INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Each person in the world is individually different. The idea of individual difference
comes originally from psychology. From the day of birth, each person is unique and
experiences after birth tend to make him even more different. The law of individual
differences states that management can motivate employees by treating them
individually. There can be no standard technique a dealing with the individuals
because of differences between them Every individual may behave differently to the
same stimulus under the given environment. And a person may respond differently
to a given stimulus under different environment. This is because of the differences
among individuals. People differ in age, sex, attitudes, background, education,
perception, intelligence, values system, physical features, etc. There may be many
possible combinations of these characteristics. That is why, placed in similar
situations, all people do not act alike. For instance, in case of a road accident, the
doctor will like to provide first aid to the victims immediately and hospitalise them, if
necessary, the traffic controller will engage himself in analysing the violation of traffic
rules and an anti-social element will try to remove the belongings of the persons
involved in the accident. Therefore, it is essential to recognise individual differences
while dealing with any human relation problem. The value of any generation about
human behaviour will always be subject to individual differences.

Determinants of Individual Behaviour:

1. Biographical Characteristics : (1) Age: The employee tumover among the older
employees is very low as compared to the employees in their twenties and thirties.
Absenteeism among the middle aged employees is les as compared to the young
and old employees.

(ii) Sex: It is generally believed that physical differences between males and females
will affect their job performance where they are required to put hard physical labour.
But as for a problem-solving ability, analytical skills, motivation, leadership,
sociability, etc. are concerned, there appears to be no difference among the males
and females. However, at the lower levels in the organisation, women are more
willing to conform to authority, whereas men are more aggressive.

(iii) Marital Status: Married employees show higher consistency in their behaviour.
Rates of absenteeism and labour turnover are lower among them. They are also
found to be more satisfied with their jobs

(iv) Number of Dependents: The employees having more number of dependents

have less labour turnover, but high absenteeism,

(v) Ability : It refers to an individual's capacity to perform his job. An individual's

abilities are to two kinds, namely, intellectual and physical

Intellectual Abilities: The abilities required to perform mental work are known as
mental abilities. They include number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual
speed and inductive reasoning The degree of intellectual abilities required will
normally depend upon the level in the organisation where the individuals is working.
Physical Abilities: These include stamina, strength and similar skills. Physical
abilities are more important for doing less skilled and more standardised jobs in the
lower levels of the organisation.

II. Personality: Personality denotes the psychological characteristics of a person that

influence his behaviour towards goal achievement. It is the sum total of ways in
which an individual interacts with others. Personality has key influence on work
performance. In jobs where human relations are very important. personality of the
incumbent determines his effectiveness.

The following factors give shape to the personality of an individual as under:

1. Heredity: it means the transmission of the qualities from ancestor to descendant

through a mechanism laying primarily in the chromosomes of the germ cells.
Physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex temperament, muscle composition,
reflexes, etc are inherited from one's parents. However, the importance of heredity
varies from one personality trait to another

2. Physical Features: An individual's external appearance may have a tremendous

effect on his personality. Some people give relatively higher weight age to the
physical features of an individual while defining his personality. Good physical
appearance is an asset for the job of a sales person and public relations

3. Family and Social Factors: The development of individual's personality is also

influenced by his family and other social groups. The infant acquires those behaviour
patterns that are customary and acceptable to the standards of the family and the
community where the family lives.

4. Situation: An individual's personality may change in different

situations. The demands of different situations may call for different aspects of one's
personality. Therefore, we should not look at personality factor in isolation. Although
certain generalisations can be made about personality, there are significant
individual differences which are further influenced by situational factors.

 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Individual variation is a universal phenomenon. It is said that no two individuals are

exactly alike they differ from each other in some way or the other. Such a similarity
or difference between persons reveals individual differences in the early 1800s. The
science of psychology studies people at three levels of focus captured by the well
known quote: "Every man is in certain respects

(a) like all other men,

(b) like some other men,

(c) like no other man". Individual differences psychology focuses on this second level
of study.

It is also sometimes called Differential Psychology because researchers in this area

study the ways in which individual people differ in their behavior.

Causes of Individual Differences:

There are various causes which are responsible in bringing individual differences.

Heredity:

Some heretical traits bring a change from one individual to other. An individual's
height, size, shape and color of hair, shape of face, nose, hands and legs so to say
the entire structure of the body is determined by his heretical qualities. Intellectual
differences are also to a great extent influenced by hereditary factor.

Environment:

The environmental influences are those which act upon the organism, at the earlier
stages development within mother's womb and later external environment which
operates from the time birth. The social psychological environment in which, child is
born provides social heritage. The customs, socio-economic status, family
environment interaction amongst the family members and later peers and school
environment cause variety conditions to determine individual differences.

Environment brings individual differences in behaviour, activities, attitude, and style

of life characteristics. Personality etc. Environment does not refer only physical
surroundings but also it refers the different types of people, society, their culture,
customs, traditions, social heritage, ideas and ideals.

Though environment in any home may outwardly look alike but it has different impact
on each individual based on interaction patterns, personality and emotional
responses of the individual. No two human beings even belonging to the same
family, having similar schooling, will have same environment. The psychological
environment is determined interpersonal relationship amongst parent child and other
members of the family.

Sex:

Due to sex variation one individual differs from other. Men are strong in mental
power. On the other hand women on the average show small superiority over men in
memory, language and aesthetic sense. Women excel the men in shouldering social
responsibilities and have a better control over their emotions,

Age:
Age is another factor which is responsible in bringing individual differences. Learning
ability and adjustment capacity naturally grow with age. When one grows in age can
acquire better control over our emotions and better social responsibilities. When a
child grows then this maturity and development goes side by side. Education is one
major factor which brings individual differences. There is a wide

Education:

. Education is one major factor which brings individual differences. There is a wide
gap in the behaviors of educated and uneducated persons. All traits of human beings
like social, emotional and intellectual are controlled and modifies through proper
education.
This education brings a change in our attitude, behaviour, appreciations,
Personality. It is seen that uneducated persons are guided by their instinct and
emotions where as the educated persons are guided by their reasoning power.

Self:

Individual differences are also due to the particular constitution of self the individual
himself. Though all siblings are common heredity and environment, yet no two
siblings in a same family are alike. This difference is due to the different genes
inherited by the individual as well as differences environment.

Culture:

There has been a tendency in psychology to ignore the experiences of people from
different cultures. Two of the studies in this section attempt to explore the
experiences of Black People within the Western world. The first study by Gould
(1982) is a review of the use of IQ testing. Gould demonstrates how psychological
arguments have been used to support racist arguments of White superiority. The
study by Habra and Grant (1970) investigates the identity of American Black
children. Their study demonstrates that there has been a change in consciousness
of Black children from 20 years previously.