INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
DIFFERENT WAYS OF BEING HUMAN

Each of the Approaches in Unit 1 and the Applications in Unit 2 asks you to consider individual differences. These are the characteristics that separate people and make some people the "odd one out".
The main individual differences in this course are:
  • Culture
  • Development
  • Gender
  • Personality
If the Examiner asks about individual differences, you could write about any of the above differences. The Examiner might ask specifically about culture, development and gender.

Personality won't be assessed directly, but it needs explaining in more detail.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Culture is the part of how we experience the world and react to it that we share with others. People who share the same culture are usually members of the same nation, ethnic group or subgroup.
the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another - Geert Hofstede
Cultural differences include things like what to eat and wear, moral decisions and the sense of what is "normal behaviour".
  • From a nature viewpoint, culture may be innate: something you inherit from your parents
  • From a nurture viewpoint, culture is learned through upbringing and role models
A common distinction in Psychology is between individualist cultures and collectivist cultures:
  • Individualist cultures encourage people to pursue their own personal fulfillment and happiness; they value independence and autonomy (freedom to choose)
  • Collectivist cultures encourage people to find fulfillment through family, work and tribe; they value duty and put the needs of the group above the needs of the individual

Most cultures have a mixture of individualist and collectivist values, but in general Western cultures (European and North American) are seen as strongly individualist and Eastern cultures (Asian, particularly Chinese and Japanese) are seen as more collectivist.
DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES
Development is the changes we go through as we age. People develop in the womb, then as infants and children, then go through adolescence into adulthood and then old age.

Developmental differences include physical growth, the acquiring of language and motor skills and then the decline of those skills.
  • From a nature viewpoint, development is maturation: characteristics in your genes coming out when they are ready
  • From a nurture viewpoint, development is learning: a set of responses to upbringing and environment
GENDER DIFFERENCES
Gender is whether you are experience the world and behave as a man (masculine) or a woman (feminine). "Sex" is a purely biological term (male or female) but gender covers beliefs, feelings and behaviour.

Gender differences include appearance, attitudes, relationships and a sense of what's appropriate for you to do and say.
  • From a nature viewpoint, gender is innate and determined by genes
  • From a nurture viewpoint, gender is learned through upbringing and role models
PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES
Personality is how you experience the world and behave as an individual. People's individual characteristics include their attitudes, needs and responses to situations.
A pattern of enduring, distinctive, thoughts, emotions and behaviors that characterize the way an individual interacts with and adapts to the world - Laura King (2010)
Personality differences include whether you are outgoing or reserved, friendly or cruel.
  • From a nature viewpoint, personality is innate and determined by genes that we inherit from our parents
  • From a nurture viewpoint, gender is learned through upbringing and role models
Psychologists agree on the "Big Five" stable personality traits - characteristics that tend to stay the same in different situations and as you develop. These are summed up in the initials O-C-E-A-N.

The most influential traits are Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N), researched by Hans Eysenck. Eysenck also proposed Psychoticism (P) to measure cold-heartedness and aggression, but this is not so widely accepted.
Another theory of personality comes from Sigmund Freud. His psychodynamic theory suggests our personality is divided and in conflict. The id contains our desires, the ego is the rational side of us and the super-ego is judgmental and moral. This conflict goes on in the unconscious mind, so we are not consciously aware of it.

Freud argues our personality forms in childhood, through conflicts with our parents. We also have defence mechanisms to protect us from what's happening in our unconscious.
11-minute video giving a packed overview of different theories about personality
OTHER INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Pages on each of the Approaches and Applications will consider more specific individual differences, like people with "photographic memory" or personality disorders.
SITUATIONAL FACTORS
Individual differences are sometimes described as dispositional factors - they are explanations based on a person's own individual makeup.

The opposite would be situational factors - explanations based on the situation or environment. Social psychologists in particular prefer situational explanations to dispositional ones.