Background: Understanding the nature of work-related stress and burnout among intellectual disability care staff is important to protect the well-being of these workers and encourage their retention in the sector. Though reviews of specific aspects of this literature have been conducted no article has sought to fully chart the range and nature of…

Epigenetic modifications of chromatin structure provide a mechanistic interface for gene-environment interactions that impact the individualization of health trajectories across the lifespan. A growing body of research indicates that dysfunctional epigenetic regulation contributes to poor cognitive outcomes among aged populations. Here we review…

Discusses the contributions of a proposed ecological model of career development to women's career counseling. Urges caution in assuming that the emphases of an ecological model apply to all women, and asserts that the concept of individual differences within the genders must remain paramount in career theory and counseling approaches. (Contains…

The paper reviews research studies on individual differences in students' predispositions to learning either in quiet or with sound. One study with 64 sixth graders found students achieved higher standardized reading test scores and had better attitudes when taught in congruent, rather than incongruent, environments. (DB)

Learning style is a factor researchers claim influences student educational performance. This article summarizes information about student learning styles. The idea of learning styles is based on the theory that there are different methods of gathering, organizing, and evaluating information. Research has not produced conclusive evidence about…

If human cognitive development advances through a series of broad and general stages, then the child's mind at any developmental point should seem consistent and similar across situations in its maturity level and general style. However, there appear to be factors and conditions that promote homogeneity and heterogeneity in the child's cognitive…

Examines research into the various factors affecting the frequency and complexity of dramatic play. Lists and elaborates on those factors, which include the child's maturity; social and cultural settings; teacher intervention in play; children's individual differences; children's familiarity with and security in play surroundings; and presence or…

This paper reviews 35 studies important in the historical development of field dependence, a popular research topic in psychology. The first section involves antecedents of the concept of field dependence, such as the influence of Kurt Lewin. Part two deals with the development of field dependence as an individual differences variable. Part three…

The purpose of this paper is to understand how gifts are discovered and talents developed within sport. The current literature is critically discussed, highlighting contributions and gaps in current knowledge. Due to issues concerning terminology and the nature versus nurture debate, research on talent faces challenges relating to continuity and…

Notes that psychologists' interest in behavioral development concerns individual differences in behavior. Explores complexities of genetic and environmental determination of development, and of canalization. Intelligence is considered as an example of the canalization of human behavior. (BC)

Maintains that (1) research questions must address intra- and extraorganism contextual relations and must be multidisciplinary in scope; (2) research must be sensitive to contextual variability and individual differences; and (3) scholars must develop empirically generative models linking the development of human beings with changing contexts. (BC)

This paper compares and contrasts the findings of studies on the learning styles of multicultural subgroups in the United States in terms of the categories of the Dunn and Dunn Learning Styles Model. It concludes that individual rather than group characteristics must be addressed when providing instruction--regardless of cultural or racial…

Data used to support Spearman's hypothesis have been incorrectly and inconsistently reported and do not support the claim that African-American-white differences in intelligence are not environmental in origin. Deaf children should not be considered a single population with respect to linguistic deprivation. (SLD)

Argues that extant research assessing relations between contextual factors and psychological disturbance has confused two different roles of context. Suggests that environmental factors are nonspecific stressors and elicit psychopathology, with specificity of expressed psychopathology governed by individual differences, and that context is…

Reviews psychometic studies of human spatial ability and studies of environmental, genetic, hormonal, and neurological influences that interact in producing individual variation in spatial test scores. (MP)