Individuals differ in many measurable ways, including physical, mental, emotional, and personality characteristics. Differences exist in attributes like age, gender, height, weight, intelligence, academic achievement, special talents, interests, values, background, mental age, motor ability, and levels of development. No two people are exactly alike. Individual differences have become an important area of study in educational psychology research.

2.  According to Charles E. Skinner ‘’today we
think of individual differences as including
any measurable aspects of the total
personality’’.
 In old days people differed on the basis of
age I.e. different people are born on different
dates and hence they are different.
 Then concept has been considerably
broadened. People differ not only with
references to age but also according to their
height weight and general physique.

3.  It is a modem concept and has emerged into
limelight and importance only in recent times,
mainly on account of the researches in the field
of educational psychology.
 It has been proved beyond all doubts that no
two individuals are exactly similar.
 Every individual is a new experiment in the
hands of nature.
 And though all human beings look alike in their
visible fundamentals, e.g., the body and the
limbs of the body, they differ widely in their
physical, mental and emotional characteristics.

4.  Physical Differences:
 Gender Differences:
 Age Differences:
 Socio-Economic Differences:
 Intellectual and Academic
Differences:
 Intelligence:
 School Achievement:
 Special Aptitudes and
Talents:
 Personality:
 Interests and Values:
 Differences of Background:
 Mental age:
 Motor ability:
 Difference in respect of
development:

5. Individual differences in physical size are
prominent at the age of puberty.
At this age some youngsters are nearly twice as tall
and twice as heavy. as. others 'of the same "age
and sex.

6. Males are taller, heavier
and stronger than
females. Females become
mature earlier.
 Boys have more
mechanical aptitude. girls
have language superiority
Boys are good in science,
mathematics, games,
achievement or brain
power. Girl are more
emotionally and socially
mature.
 They are more quiet,
docile, friendly, sensitive
and responsive.

7.  Physical height increases in early age but
gradually decreases in late teens while the
weight reaches the peak later.
 The physical competencies decline with age.
 The muscular strength is maximum at maturity
and decreases in old age.
Intelligence:
 People differ with the reference to their
intelligence.
 Here the range is very wide from almost nil
intelligence to 140 or above.

8.  The differences due to social and economic status
have been noted in physical size, mental health,
values, and attitudes, intellectual and academic
status.
Intellectual and Academic
Differences:
 Students have different intellectual and academic
_potentials. Each child is unique.
 No two children even with the same IQ, are
intellectually equal.
 The achievements or marks of the student with
same. IQ will be different

9.  Individuals differ in. their special aptitudes
and talents.
 Different persons may have different
proportions of social skills, mastery of the
subject matter.
 Some special aptitudes such as reading
speed, comprehension, vocabulary,
perceptual speed, etc.

10. Personality consists of following approaches:
 The way we look.
 The way we dress.
 The way we talk.
 The way we act.
 It is continuous. It is a product of inner and
outer ones.

11.  Individuals- do 'differ in what they value more
or less.
 This is the reason why the teaching of values is
receiving increasing attention in schools.
Special abilities:
 Abilities of this kind' are concerned with mental,
artistic, personality or motor ability.
 During the junior and senior high school as well
as the college stage, the individual differences in
respect of special abilities.

12.  The differences that the children exhibit are
outcome of their different families and their
communities.
 Attitudes towards education and authority differ
in each family, culture and class.
Mental age:
 Children of differing ages as well as children of
the same age show differences in their respective
mental ages.
 Mental age and education are intimately related.

13.  The some individual in different age. groups
manifests considerable differences in- manual
dexterity.
 The individual's movements of the hand: and
feet and other physical abilities are seen .
Economic Situation:
 Economic differences are seen causing
differences in the children's interests,
tendencies and character etc..

14.  It includes social development and emotional
development which includes maturity,
emotional stability etc.
Difference of Interest:
 As has been pointed out the difference-in sex
leads to a difference in interests.
 Similarly, factors such as family background,
level of development, differences of
nationality and race, etc. cause difference of
interests.

15.  Heredity
 Environment
 Social and economic status
 Maturity