The Individual Differences Approach to Personality: Personality is a term that has been widely regarded as an unproblematic concept and mainly refers to the different types of characteristics of individuals. Despite this assumption, psychologists have consistently used the word in different ways. The different opinions in the use of this concept or term are fueled by the fact that psychology usually makes generalizations about individuals. In general, personality seeks to examine the many differences and similarities between individuals. Formal assessment and study of personality has focused primarily on patterns of similarities versus patterns of differences between individuals. When evaluating patterns of differences, the concept of anomaly emerged and aroused enormous concern among psychologists. Since the issue is controversial, the question arises whether individual differences in personality can actually be explained by reference to genes. Individual Differences Approach to Personality Theory: As mentioned above, personality is a concept that primarily focuses on examining patterns of similarities and patterns of differences between individuals. The personality view examines individuals comprehensively to look for common dimensions of personal traits in order to make generalizations and comparisons. There are two main approaches used to make these overviews and comparisons regarding individual differences: the nomothetic approach and the idiographic approach. The nomothetic approach is part of a broader tradition of measuring individual differences. Since nomothetic is a term meaning legitimate, the approach of examining individual differences develops theories that are universally applicable to any… middle of paper… active and meaningful environments (Thomas, n.d., p.326 ). Therefore, individual differences in personality cannot be adequately explained with reference to genes due to the influence of environmental factors on individual diversity. In conclusion, personality is a term that refers to the numerous patterns of similarities and patterns of differences between individuals. There are various ways that psychologists have examined individual differences in personality, including the use of genetics. Through this method, psychologists have primarily examined the biological bases that contribute to individual differences in personality. Although these measures provide some insights into personality, individual differences in personality cannot be adequately explained by reference to genes due to weaknesses in these theories and the effect of environmental factors..