For example, variation in human mathematical ability is believed to originate from the integration of several different factors such as an extensive network of cognitive skills and mathematics-specific knowledge, underpinned by specific aspects of motivation (e.g. 12) but there is no consensus on the mechanisms behind individual variation (e.g. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11).Īt the population level, cognitive performance in the different domains mostly shows a continuous distribution (e.g. While some authors suggest that genetic factors play the most significant role 5, 6, others propose a preponderant role of environment and deliberate practice (e.g. Since Galton’s monograph Hereditary Genius 4, the origins of individual variation in cognitive skills have been debated.

Exceptional performance-i.e., the performance of outliers in individual variability-is a well-known, established phenomenon that is also present in various human activities such as music, mathematic and linguistics (e.g. Individual variability is also present in behaviour and in various domains of cognitive performance 2. Individual variability in external and internal organ morphology is present in all organisms, including among genetically identical individuals, such as human identical twins (e.g. The origin of behavioural individuality is a fundamental question in cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, and evolution.

Another word for previous studies