Child Development and Temperament Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards reviewing key concepts, research models, and categories of temperament from child development lecture notes.

Thomas and Chess

Behavioral pediatricians who asserted that infants are not all the same and parenting is not one size fits all, identifying nine key temperament traits.

Temperament

A constitutionally-based individual difference in reactivity and regulation that is relatively stable, serves as the foundation for personality, and is modified by experience.

Rhythmicity

A temperament trait identified by Thomas and Chess referring to the consistency of an infant's daily biological habits, such as eating, sleeping, and toilet routines.

Approach/withdrawal

A temperament trait describing how a child initially responds to new people or new stimuli.

Sensory threshold

A temperament trait defining the amount of sensory stimulation required to evoke a response in a child.

"Easy" Child

A temperament group comprising about 40% of children, characterized by regular biological rhythms, positive responses to new stimuli, high adaptability, and mild to moderate positive mood.

"Difficult" Child

A temperament group comprising about 10% of children, characterized by low rhythmicity, slow adaptability, negative mood, high intensity reactions, and a higher risk for later adjustment problems such as anxious withdrawal or aggressive behavior.

"Slow to Warm Up" Child

A temperament group comprising about 15% of children, characterized by mild intensity, negative mood, slow adaptability, and gradual positive interest, often described as shy.

Mary Rothbart’s model of continuity

A developmental model illustrating how early temperament dimensions (negative affect, positive affect, effortful control) map onto preschool traits and adult personality dimensions.

Effortful control

The ability to engage in sustained attention, which emerges around preschool age through biological maturation and relates to adult conscientiousness, constraint, agreeableness, and openness.

Goodness of Fit

The match between a child's temperament and their parent's caregiving style, which plays a major role in child development outcomes.

Individualistic culture

A cultural context, such as U.S. culture, that places emphasis on industry, independence, and sociability.

Collectivist culture

A cultural context, such as traditional Chinese culture, that places emphasis on self-constraint and obeying the majority.