Humankind has been interested in the study of individual differences throughout recorded history. Plato discussed the issue of individual variations in aptitudes and suggested having tests for selecting those persons most suited for the military, artisans and rulers (Tyler, 1965). Hippocrates proposed a two-fold classification system of body builds which he called ”habitus apoplecticus” and ”habitus phthisicus” (Tyler, 1965). The nineteenth century German astronomer, Bessel, discovered discrepancies among individuals in recording the time of the passage of stars across the meridian at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. This source of error, due to individual differences, became known as the ”personal equation" (Murphy & Kovach, 1972). The founder of modern experimental psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, was strongly interested in physiological variations and developed various indices of human differences in sensation and perception (Sheridan, 1971).
The field of "psychological studies” (Koch, 1976) has been vitally concerned with individual differences since its inception including variations in intelligence, achievement, aptitude, creativity, interests, cognitive style, personality and values. It is these latter two areas and the implicit relationship between them which have specific interest for this investigator.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:vcu.edu/oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-6325 |
| Date | 01 January 1981 |
| Creators | Pettus, William B. |
| Publisher | VCU Scholars Compass |
| Source Sets | Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | © The Author |
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