Individual differences psychology studies the ways in which individual people differ in their behavior. This is distinguished from other aspects of psychology in that although psychology is ostensibly a study of individuals, modern psychologists invariably study groups. For example, in evaluating the effectiveness of a new therapy, the mean performance of the therapy in one group might be compared to the mean effectiveness of a placebo (or a well-known therapy) in a second, control group. In this context, differences between individuals in their reaction to the experimental and control manipulations are actually treated as errors rather than as interesting phenomena to study. This is because psychological research depends upon statistical controls that are only defined upon groups of people. Individual differences psychologists usually express their interest in individuals while studying groups by seeking dimensions shared by all individuals but upon which individuals differ. Psychology (Classical Greek: psyche = soul or mind, logos = study of) is an academic and applied field involving the study of behaviour, mind and thought and, frequently the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. ... In the design of experiments treatments are applied to experimental units in the treatment group(s), and not to experimental units in the control group. ... A placebo, from the Latin for I will please, is a medical treatment (operation, therapy, chemical solution, pill, etc. ... From Latin ex- + -periri (akin to periculum attempt). ... Psychology (Classical Greek: psyche = soul or mind, logos = study of) is an academic and applied field involving the study of behaviour, mind and thought and, frequently the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity, including problems of individuals daily lives and the treatment of mental illness. ...
See Also
London School of Differential Psychology The London School of Differential Psychology is a school of thought in psychology interested in explaining individual differences. ...
Psychology (Classical Greek: psyche = "soul" or "mind", logos = "study of") is an academic and applied field involving the study of behavior and its relationship to the mind and brain.
Psychologydiffers from sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science, in part, by studying the behaviour of individuals (alone or in groups) rather than the behavior of the groups or aggregates themselves.
Psychologydiffers from biology and neuroscience in that it is primarily concerned with the overall behavior of a system, and not simply the pattern of neural responses produced by the system.
Individualdifferencespsychology studies the ways in which individual people differ in their behavior.
In this context, differences between individuals in their reaction to the experimental and control manipulations are actually treated as errors rather than as interesting phenomena to study.
Individualdifferences psychologists usually express their interest in individuals while studying groups by seeking dimensions shared by all individuals but upon which individualsdiffer.
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