Phenotypic di¡erences can exist between species, between local populations of the same species and between individuals within single local populations. At all scales, phenotypic di¡erences can be either adaptive or non-adaptive. Using natural selection to explain di¡erences between closely related species was controversial during the 1940s but had become common by the 1960s. Similarly, the adaptive nature of di¡erences between local populations was initially controversial but had become widely accepted by the 1980s. The interpretation of di¡erences at the ¢nest scaleöbetween individuals within single populationsöis still unresolved. This paper reviews studies of adaptive individual di¡erences in resource use and response to risk. A general conceptual framework for thinking about adaptive individual di¡erences within populations can unite subjects as seemingly di¡erent as speciation and personality psychology.