is almost an individual phenomenon. We always behave in a certain way
when needed to respond to a particular thing, person, idea or object depending
on the nature of our own attitude- positive, negative or indifferent formed
towards that thing.
Differences
in aptitudes
We may find a strange pattern of similarities and
dissimilarities commonalities and differences among individuals with regard to
their possession of different types of aptitudes, in a simple way, may be
considered a special ability or specific capacity besides the general
intellectual ability which helps an individual to acquire a required degree of
proficiency or achievement in a particular field. We may have reproduce
definition of the term “aptitude” given by freeman. “An aptitude is a
combination of characteristics indicative of an individual’s capacity
to-------(with training) some specific knowledge, skill or set of organized responses.
Such as the ability to speak a language, to become a musician, to do mechanical
work”.
Difference in values
We have different values-materialistic, social,
moral or spiritual-depending upon our own philosophy of life, environmental
situations and circumstances. Here we may come across certain commodities and
wide variation among human beings with respect to possession of varieties of
values like economic, political, physiological, psychological or social and
moral values. Simply said we may associate our values with our needs physical,
physiological, psychological, social and spiritual. We always value a thing
because we need it. Accordingly we are materialistic in our values because of
our need to satisfy our materialistic desires. As soon as we are saturated or
reasonably satisfied with the realization of our material needs, we may seek
the realization of spiritual needs or search for inner peace, social
integration and other essential psychological or human values. In this way, our
needs decide or perception and value for a thing-object, idea and person.
Difference in level of Aspirations
To achieve our acquire something,
the most essential requirement is to have an aspiration for its achievement.
One can’t achieve without aspiring for it. Aspiration is thus the key for wish
fulfillment, progress and success in life. Everybody wants to achieve one or
the other thing in life and therefore, it is quite appropriate to generalize
that everyone of us has the urge of aspiration, we differ with regard to its
level. While many of us demonstrate a very high level of aspiration for
achieving things in their lives, a good large number is also found to have. A
very low level of aspiration for achieving or avoiding failure.
Differences in self- concept
As
a child grows and develops in age, he is sure to develop his ability of concept
format about the things and events available in his environment. Besides the
formation of concepts about the things other than his self, he is sure to form
a concept about his self such concept about the self is termed as one’s
self-concept. It reflects the images, considerations or judgment about ones
abilities and limitations usually held by an individual not only for projecting
himself before others but also for estimation of his self in his own eyes. It
in this context that the term self concept has been defined by famous
psychologist H.J.EYSENK (1971) in the following words.
“The totality of attitudes, judgment
and values of an individuals relating to his behavior, abilities and qualities
may be referred to as his self concept”.
Difference in Study Habits:-
Children
and even we adults are bound to differ and have wide variations in terms of
study habits as listed as follows.
Ø They
differ in terms of attitudes, belief and opinion about studying one or the
other thing.
Ø They
differ in terms of their interest and aptitudes for studying one or the other
thing.
Ø They
differ in their approaches and objectives served by studying different things.
Ø They
differ in terms of the time devoted and attempts made for studying different
things.
Ø They
differ with respect to proper use of the results of their professional and
future life.
Differences in achievements :
Individuals may be seen to differ in
terms of their achievements in one or the other areas of the subject of study,
professional courses, occupations and other various aspects of life. Some are
seen to excel in one field or other while lagging behind in the rest, others
may exhibit dominance in almost all the fields or failure everywhere at each
occasion. In this way, we can observe various types of variations and
diversities among human beings with regard to their achievements in life.
Differences
in psychomotor skills
Individuals
are found to differ with regard to development and acquisition of one or more
types of skills. These differences are very much observable right from an early
age in children. Some are very quick , efficient and methodical. In performing
skilled tasks like jumping, running, skipping ,hopping , galloping ,climbing ,
dancing ,swimming ,reading ,writing ,drawing ,catering copying, drawing,
handling laboratory equipment and working tools, experimenting, computing,
surveying, measuring, sketching, stitching, sewing, cooking, washing,
dry-clearing etc. Not only physical but mental, social, moral, ethical and aesthetic development is properly linked with
development of psychomotor abilities and skills.
Distribution
of individual differences
It
might be clear now that we all differ from one another in one way or the other
in so many aspects. Answer to all such questions lies in the fact that
distribution of almost all the things in nature follow the pattern of a normal
curve. Height, weight, beauty, wealth, intelligence and similar other
attributes of our personality are distributed in our population in a normal
way. Let us discuss what does this normal distribution mean. For this, let us
take simple practical instances from our day-to-day life. We find that most of
us are quite average in terms of the possession of the attributes of our
personality. As a result you will find that majority of us possess average
weight, height, wealth, beauty, and intelligence etc. There are very
few who are too fact or too thin. similarly white we seldom come across
beauties like Noorjahan, Padmavati or clepetra, we als rarely find extremely
applicable to the distribution of intelligence. Most of us have normal
intelligence with IQ level ranging between 90 to 100. Person having IQs more
than 140 or 150 (Genius) as well as possessing IQs less than 60 or 40
(imbeciles) are rarely found.
Educational
Implications Of Individual Difference
It has helped
the teachers to realize the following facts.
1. In
any group there are individuals who deviate from the norms of the group. Along
with the average, the presence of very superior and extremely dull is equally
possible in a class.
2. Every
teacher should try to have the desired knowledge of the abilities, capacities,
interest , attributes, aptitudes, and other personality traits of his pupils
and in the light of this knowledge should render individual guidance to
children for the maximum utilization of their potentialities.
3. It
is wrong to expect uniformity in gaining proficiency or success in a particular
field from a group of students on account of their subnormal intelligence,
previous knowledge , back ground, lack of proper interest, aptitude and
attitude etc. some students lay behind in one or the other area of achievement.
4. All
students cannot be benefited by a particular method of instruction and a
uniform and rigid curriculum.
Role
Of Schools In Meeting The Individual Difference
Emphasizing
this need, crow and write, “since we supposedly ARE teaching individuals, not
groups of individuals, it is the function of school with in its budgetary personnel
and curricular limitation to provide adequate schooling for every learner no
matter how much he differs from every other learner.”
How
we can accomplish this task is a pertinent question or learning experiences for
every learner according to his individually is not a simple task. However, the
following suggestions can prove help feel for the teacher in this
direction.
1. Proper
knowledge of the individual’s potentialities;- to know about the abilities, capabilities, interests,
aptitudes and other personality traits
of individual, pupils.
2. Ability
grouping;- The students in a class or area of activity can be divided into
homogenous groups. Such division can be prove beneficial in adjusting
instruction to varying individual differences.
3. Adjusting
curriculum; to meet the requirements of
varying individual differences among pupils, the curriculum should be as
flexible and differentiated as possible.
4. Adjusting
the method of teaching.
5. Adopting
special programmers or methods for individualizing instruction, like Dalton
plan, the Winnetka plan, the project method etc.
Causes
of individual differences found in human beings may be attributed to their
heredity endowment as well as to the environmental stimulation. However, their
impact and role in creating such individual differences is so interwoven and
inter mingled that it is quite reasonable to conclude that both heredity and
environmental forces are responsible for generating as well as perpetuating all
these differences.
REVATHI.M.B
SOCIAL SCIENCE
