All people differ from each other in an infinitely large number of parameters. There are no two exactly alike people on Earth. Even twins who have the same genes differ from each other in their personalities. In order not to get confused in the variety of differences between people, psychology distinguishes three types of differences: individual, group and typological.
All three types of differences can be called "individual" in the broadest sense of the word. However, in the narrow sense of the word, individual differences are understood as a separate category of differences.
Individual differences in a narrow sense
In a narrow sense, the phrase "individual differences" refers to the difference between a person and himself at different stages of his life or in different situations. Obviously, an adult is different from the way he was as a child. Also, the same person behaves differently in different situations: at home in the family, alone with himself, in the circle of colleagues or friends. Studying these differences, we understand the individual path of human development, as well as the repertoire of his behavior and roles in society.
Also, individual differences include the differences between one particular person and another. For example, a child differs from his parents: something from his mother, and something from his father (it is useful to study such differences in genetic research). However, it should be remembered that comparing two people with each other is not useful and illegal: different people initially have different conditions for development, both internal and external, therefore such a comparison will not give us useful information without a clearly defined narrow goal.
Group individual differences
Group differences are noted by all people in everyday life, because it is an important tool for predicting the behavior of a particular person. Group differences include
- sex and gender differences (between men and women),
- differences between people of different ages (for example, you can track how children differ from adolescents, mature people - from the elderly, and so on),
- racial, national and cultural differences,
- professional differences (for example, how engineers differ from musicians).
Knowing the features of behavior inherent in a particular social group, it is easier for us to navigate in society and when meeting with a stranger it is easier to find a common language with him.
Typological individual differences
Typological differences imply that people can be divided into groups according to different psychological characteristics. For example, extroverts and introverts, people with an analytical or synthetic style of perception, sociable and withdrawn, and so on.
Typological differences are the largest category of differences in psychology, because there are a large number of psychological signs by which people can be divided into groups.
