Individual Differences: Challenging Our Assumptions

Organizational psychologists often make assumptions regarding the variability and stability of individual differences (e.g., ability, personality, interests). In this chapter, we discuss the evidence regarding interindividual variability in individual differences in workplace contexts, intraindividual stability in individual differences across adult working years, and intraindividual variability across attributes (e.g., variability across a profile of ability or personality characteristics). We highlight the ways in which mistaken assumptions may affect conclusions regarding the predictive and explanatory power of individual differences, and we provide suggestions for research to enhance understanding of the variability and stability of commonly assessed individual differences.