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WHAT IS 'INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES'? Individual Differences is a branch of psychology that studies how and why individuals differ. Its main sub-branches are the study of cognitive abilities, motivation, personality, and temperament (including both mood and emotion). The focus of investigation in individual differences research is on the variables that form the basis for manifest differences in behavior and performance among individuals and between groups. For example, it is commonly observed that individuals differ in personality, motivation, and intellectual ability. If you, as a reader of this material, are interested in the basis for such differences, then you would be considering some of the issues of import that continue to generate academic and emotive debate between researchers in this field.
WHAT IS 'PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT'? Psychological assessment is broadly defined as the gathering and integration of scientifically acquired data "for the purpose of making a psychological evaluation, accomplished throught the use of tools such as tests, interviews, case studies, behavioral observation, and specially designed apparatuses and measurement procedures" (Cohen & Swederlik, 1999, Psychological Testing and Assessment, p. 5). In our laboratory, the chief assessment devices that we use, develop, construct, and examine are psychological tests. A psychological test "is a standardized procedure for sampling behavior and describing it with categories or scores" (Gregory, 1996, Psychological Testing, p. 33). Consistent with our interest in individual differences per se, the assessment aspect of our laboratory is especially devoted to computerized testing of personality, cognitive abilities, motivational and emotional states.
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES The importance of studying human individual differences is best summed up in the following paraphrase of the 'Aims and Scope' of one of the leading journals in the field, Personality and Individual Differences: The two disciplines of scientific psychology are the experimental, concerned with general laws, and the correlational, concerned with individual differences. As Cronbach pointed out in a celebrated address to the American Psychological Association in 1957, both are indispensable to a proper understanding of human beings and their behavior. Indeed, one cannot properly exist without the other. Individual differences interact in almost every case with experimental and situational paradigms to produce results differing profoundly for individuals of different capacities, different personalities, different emotions, and different motivations. Consequently, studies in experimental, social, educational, clinical, industrial, and organizational psychology that do not take into account individual differences factors throw away a great deal of potential information, and enlarge the error term in their analysis to an unacceptable degree. Main effects are frequently swamped by interaction effects, and these are lost when individual differences variables are not included in the research design. Conversely, the concepts and laws of experimental psychology are vital to a scientific understanding or interpretation of the work in individual differences. Indeed, if we are to explain individual differences factors in scientific terms, we must make an appeal to the concepts used in experiemntal and physiological pyschology. Only in this way (i.e., by uniting the two disciplines of psychology) can we hope to build up a unitary science of psychology.
HISTORICAL FIGURES IN INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Did you know that each of the figures at the top of the page are famous psychologists who have studied (and left their mark) in the fields of individual differences and psychological assessment? You can find out a great deal about each of these researchers by double-clicking on their picture!
INFORMATION ON THE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND ASSESSMENT LABORATORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, SYDNEY UNIVERSITY
Overview of the Researchers The research program on Individual Differences at the University of Sydney is under the direction of Dr. Lazar Stankov, who for the past 25 years has been an eminent international contributor to the field of human individual differences. His chief collaborator is Dr. Richard Roberts, who completed his dissertation on cognitive speed under the supervision of Dr. Stankov. In conjunction with teaching, administration, and research, Dr. Stankov and Dr. Roberts act as thesis supervisors to a number of postgraduate, honors, and graduate diploma students interested in understanding the causes and consequences of individual differences. In addition, Dr. Stankov and Dr. Roberts both serve as associate supervisors to several postgraduate students in major campuses around New South Wales and Queensland.
Dr Stankov's area of specialization is the study of cognitive abilities and intelligence. His research has been supported, to a total of $560,000, by grants from both the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council. During the past fifteen years, the main theoretical emphasis of his work has been on the rapprochement between traditional psychometric (i.e., factor-analytic) studies of intelligence and experimental studies of cognition. To this end, Dr. Stankov has used contemporary theories of information processing psychology in order to gain a better understanding of individual differences.
Dr Stankov's publication list includes one monograph, nine book chapters, and seventy-six (76) published (and in press) research papers. Since 1994, he has published thirty (30) papers on human cognitive abilities (eight additional papers are 'under review'). He also has a contract for a book (co-authored with Dr Roberts) which will be published by Cambridge University Press.
Dr Stankov's applied research has belonged to three main areas. Firstly, studies relating to cognitive changes due to aging and diabetes mellitus, examination of the auditory abilities of blind children, and cerebral lateralization, collectively belong to the area of health and medical psychology. Secondly, studies of practice and training on intelligence and the development of auditory tests of intelligence belong to educational psychology. Finally, his use of competing tasks for the selection of managers and development of Stankov's Tests of Cognitive Abilities (STOCA) belong to the area of psychological assessment (and in particular personnel selection).
Dr Stankov's current research interests include the study of age-related changes in cognitive abilities, the effects of self-confidence on cognitive performance, and the influence of health, physical activity, and lower-order sensory kinesthetic and tactile abilities on intelligence. Furthermore, since the field of intelligence includes the study of group (e.g., racial differences), he has become active in debates about the wider societal implications of research in this area. His criticism of some Australian writings on racial differences has been labeled as "courageous".
A good deal of Dr Stankov's research has received international recognition. Thus, there are in excess of 500 references to his work in the Social Sciences Citation Index alone. In 1988, he was invited to join the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP). On six occasions, during the past ten years, he has been asked to present papers and keynote addresses to international conferences. In 1997, he was invited to participate at a conference of 20 distinguished researchers organized by the US Air Forces at the University of Minnesota. Dr Stankov is an invited participant for the conference on intelligence entitled "Models of Intelligence for the Next Millennium", which will be held at Yale University in June 2000. He has been a referee for over ten international journals of psychology, been the supervisor to a large number of undergraduate and postgraduate now holding prominent positions in Australian psychology, and developed most of the course curriculum at the University of Sydney dealing with the subject of human individual differences.
If you would like to find out still further information on this major figure in Australian differential psychology (he didn't write this!) why not follow the link to his detailed biographical page.
Rich (as he likes to be known and wish he could be) was born in the balmy Bermuda Islands and migrated with his parents to Sydney, Australia in 1972. His undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Arts (Honors in Psychology), was completed at the University of Sydney, where he also obtained a doctorate (in differential psychology) in 1996. His Ph.D. thesis, entitled "Speed of Processing within the Structure of Human Cognitive Abilities", won the coveted H. Tasman Memorial Medallion. Between 1996 and 1998 he worked for the National Academy of Sciences as a National Research Council Fellow at Brooks AFB, TX. Presently, he is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Australia.
During the past five years, Dr. Roberts has published 14 papers in peer reviewed journals. He is the coeditor (with Professor Phillip Ackerman and Dr. Patrick Kyllonen) of Learning and Individual Differences: Content, Process, and Trait Determinants, a book covering recent trends in intelligence research, which has been published by the American Psychological Association. During this period, he also presented at, chaired, or been a co-organizer for 13 conferences in Australia, Canada, The United States, The United Kingdom, Greece, Denmark, and Poland. He has served as a reviewer for papers submitted to Australian Journal of Psychology, Journal of General Psychology, and International Journal of Selection and Assessment. He has also reviewed research proposals submitted to the Life Science Directorate of the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR).
Recently, Dr. Roberts was nominated for an International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID) Early Career Researcher Award. He is the holder of various research grants totalling nearly $AUD 250,000. Along with Dr. Lazar Stankov, he is presently writing a book on mental speed for Cambridge University Press. He is also negotiating a book contract on emotional intelligence (to be co-authored with Professor Gerry Matthews and Professor Moeshe Zeidner). Finally, he is the creator of various psychological assessment devices including The Lark-Owl Chronotype Indicator (LOCI), The Australian Time Organization and Management Scales (ATOMS), and The Performance-Accuracy Speed Tests (PAST).
If you would like to find out still further information on this larrikin of Australian differential psychology (as Dr Stankov often refers to him) why not follow the link to his detailed biographical page.
There are currently seven postgraduates endeavoring to extend the lineage of research excellence in Individual Differences at the Department of Psychology, University of Sydney. Barring one or two exceptions, each of these postgraduate students is being supervised by Dr Stankov, while Dr Roberts serves as their associate supervisor. These highly motivated, talented, and overly modest bunch include Fadi Anjoul, Robert Fosterlee, Dennis Garlick, Sabina Kleitman, Gerry Pallier, Katherine Ryan, and Daniela Senior. The research topics are as diverse as the postgraduates themselves, including application of cognitive ability models to neuropsychological assessment, neural simulation of fluid intelligence, investigation of elementary processing correlates of gambling, examination of self-confidence and strategies, basic and applied studies of emotional intelligence, to name but a few. The moral of all this is that individual differences psychologists tend to be quite individualistic.
The standard of postgraduate research in the laboratory is particularly high, with almost all of the people mentioned above having papers published in peer-reviewed journals. Moreover, each postgraduate student has presented papers (or had papers presented for them) at local, national, and/or international conferences.
Fourth Year (Honors and Graduate Diploma) Students In Australian universities, students intending to pursue professional careers in psychology are required to complete a fourth year after completing their bachelor degrees. A major component of this fourth year of study is an empirical research project. Currently, there are nine students, under the supervision of Dr Roberts (Dr Stankov was away on Sabbatical for the first part of 1999), who are undertaking this research in individual differences and assessment. These students are Sally Baveystock, Vanessa Danthiir, Alicia Garcia, Heidi Krause, Suk-kyoung Lee, Melanie O'Shea, Rebecca Runcie, Joel Werner, and Rebecca Wilkinson. As for the postgraduate students, their areas of investigation are particularly diverse. Their projects include construction and validation of an instrument to measure time management, investigation of the empirical status of olfactory abilities, cross-cultural assessment of emotional intelligence, exploration of stimulus compatibility effects, construction of a measure to determine levels of internet addiction, to name but a few.
Visitors The lab has played host to a number of local, national, and international visitors over the past two years. These include Professor Sidney Irvine (University of Plymouth, UK), Professor Phillip Ackerman (Georgia Tech, USA); Professor Ruth Kanfer (Georgia Tech, USA); Dr Alain vom Hofe (Universite de Rouen, France); Dr Patrick Kyllonen (Educational Testing Service, formerly Chief Research Scientist of the USAF Human Effectiveness Directorate, Brooks AFB, USA); Professor George Kearney (Deputy Vice Chancellor of Griffith University); Colonel Ian Johnston (Director of Psychology, Australian Defence Forces); Dr Scott Hofer (University of Pennsylvania, USA); Dr Andrea Picinin (University of Pennsylvania, USA); Professor Chris Hertzog (Georgia Tech, USA); Dr Alan Twomey (Principal Psychologist-Research, Australian Army); Dr Nick Reynolds (Chair of the APS College of Organisational Psychologists); Dr Don Munro (University of Newcastle); Mr Stan Bongers (former Director of RAAF Psychology, now an independent Consulting Psychologist); Dr Melissa McColough (Consultant, Human Resources & Psychology, Australian Council for Educational Research); Dr Elizabeth Allworth (Consulting Psychologist, Allworth Juniper); Amanda Coleman (Saville and Holdsworth); Belinda Robinson (Human Resources, Commonwealth Bank); Dr Kaarin Anstey (ANU); Ms Justine Grieg (Consulting Psychologist, Australian Defence Forces); Dr Brett Myors (Department of Psychology, Macquarie University); Professor Gerry Fogarty (Head, Department of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland); Dr John Crawford (Faculty of Business, UTS); Dr Paul Atkins (University of New South Wales); Dr Nick Burns (Centre for Visual Sciences, Australian National University); and Mr Goran Knezevic (University of Belgrade, Serbia).
Two of the recent visitors to the Individual Differences Laboratory (Dr Patrick Kyllonen [Left] and Professor Sidney Irvine [Right]) enjoying a more leisurely moment together. Dr Kyllonen is renowned for his cutting edge research into working memory and intelligence, while Professor Irvine has been internationally acclaimed for his cross-cultural research and development of the British Army Recruitment Battery (BARB).
Among visitors scheduled to attend in late 1999, are Dr Danny Kaye (Publicity, Fox Studios, Holywood); Dr Patrick Kyllonen (Educational Testing Service); Dr Lorelle Burton (Department of Psychology, University of Southern Queensland); and Dr Paul Atkins (University of New South Wales).
Collegiality Active collaboration between all researchers in the laboratory is highly encouraged by the heads of the program. We hold weekly seminars and fortnightly laboratory (lab) meetings, the latter of which alternates between formal and informal venues. Our seminars are open to all postgraduates, honours, and graduate diploma students in psychology. At the seminars, topical papers and reports on individual research progress are presented. You can find out about the most recent seminar program by following this link.
Members of the Clinical Psychology program, including its current director, Dr Deborah Erickson, often attend these lab meetings. At the formal meeting, an agenda is presented and minutes are maintained. Typical agenda items include problems related to individual research projects, announcement of upcoming events, discussion of various administrative matters arising from the running of resources and facilities, the tabling of published papers, conference presentations, and the like. (You can follow this link to our News page which contains all of the minutes and agenda items for a given year). The informal lab meeting, held at the local pub, is a welcome escape from our daily conventions. Although there is a general tendency to talk shop, by the end of the evening, the climate becomes decidedly cheerful!
Resources Our resources include two laboratory rooms that are furnished with a total of eight IBM compatible and fourteen Macintosh platform computers. One of these facilities, located in the historic Main Quadrangle of Sydney University, is also equipped with various audiovisual materials, allowing presentations from visitors to the laboratory to be conducted in relative comfort. Recently, we procured (thanks to interdepartmental funding) a state-of-the-art touch screen, upon which we are developing new psychomotor and neuropsychological tests. We are also fortunate to employ a resident computer programmer, Nick Karadimas, who assists with computer-based test development, implementation, and administration. Moreover, Dr Roberts is currently in charge of the Psychology Department's Test Library, meaning that there is no shortage of psychological assessment vehicles.
The reader interested in further information on the Resources and Facilities in the Individual Differences and Assessment Laboratory should follow this link to the appropriate page.
Guiding Principles Although the Individual Differences and Assessment Laboratory has yet to establish a formal constitution, the following are some guiding principles upon which this psychological unit operates: Ethical Code of Conduct. We are particularly committed to following the ethical principles established by the American Psychological Association. Collegiality. This is considered a crucial guiding principle, so much so that an entire previous passage was devoted to it. Fostering International Links. This guiding principle is evidenced in the large number of collaborative research projects initiated by Dr Stankov and Dr Roberts in the USA, UK, Germany, Israel, and Uruguay. In addition, in 1999 alone, members of the Individual Differences and Assessment Laboratory have presented papers in Canada, The United States, Uruguay, and Greece. Fostering Local and National Links with both Industry and Academia. This is becoming an increasingly important aspect of modern academic life in Australia. While both Dr Stankov and Dr Roberts have strong links with other Australian academics, and some links with industry, it is hoped the latter will become stronger over the years.
Dr Roberts demonstrating some of the psychological tests developed in the lab to members of the Australian Defence Force and Clinical Psychology Unit of Sydney University. Promotion of the Science of Individual Differences. Our committment to promoting the science of individual differences may be witnessed in the many peer-reviewed publications emanating from the laboratory. Equality. Each member is as valuable a component of the laboratory, in terms of its function, administration, and structure, as the other -- the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! Work hard, play hard! Relatively self-explanatory, don't you think? Follow this link to our fun page!!!! Community Service. The modern scientist should me mindful of the wider community. Follow this link to some of the community services that members of the lab provide.
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