INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND

FACTORS INFLUENCING THEM

By: JONALYN M.
SHENTON
 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

No two individuals can be exactly alike in their

resulting development and adjustments. The unique
characteristics and traits emerges as children pass
from one stage to another.

The rate of development is not the same for all

individuals. Some develop and learn faster than the
others. Sometimes the gap is wide.
 Learning is most effective when differences in
learner‟s language, cultural, and social behaviour
are taken into account.
 TWO MAJOR FACTORS

Individual Differences4 is the uneven rate of growth and

development among individuals.

Personality

Heredity Environment

Chapter 2: Understanding Individual Differences

 TWO MAJOR FACTORS

Heredity 5 Environment
Environment modifies to a
We inherit almost all the
certain extent the effects of
things we need for growth
hereditary.
and development
Environment provides the
Heredity gives all potentials
direction of the growth and
for growth and
development of an
development.
individual .

Chapter 2: Understanding Individual Differences

 A. Heredity
1. Intelligence ( mental ability)-
6 Some are more intelligent
than the others. And those who are more intelligent progress and grow
faster than those who are less intelligent.

People differ in intellectual abilities and capacities like reasoning and

thinking, power of imagination, creative expression, concentration etc. • On
the basis of these differences they are usually classified as idiot, imbecile,
moron, border line, normal, very superior and genius

Recent psychologists viewed intelligence as multiple abilities. It is

necessary for a teacher to have a thorough understanding of intellectual
abilities of students.
 A. Heredity
2. Physical condition – It has7 been observed that some people are
born bigger, healthier, and stronger than the others. Naturally, healthier, and
stronger than the others.
Difference in motor ability • There exist wide differences in motor abilities such
as reacting time, speed of action, steadiness, rate of muscular moment, manual
dexterity and resistance to fatigue etc.

But there are also people who are born with handicaps such as deafness,
muteness, defective arms or legs, and the like.

Naturally, normal people develop faster and better and are able to attain higher
status than the handicapped people.
Physical differences: individual differ in height, weight,
colour of skin, colour of eyes and hair, size of hands and
heads, arms, feet, mouth and nose, length of waistline,
structure and functioning of internal organs, facial
expression, mannerisms of speech and walk, and other such
native or acquired physical characteristics.
 A. Heredity
3. Aptitude and special talent-
9 gifted with special aptitudes and
talents in music, painting, acting, science, mathematics and the like.

These children often show excellence of performance and leadership in their

respective fields of specializations far above the ordinary individuals. Variations
occur among the individuals in relation to the specific tastes and interests.

In a similar way, people are found to have different aptitudes. Some have
mechanical aptitude, while the others have scholastic, musical or artistic
aptitudes.

4. Sex – Males are expected to be aggressive, fearless, and capable of doing

heavier work. Females are expected to be passive, demure, prim, and the like.

Hence, to a large extent, sex determines the direction of the growth and
development of individuals.
 A. Heredity
10

5. Age – age is a big factor in making one different from another. Generally ,
older learners have more physical strength and higher level of comprehension
than younger ones.

Maturation and readiness are important in learning. Mature learners have greater
capacity to receive instruction.
 A. Heredity
6. Temperament ( emotional
11
maturity and stability )-
those who are easily irritated and tensed even with trivial things, symptomatic of
emotional immaturity and stability.

In some individuals, positive emotions like love, affection and amusement and the
like are prominent whereas, in some negative emotions are more powerful.
Individuals also differ in the manner they express their emotions. Some are
emotionally stable and mature, while others are emotionally unstable and
immature.

Generally, children who are more emotionally mature and stable are more patient
in studying their lessons, hence, learn faster than those who are more
temperamental.

Emotional stability is the capacity to maintain ones emotional balance under

stressful circumstances. It is the opposite of emotional instability and neuroticism
 A. Heredity
12
Emotional stability is the capacity to maintain ones emotional balance under
stressful circumstances. It is the opposite of emotional instability and neuroticism

Individuals who score low in neuroticism are more emotionally stable and less
reactive to stress. They tend to be calm, even-tempered, and less likely to feel
tense or rattled. Although they are low in negative emotion, they are not
necessarily high on positive emotion. Being high on positive emotion is an
element of the independent trait of extraversion. Neurotic extraverts, for
example, would experience high levels of both positive and negative emotional
states, a kind of "emotional roller coaster". Individuals who score low on
neuroticism (particularly those who are also high on extraversion) generally
report more happiness and satisfaction with their lives.
 A. Heredity
13
7. Introversion- extroversion, dominance-
submissiveness –
Extroverts are usually gregarious and like the dominants, enjoy interacting with
people

Introverts prefer to work/ jobs that can performed in peace, quiet, and with less
contact with other people
The Socializes ( Extrovert)
Positive traits
The socializers would love to travel and
be a part of the groups, and are often
the centre of attention. They are often
excited and demanding as a result of
being high energy type. They love the
limelight and the hype. They are direct
in their approach.
Negative traits

It is important for the personality to

be liked by others and can hurt
easily if they think someone doesn’t
care for them. They can be fickle
minded and emotionally weak.
The hermit ( Introvert)
Positive traits

The typical introvert personality doesn’t like

change. They prefer to have set of guidelines to
follow and they won’t mind doing the same
things over and over. They often are very happy
and content with themselves and life in general.
They are usually punctual and consistent.

Negative traits

As they tend to keep to themselves,

such people come across as shy and
arrogant. They are usually disturbed
by new challenges which can affect
the efficiency of their work.
 A. Heredity
8. Effort – making capacity
17 – an important trait , one with much
effort- making capacity studies and works harder, concentrates more, and exhibits
steadiness in his work.

Those who have more of this trait usually ahead faster than those who have less.

9. Criminal tendency – Psychologists can prove that criminal tendency

is inherited.

Children who have this tendency are usually bullies, trouble makers, and they
commit many anti-social acts, in or out of school.

Usually end up in early death, or in prison, or in perpetual hiding from the agents
of the law unless the criminal tendency is redirected or softened by the
environment.
More of the more well known explanations
of inherited criminal behaviour is the
‘super male syndrome’ or the XYY
chromosome defect. The addition of the
extra Y chromosome ion males make can
make them more likely to be aggressive
and violent. This also can contribute to
other disabilities such as ADHD and
behavioural problems as a child. This can
lead to lack of concentration and a grown
frustration in a child which can reduce
their chances of doing well in school,
increasing the likelihood of becoming
involved in criminal behaviour. A study by
Morely and Hall (2003) showed that
children with Antisocial-personality
disorder (ASPD) where an individual
shows a persistent disregard for the rights
of others, increasing the chance of criminal
behaviour by 70%.
Many people would argue that
criminal offend because of inherited
traits or genes. This was a
particularly popular viewpoint in the
past, however many studies in recent
years have shown that we cannot
blame criminal activity purely on
genetics.
 B. Environment
1. Family background – includes
21 level of
education and value orientation of parents is an
other determinant.

If the parents suffer from ignorance and wrong

values, the children likewise suffer and the adverse
consequences because such parents with the right
values can grow and develop more progressively than
children coming from poor families.

Naturally, children of affluent families can pursue

higher education which is usually denied to children
of poor families
 B. Environment
2. Community background22– It can be observed that children of
individuals coming from these different types of communities differ markedly in
their values, manners, actions, and thinking.

Children coming from squatter or

The city children are more exposed
slum areas and from crime-infested
to modern conveniences such as the
areas have a very slim chance of
telephone, television, light rail
growing progressively because of the
transit, museums, libraries, big
bad influence of neighborhood.
commercial establishments, malls,
Barkada influence is especially
and the like.
strong in these places.
 B. Environment
2. Community background23– It can be observed that children of
individuals coming from these different types of communities differ markedly in
their values, manners, actions, and thinking.

The city children has an edge over the rural

children in the field of informal learning
 B. Environment
3. School – It is very important
24 factors in learning
and development. Good school can
develop pupils better than the poor ones.
There are three components make the
difference between the good and poor
schools.

1.Teachers
2.Facilities
3.Location
Role of schools in meeting the individual differences

• “Since we supposedly are teaching individuals, not

groups of individuals, it is the function of the school
within its budgetary personnel and curricular
limitations to provide adequate schooling for every
learner no matter how much he differs from every
other learner.” -crow and crow
 Role of school…

1. Proper knowledge of the individual’s potentialities

2. Ability grouping

3. Adjusting the curriculum

4. Adjusting the method of teaching

5. Adopting special programmes or methods for

individualizing instruction
 B. Environment
3. School 27
There are three components make the difference between the good and
poor schools.

Teachers- If teachers are efficiently in

the true sense of the word, the pupils
learn remarkably well than when the
teachers are inefficient, in which case
the pupils suffer setback
 Qualities of an Effective Teacher
An effective teacher loves to teach. The single
most important quality that every teacher should
possess is a love and passion for teaching young
people.

An effective teacher demonstrates a caring

attitude. Even teachers who love their job can
struggle in this area, not because they don’t care,
but because they get caught up so much in the day
to day routine of teaching that they can forget that
their students have lives outside of school.

An effective teacher can relate to his or her

students. The best teachers work hard to figure out
how to relate to each of their students.

An effective teacher is willing to think

outside the box.
What makes teaching so exciting is that kids learn
differently, and we have to find and utilize different
strategies and differentiated learning to reach every
student.
 Qualities of an Effective Teacher
An effective teacher is an excellent
communicator. To be the best possible teacher you
must be an effective communicator.

An effective teacher is proactive rather than

reactive.

proactively looking for solutions to solve those

problems will have less stress on them, than those
teachers who wait until a problem arises and then tries to
address it.

An effective teacher strives to be better.

A teacher who is looking for new and better teaching

strategies is an effective teacher. No matter how long you
have taught, you should always want to grow as a teacher.
Seek out professional development opportunities and try
to apply something new like technology and tools in class
every year.
An effective teacher uses a variety of media in
their lessons. Like it or not we are in the 21st
century, and this generation of students was born in
the digital age. These students have been bombarded
by technological advances unlike any other
generation. They have embraced it, and if we as
teachers do not, then we are falling behind.

An effective teacher challenges their

students. The most effective teachers, are often
the ones that many students think are the most
difficult. This is because they challenge their
students and push them harder than the average
teacher does.

An effective teacher understands the content

that they teach and knows how to explain that
content in a manner that their students
understand.
There are teachers who are truly experts on the
content, but struggle to effectively explain it to their
students. The highly effective teacher both
understands the content and explains it on level.
 B. Environment
3. School 31
There are three components make the difference between the good and
poor schools.

Facilities - adequate and serviceable, the pupils

learn well and progress rapidly, otherwise pupils will
be retarded in learning.
 B. Environment
3. School 32
There are three components make the difference between the good and
poor schools.

Location - Children studying in a school

located in a very quiet place find learning
conducive.
 Summary
TWO MAJOR FACTORS
Heredity 33 Environment

1. Intelligence ( mental ability) 1. Family background

2. Physical condition
3. Aptitude and special talent
2. Community background
4. Sex 3. School
5. Age Three component
6. Temperament ( emotional a. Teachers
maturity and stability ) b. Facilities
c. Location
7. Introversion- extroversion,
dominance- submissiveness

8. Effort – making capacity

9. Criminal tendency

Chapter 2: Understanding Individual Differences

Educational implications of individual differences…

• 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 background, lack of proper interest, aptitude and
attitude etc. some students lag behind in one or the other area of
achievement.

• All students cannot be benefited by a particular method of instruction

and a uniform and rigid curriculum.

A teacher should be sensitive to individual differences.

A teacher’s challenge is to acknowledge and celebrate the differences

among children and work to maximize the growth in each child.
 References:

1. Foundation of Education, Ed. D by: Jose F. Calderon

2. Educational Psychology by: Adelaida C. Gines, Priscile B. Dizon, Aurora
B. Fulgencio, Peter Howard R. Obias, Furtunato G. Vendivel , Jr.
3. http://teaching.about.com/od/pd/a/Qualities-Of-An-Effective-
Teacher.htm
4. http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Emotional_stability