Chapter 13
INDIVIDUAL
DIFFERENCES
The Chapter at a Glance
Differential Psychology.
Main fields of individual difference.
Methods of measuring individual
differences.
Educational implication of differences.
Individual differences imply the vast
range of variations that are commonly observable among various human beings. In
technical language individual differences are variations or deviations in
mental or physical characteristics noticed among individuals which
differentiate them from the average of the group.
The study of individual differences is
an extremely interesting field. Prophet Mokhammad (sawws) considered
differences to be a “blessing.” In a democratic form of home training
and school education such differences must be respected and properly fostered.
Differential Psychology
Though an interest in individual
differences dates back to Plato and Aristotle, scientific work in the field
started with the studies of Galton. He was one of the earliest workers to make
a statistical study of individual differences. This is now, however, one of
the main fields of modern psychology. The branch of psychology which is devoted
to a systematic study of such differences is known as Differential Psychology.
The differences between individuals in
physical, intellectual, emotional and social traits have been touched upon in
preceding chapters devoted to the study of developments in these particular
fields. The present chapter deals with the manifestation of differences in
these and other fields of child life and the statistical methods of their
measurement. Towards the end, some educational implications of these
differences have been worked out.
Main Field of Individual Differences
Individual differences manifest
themselves in practically all fields of life. The main differences among
children that are emphasized in educational practice are those that operate in
the following fields: —
(1)
Intelligence.
(2) Educational
achievement.
(3) Creative abilities, special aptitudes, personality traits etc.
(4) Emotional
and social adjustment.
(1) Individual Differences in Intelligence: Children
differ immensely in general intelligence.
Terman has proposed a
classification of mental ability on the basis of differences in I. Qs. This classification is as follows:—
Terman’s Classification of Mental Ability
|
The level of Mental Ability
|
I.Q Range
|
|
1. Near Genius or Genius
2. Superior or Very Superior
3. Normal or Average
4. Dull
5. Borderline Mentally Deficient
6. Feeble-minded
|
140 or above.
Between 110 and 140.
Between 90 and 110
Between 80 and 90.
Below 80.
Below 70.
|
These ranges of I. Q. have great
educational significance. Children with higher I. Q. are more amenable to
educational influences than those with average I. Q. The educational progress
of the sub-normal group is full of obstacles, the overcoming of which is
mostly beyond the native capacity of such children. A detailed discussion of
this issue will be found in a subsequent chapter on Learning.
The range of the actual distribution
of I. Q. among children is very wide. Terman
studied the I. Q. distribution of 905 unselected American children ranging from
5 to 14 years in age. He found the following percentage distribution:—
Distribution of I. Q Among
Children
|
Percentage of Children
|
I.Q Range
|
|
0.5 %
2.3
9.0
23.1
33.9
20.1
8.6
2.3
0.33
|
Between 136 and 145.
Between 126 and 135.
Between 116 and 125.
Between 106 and 115.
Between 96 and 105.
Between 86 and 95.
Between 76 and 85.
Between 66 and 75.
Between 56 and 65.
|
These figures reveal that the majority
of children come under the normal or average group, whereas few of them reach
either high or low extremes. If one were to make a graphic presentation of
these results one would get a bell-shaped curve wall majority 'tiling in the
centre and flanked by a few children on either sides. Investigators from all
over the world report that more of less the same pattern of I.Q distribution is
observed among all children.
(2) Educational
Achievement: That children
differ in educational achievement is a matter of common experience with the
class teachers. These differences are bound to appear howsoever hard a teacher
may try to smooth them out.
Individual differences among children
in the field of educational achievement can be studied under two main heads as
follows:—
(a) General and
all-round educational differences.
(b) Specific
differences in certain school subjects.
Both kinds of differences are commonly
observed among children in any class anywhere.
General Educational Differences: Children differ from each other in
all-round educational achievement. In every class there are brilliants, the
scholarship holders, the prize-winners, the book worms, etc. In the same class
one also finds the repeaters, the dullards, the laggards and the backwards. In
between these two extremes there lies a whole range of variation in the degree
of educational achievement.
Studies conducted by the author in two secondary schools of
Lahore give detailed accounts of the interesting features of these general
educational variations among school children.
Specific Educational Differences: Children also differ vastly in their
achievements in certain specific school subjects. Thus they might differ from
each other in the quality and quantity of progress they make in Science,
English, Mathematics, History Geography, Social Sciences, etc.
Grant found marked and significant
differences among the first grade children in counting, number symbols,
recognizing number term, identifying geometrical forms, and solving simple
reasoning problems.
(3) Abilities, Aptitudes, and Traits: Wide
variations have also been observed among children in the field of creative
abilities, special aptitudes and personality traits.
Differences in Creative Abilities: Children have been found to show
extreme individual differences in creative and artistic abilities and
tendencies right from early infancy. These tendencies usually manifest
themselves in the use of play-materials, in drawings, stories and phantasies.
Variations in Special Aptitudes: Marked variations in special aptitudes
are also very common during childhood. An adequate knowledge of these
variations can be tremendously helpful in guiding them to suitable vocations.
Children with intellectual or mechanical aptitudes should be given vocational
guidance and training for the profession which corresponds most to their
natural aptitude.
Differences in Personality Traits: Study of individual differences among
children in the field of personality traits is extremely interesting. All
children are not alike in sociability, honesty, truthfulness, perseverance,
initiative, etc.
In a study conducted by Hartshorne and
others wide variations were discovered in the scores obtained by children in
tests measuring such traits as cheating, persistence, cooperativeness and good
citizenship.
(4) Emotional
and Social Adjustment: Children
also vary surprisingly in matters of emotional and social adjustment.
Differences in Emotional Adjustment: If one were to study the emotional life
of children carefully one could discover extremely interesting details in
variations in this field. Thus one child might remain emotionally undisturbed by
a provocative person, object or situation when another child showed signs of
strong emotion. Children differ in their degree of emotional tension, strain,
instability and maladjustment. These differences might be due to inborn or
acquired factors or both.
Children with minimum capacity for
emotional adjustment usually make greater demands of their educators as
compared with those who are emotionally well-adjusted.
(b) Variations
in Social Adjustment:
Children have also been found to differ in various social traits and the
quality and quantity of social adjustment. Such differences, as we have already
seen in detail in a preceding chapter on Social Development, begin to appear
during early infancy. Thus one infant may be aggressive and the other timid.
One may be self-assertive and the other withdrawing and so on.
Similarly, children differ widely in
their attitudes towards parents, neighbors, teachers, friends and strangers.
They also vary in their attitudes towards the discipline and regulations of the
family, the school and the state. They make varying degrees of adjustments to
the demands imposed upon them by these social institutions. Thus there are
those children who make a successful all-round social adjustment. They usually
prove efficient, adjusted and useful citizens. Whereas, on the other hand,
there are those children who fail to achieve a satisfactory social adjustment
and often develop truancy, anti-sociality, delinquency and immorality.
Miscellaneous Individual Differences
There are a number of other fields in
which interesting individual variations among children have been observed. Children
of differing races, for instance, differ from each other markedly. Even in the
same race divergences and differences are frequently noticeable among
individual children.
The cultural and geographical
variations too, cause individual differences. Thus, for instance, the Punjabi
and the Kashmiri, the Pathan and the Sindhi, the Bengali and the Baluchi
children differ from each other in habits, outlooks and attitudes because of
their differing cultural values and geographical surroundings.
Another important factor in individual
differences among children is the socio-economic levels of their family. The
underprivileged children from lower class families differ considerably from
the privileged children hailing from middle and upper class families.
Conflict between Individuality and
Socialization
These individual differences must be
constantly kept under consideration by all those who are concerned with the
training and education of children. All children should be encouraged to
develop desirable individual traits. They should be persuaded to curb or
eradicate undesirable habits, attitudes and outlooks. Such guidance would
promote their healthy and balanced growth.
The process of development, however,
is beset with many a hazard. Often the demands of the individual come into
conflict with those of the group. Such a conflict between the individual and
the group arises even during infancy. Thus a child might find that his natural
impulses pull him into directions contrary to those pointed out by the demands
of the society. He might, for instance, desire to assert himself when the group
demands him to be submissive and self-denying. He might cherish a strong desire
to achieve something whereas the group might disapprove of it, and so on.
Similar conflicts continue to be felt
practically at all levels of human development. If unresolved, such conflicts
give rise to clashes, anxieties, frustrations and failures.
The Task of Parents and Teachers
The task of parents and teachers in
such equations is extremely delicate and complex. They are to teach the child
the strenuous art of reconciling his individual desires with the demands of the
social group, and resolving their conflict into some kind of balanced and
integrative behavior. Thus a child is not to be encouraged to give always and
absolutely free expression to his individual likings and preferences.
Similarly, sheer conformity to social standards and conventions of the group is
not all that is required of him. He needs a diversified and balanced home and
school discipline which prepares him to adopt such a healthy attitude towards
life, that the demands of self as well as those of society are synthesized in
an integrative form of thought and behavior.
Such a task is really stupendous. Its
accomplishment requires great patience and courage. It is not impossible,
nevertheless. Nor can teachers and parents afford to ignore its fulfillment
without inviting serious handicaps and dangers for their children.
Methods of Measuring Individual
Differences
To what extent does one individual
child differ from another? This question can be answered by making quantitative
measurements of the differences between the two. For a scientific and accurate
measurement of such differences certain objective methods have been devised.
Some of the fundamental methods used
for the measurement of individual differences are as follows:—
(1) Psychological
Tests.
(2)
Rating Scales.
(3) Interview.
(4) Self-Inventory.
(5) Behavior
Sampling.
(6) Projective
Techniques.
(1) Psychological
Tests:
A psychological test is a carefully
planned situation or a sheet containing questions which are designed to measure
an individual's ability in a given field.
There are several categories of
psychological tests. Thus a test may be a group test or an individual test. As
the name implies, the former is administered to a group while the latter is
given to a single individual at a time. If a test involves the use of language
it is known as a verbal test. A non-verbal test, on the other hand, does not
require the use of language.
Tests are also named after the
particular aspect of an individual’s behavior, experience or trait which they
purport to measure. From this point of view there are tests of general intelligence, scholastic achievement,
vocational interests, emotional stability, character and personality traits,
judging and reasoning ability, keenness of the senses, etc.
A detailed discussion of various tests
has been made in a subsequent chapter on Psychological Tests.
(2)
Rating Scales:
There are certain human traits and characteristics
which cannot be easily and accurately measured by tests. For instance,
initiative, friendliness, generosity, zeal, etc., are rather difficult to
measure with the help of the ordinary tests. Rating scales have been devised to
overcome this difficulty.
The way in which this method of measuring is
generally operated is to ask someone who knows the individual under study to
rate him on a given scale with regard to a particular trait. The scale is usually
divided into five points, each mentioning a degree of a particular trait under
study. For example, in order to measure the scholastic zeal of a given child
the following type of rating scale could be used:—
Rating Scale
Measuring Scholastic Zeal
A teacher could rate a child more or
less precisely at a particular point in this scale. In order to avoid the
errors of subjectivity similar ratings regarding the same child could be
obtained from a number of different teachers who happen to know him. These
ratings could then be compared and a general impression formed regarding the
precise degree to which a child exhibits a particular trait.
(3) The Interview:
Even interviewing children can reveal
several significant individual differences among them. An interview is usually of the following two
types:—
(a) The Standardized Interview, and
(b) The Informal interview.
In a standardized interview the
questions are carefully constructed and put in a pre-planned order. The
informal interview, on the other hand, takes the form of a casual conversation
between 'the interviewer and the child.
(4) The
Self-Inventory:
The self-inventory is a kind of rating
scale with the difference that the child is asked to answer questions
concerning his own subjective experience and personal life. The self-inventory
purports to get an account of an individual child's likes and dislikes,
admiration or contempt, etc., for persons, objects and situations.
To give an illustration; in order to
assess the occupational aptitude of a child, he is given a list of some
professions with the letters L, I and D placed against each one as follows:—
Self-Inventory for Occupational
Aptitude
|
1.
Engineer
|
L
I D
|
|
2. Teacher
|
L
I D
|
|
3.
Lawyer
|
L
I D
|
|
4.
Editor
|
L
I D
|
|
5.
Military Officer
|
L
I D
|
|
6.
Businessman
|
L
I D
|
|
7. Doctor
|
L
I D
|
The child is asked to draw a circle
around “L” against a particular profession in the above inventory if he likes
that kind of profession, to draw a circle around “I” if he feels indifferent
towards it and to draw a circle around “D” if he dislikes it. He may be asked to
draw double circle around ‘L’ against a profession in case he likes it
overmuch. Needless to point out that the preferences of children on such self-inventories
give revealing information concerning their aptitudes, preferences, etc.
Self-inventory method is a very
convenient way of collecting data regarding individual differences in a number
of fields. If carefully constructed and properly administered it can also be
utilized in personnel selection and in clinical guidance.
(5) Behavior
Sampling:
This method is based on a study of an
individual’s actual behavior in a given situation. The subject’s behavior is
carefully studied without letting him know that he is under observation. No
questions are put to him nor are others asked to rate him on a given scale. He
is simply placed in an ordinary life situation and a record is made of his
actual behavior. The typical behavior of various individuals in similar situations
is a very significant indicator of their individual differences.
The main difficulty in such a method,
however, is that it requires elaborate arrangements in order that the subject
shall not know he is under observation. Conscious of the fact that he is being
observed, he might turn hostile, uncooperative, deceitful, etc. These and other
difficulties involved in this method undermine its utility as an instrument for
the measurement of individual differences.
(6) The Projective Techniques:
The projective or depth techniques are
the most recently invented methods of measuring personality traits of
individuals. Such techniques are designed to bring out a deeper expression of
the personality than is usually revealed through conventionalized methods.
Many forms of the projective technique
are employed for the measurement of individual differences. The three main
varieties of this technique are as follows:--
(a) The
Rorschach Test or the Ink- Blot interpretation Test.
(b) The
Free Association Test or the Word Association Test.
(c) The Thematic Apperception Test or the Picture
Interpretation Test.
The Rorschach Test: The Rorschach Test is one of the
oldest projective techniques. It consists of a series of ink-blots which are
presented to the individual who is asked to describe what he 'sees' in them.
The description of what the individual 'sees' in the ink-blots gives an
expression of his private life, idiosyncrasies, whimsicalities, etc. In short,
the individual, projects his own personality traits on to the ink-blots.
The Word Association Test: In a Word Association Test a list of stimulus words are read out
to the subject one by one. He is asked to respond as quickly as possible to
each one of the stimulus words by uttering just any word that comes to his
mind.
The spontaneous response words
supplied by the subject are then analyzed and interpreted. It has been found
that the response words reveal a tremendous lot about the emotional life and
the personality of the individual.
The Thematic Apperception Test: A Thematic Apperception Test consists
of three series of pictures. Each series contains ten photographs. Each
photograph represents a different situation. These photographs are presented
to the subject one by one. He is instructed to construct a story around each
picture, describing the situation, the events, the feelings and thoughts of the
characters, etc., in each one.
The stories that the subject
constructs around presented pictures are then interpreted by a trained
Rorschach expert. He evaluates the subject on the basis of:—
(i)
The formal
character of the stories and
(ii)
The content of
the story.
Projective techniques have proved
immensely helpful in obtaining revealing clues as to the real self of the
individual. These tests, however, are very difficult to interpret. Specialized
and elaborate training is needed to master the complicated technique of
interpreting the responses of the subjects.
Need for Objectivity and
Precision
The foregoing methods are some of
those that are usually employed to measure individual differences among human
beings. It may be remembered that more than one method could be combined in one
and the same study. Such a combination of methods can also serve as a sort of
check against the possibility of errors and over-sights resulting from
inadequate knowledge or an undue reliance on or defective use of a single
method.
Whatever the method or the combination
of methods employed to measure individual differences the measurer must try
his best to be as objective and as precise as possible. He should keep the
elements of subjectivity and bias strictly aloof from the procedure.
Educational Implication of Differences
Knowledge
of individual differences can prove immensely helpful for a teacher in several
ways. If a teacher knows the nature of
the ability and the educational level of his pupils and is able to measure
variation in them he can provide the most appropriate instruction and the most
adequate guidance to all types of children in his class.
The educational implications of some
significant issues connected with the problems of individual differences are
now presented for consideration in the following pages.
Classification and
Education of Differing Children
What should a teacher do if he finds
that, the children in his class vary so immensely from each other that a
uniform mode of instruction and general treatment does not work with them?
Segregating them into different sections on the basis of individual variations
in ability appears neither educationally sound nor practicable in most of the
cases. The extremely rapid and the very slow learners could be segregated into
different sections if their number is large enough to make sizable enough
sections. But in most cases keeping them together and paying individualized
attention is a decidedly
better course than segregating them into separate sections.
Adjustment Teachers
In
most of the educationally advance countries of the world the latest technique
that has been evolved to meet such situations is the employment of separate
teachers for this job. Such teachers are known as Adjustment Teachers. Their
job is that of bridging the gulf between the bright and the backward pupils in
the same class. By using certain specialized instruction techniques they
endeavor to bring the backward children to the general level of the class.
The Adjustment Teachers usually take
the slow-learning pupils in a separate group within the same class. This group
is named as the "Opportunity Class." Children in this group are then
given specialized and individualized instructions till such time as they come
up to the average standard of the entire class.
The measure has proved extremely
effective. Such arrangements could be tried in those of our schools where a
large number of the slow-learning pupils usually lag far behind the class and
thus create complicated instructional problems for the baffled class teacher.
Individualized Teaching Methods
Whatever the quality and the quantity
of individual differences in a class, it seems imperative to make some sort of
arrangement for instruction which caters for the needs of the individual
child.
To meet this demand the laboratory
method of instruction has been developed in recent years. The laboratory method
aims at outlining interesting and comprehensive educational plans providing
individualized instruction for all types of children in a class. Some of the
main varieties of this method are as follows:--
(1)
The Dalton Plan.
(2)
The Winnetka Plan.
(3)
The Morrison Plan.
(4)
(1) The
Dalton Plan: This method discards instruction in uniform and rigid
curricula. Instead it provides assignments for individual children who work on
them freely and independently. The class room where the Dalton Plan is employed
gives the appearance of a busy and happy work room instead of looking like a
boring oral recitation and listening room.
The Dalton Plan has been discussed in
detail in a later chapter on Learning by Doing and Playing.
(2) The Winnetka Plan: This variety of the laboratory
method also abandons teacher-centered class instruction and the recitation method;
it rather seeks to promote education on self-instructive and self-corrective
lines.
(3) The
Morrison Plan: This method
endeavors to turn the class-room into a small educational laboratory. Children
are given units and assignments according to their individual ability. They
carry on their work independently while a teacher is always available to offer
guidance wherever an occasion arises. This method has proved extremely
successful in the teaching of science subjects to school children.
In addition to the foregoing varieties
of the laboratory method, several other individualized teaching techniques have
been evolved in recent times. The main features of all these methods are the
same i.e. individualized instruction suiting the mental level of the bright and
backward in the same class, carefully prepared and selected instruction
material and practical and interesting work methods.
These teaching methods are now proving
immensely helpful and stimulating for the teacher as well as the taught. They
could be tried on an experimental basis in some of our schools.
A Constructive Educational Revolution:
Provision of psychological guidance
service at the schools can go a long way towards solving many a perplexing
problem in the field of individual differences. Just visualize the constructive
revolution that would take place in our educational system if the school
teachers were equipped with the necessary information regarding the individual
differences among his pupils and the individualized methods of handling the
mutually differing pupils effectively. Such an enlightening knowledge and
effective methodology will enable him to understand, educate and guide the
individual child in the class room more adequately and more successfully.
Need for Guidance Services
The helpful knowledge which is needed
in this direction can be obtained through the agency of specialized guidance
clinics and-counseling centers. These clinics and centers are staffed by expert
psychologists, social workers and even medical men. They work on a wide range
of problems connected with the health and welfare of children, the differences
in their ability, behavior, achievement etc. Whenever needed, they seek
the necessary co-operation and collaboration of the parents and the teachers.
The necessity of the establishment of
such guidance services at our schools has been highlighted by the Commission on
National Education.
Details of the various aspects of
guidance have been dealt with exhaustively in various chapters of part five of
this book.
Reconciliation between
the Self and the Society
Whether a teacher endeavors to
approach children's problems independently or he seeks expert guidance of a
specialized psychological agency he must never lose sight of one significant
factor. Children's individual differences are to be respected, no doubt! But
the demands of the group are not to be ignored either. Exclusive emphasis on
either of the two leads to obviously undesirable developments.
In fact what is needed is a balanced education
of the child which enables him to reconcile the demands of self and of society
into an integrative behavior. Throughout his association with the child the teacher
should, therefore, always endeavor to emphasize the need for such reconciliation
between the requirements of individuality and conformity to the group.
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