developmental psychology ch12

What is temperament?

Inborn behavioural tendencies showing how individuals typically respond to the world.

Thomas & Chess’s Three Temperament Types (1977) - Based on parent-child interactions.

2. Easy (40%): Happy, regular habits, easily soothed.

   • Slow to warm up (15%): Needs time to adjust to new situations.

   • Difficult (10%): Irritable, irregular routines, intense reactions.

Continuity of temperament and personality:

Continuity in childhood:

Difficult temperament (versus easy) in infancy predicts difficult temperament in childhood.

Higher risk of behavioural problems (e.g., temper tantrum).

Discontinuity in adulthood:

• Adulthood adjustment little to do with temperament during infancy.

• Some temperament dimensions relate to later Big Five personality traits.

But individual differences (due to influence of environment!):

Easy children can also develop behaviour problems

• Difficult children do not always develop behaviour problems

Rothbart’s Temperament Dimensions

3. Infants’ reactivity to experiences + their capacity for self regulation → Temperament:

   Surgency/Extraversion: Energetic, positive, seeks stimulation.

   • Negative Affectivity: Sadness, frustration, fearfulness.

   • Effortful Control: Ability to shift/focus attention, inhibit responses (emerges in toddlerhood).

When do the temperament dimensions emerge?

4. • Surgency/Extraversion & Negative Affectivity: Infancy

   • Effortful Control: Toddlerhood/early childhood till adolescence

Temperament: How to measure it?

1. Design situations tailored to elicit joy, fear anger

2. Observe how toddlers act

• Exuberance: entertaining with puppets: measure laughter/reservation

• Fear-eliciting condition: child enters the room filled with scary toys

• Anger-eliciting condition: restrain child in car seat and rate frustration.

Temperament as Risk Factor: Shy Children

5. • Positives: Early signs of conscience.

   • Negatives: Risk for social withdrawal, internalising problems.

Advice: Refrain from overprotection

Temperament as Risk Factor: Exuberant temperament

Happy, disinhibited, fearless in new situations and with new people:

Joyous, fearless, outgoing, adventurous

Potential problems with conscience development; at higher risk for later “acting-out” behaviour problems

Later development: Risk for externalising problems

Parental advice:

No use of “power assertion”

Sensitive positive parenting and love

Calm reasoning when whining

Time-outs for defiant behaviour (questioned)

What is normal?

What is “Goodness of Fit”?

Compatibility between a child’s temperament and the parenting environment.

Early childhood:

Child learns to do more by him/herself.

Testing/crossing boundaries: “Terrible two”

1 in 3 parents labeled their kid as having behavioural problems, but outbursts are normal.

Individual differences in self-regulation!

Differences in toddler self-control have genetic roots (temperamental traits).

Which child had internalised mother’s rules?

Room with toys, two conditions: “Clean them up” vs “don’t play with them” - Mother leaves:

• Improvement from age 2 to 4

• “Cleaning up” more challenging than “not playing” with toys

• Fearful inhibited children more obedient

• Girls listened better

• Stability over time (1 → 4 years)

Marshmallow test:

Tests delay of gratification - “you can eat one now” or “you can wait and then get two”

Kids who did better tend to do better in school/BMI, results not replicated with a more diverse/larger sample

SES matters

What are self-conscious emotions?

Emotions requiring a sense of self (e.g., guilt, shame, pride). Appear around age 2-4.

Important fro socialisation: less unwanted behaviour, more self regulation

Typical emotions in Year 1 and Year 2:

8. • Year 1: Basic emotions (joy, fear, anger)

   • Year 2: Complex emotions (shame, guilt)

Marshmallow Test & Implications

Linked to future self-control and academic success; however, SES influences results more than pure willpower.

Do individual adults retain their ranking on trait dimensions compared with others in a group over years?

Consistency in rankings within a group:

High correlations between scores on same trait dimensions at different ages.

Consistency increases with age:

Not much change with age after around 50

Developing Personality:

• Some temperament dimensions relate to Big Five personality traits:

• Surgency/extraversion → extraversion, negative affectivity → neuroticism, effortful control → conscientiousness

• Effortful-control dimension of temperament → Self-control or self-regulation in childhood
  → Conscientiousness later in life: good developmental outcomes

• Personalities change in response to parenting, cultural pressures, and life events

• correlations between early childhood traits and adult traits usually quite small

• children's traits in elementary school years begin to predict adolescent and adult

• personality

• some aspects of personality stabilize only in adolescence or even adulthood

> Roots of adult personality in childhood, but full personality formation takes many years.

Maturity Principle of Personality Development

People become more emotionally stable (↓neuroticism), agreeable, and conscientious with age.

When do major personality shifts occur?

Mostly between adolescence and middle adulthood.

Does personality change in late adulthood?

Little systematic change; more influenced by life events than age.

Development of Self-Concept: Self-concept in infancy

• Begins with implicit sense of self (agency, bodily awareness).

• 2–3 months: Awareness of body as distinct from environment.

Development of Self-Concept: Self-recognition milestone

• Around 18 months: visual recognition in mirrors - Rouge test.

• 18–24 months: Begin using self-referential language.

Development of Self-Concept: Self-concept in preschool years

Concrete, physical traits (e.g., “I am big,” “I have a red shirt”).

Development of Self-Concept: Self-concept in middle childhood

Becomes more abstract, psychological (e.g., “I am smart,” “I’m funny”). Also enduring qualities, part of social group and social comparison.

Development of Self-Concept: Self-concept in adolescence

• More differentiated and integrated.

• Includes social roles and group memberships.

• Involves reflection and identity exploration.

What is identity?

A coherent sense of self including beliefs, values, and direction in life - integrations of self-perceptions into a coherent self - who you are.

Identity formation - classification into one of four identity statues based on progress toward an identity in each of several domains.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage: Identity vs Role Confusion

• Adolescence is key period for identity formation.

• Failure leads to confusion and instability.

What influences identity formation?

• Cognitive development (formal-operational thinking)

• Personality (openness, conscientiousness)

• Parental relationships (authoritative parenting)

• Opportunities to explore (e.g., education)

• Culture (individualistic vs collectivistic norms)

Marcia’s Four Identity Statuses

Identity Diffusion:
No crisis, no commitment. Avoidance, lack of direction.

Identity Foreclosure:
Commitment without prior exploration (e.g., adopting parents’ values unquestioningly).

Identity Moratorium:
Ongoing exploration without commitment. Often experienced in adolescence.

Identity Achievement:
Commitment after exploration. Most stable and healthy outcome.

How does culture influence self-concept and identity?

• Individualistic cultures: Emphasise personal traits.

• Collectivistic cultures: Emphasise group roles and harmony.

Role of peer influence in adolescence:

Peers become central in shaping identity, values, and self esteem.

What is the impact of social comparison?

Becomes prominent in middle childhood and adolescence; shapes self-esteem and identity.

How does gender identity develop?

• Emerges in early childhood

• Solidifies in middle childhood/adolescence through cultural and peer input.

What is gender intensification?

• Increased adherence to gender roles during adolescence

• More common in girls

What is self-esteem?

Global evaluation of one’s worth and value.

Developmental trajectory of self-esteem:

• High in preschool

• Declines in early school years

• Stabilises or increases in adolescence/early adulthood (esp. with positive experiences)

What influences self-esteem?

• Parenting style (warmth + structure)

• Peer relationships

• Achievements

• Body image (especially in adolescence)

How does personality continue in late adulthood?

Stability overall, but changes due to health, losses, and life reflections may occur.

What is narrative identity?

Internalised life story that helps make sense of one’s past and direction.

Positive aging and personality:

Older adults may experience increased agreeableness and emotional regulation (less neuroticism).