Temperament

What is Temperament?

Temperament: individuals have a general emotional style that guides their tendency to respond in certain ways to a variety of events in their environment.
Individual way of approaching the world, in turn shapes behavior and development

NY Longitudinal Study , Thomas & Chess studied 133 infants into adulthood
Asked parents about activity level, excitability, response to novel situations and people, food, bowel, and sleep patterns, mood, sensitivity
Easy child (40%): a positive mood, quickly establishes routines, and easily adapts.
Difficult child (10%): irritable, reacts negatively and cries frequently, resists change, and shows irregular behaviors.
Slow-to-warm-up child (15%): low mood intensity, low activity level, and slow to adapt to new people and situations
= 65, so 35% did not fit into one of these categories

Thought to be more “hard-wired”. There is some stability in temperament over time
Change can also be and is observed; Temperamental characteristics do not, however, typically go from one extreme to another.
One reason why we see change is that the ethnicity and culture the child is growing up may value and encourage certain child characteristics over others.

Neurobiological research has focused on inhibited, or shy, children and uninhibited, or sociable, children (introversion and extroversion).
Neurobiological and physiological correlates of shyness:
- Individual differences in arousal of the amygdala (fear response), and in brain waves in the frontal lobes of cerebral cortex
- Heart rate higher in shy children, speeds up further during unfamiliar events
- Higher cortisol concentration in saliva, rises more when stressed
- Greater pupil dilation, rise in blood pressure, and lower skin surface temperature when faced with novelty

Stability of temperament is low to moderate in infancy and toddlerhood and moderate from the preschool years on.
Long-term prediction from early temperament is best achieved after age 3.
Heritability estimates suggest a moderate role for genetic factors in temperament and personality, but environment is also powerful.
- A child’s initial approach to the world can be intensified or lessened by experience. Thus children can and do adapt
Differences in early temperament may have genetic roots but also supported by cultural beliefs and practices.

Goodness-of-fit model explains how temperament and environment can together produce favorable outcomes
The fit between parent and child temperament is also moderated by cultural value, parental mental health, marital happiness, and favorable economic conditions.
Parents, caregivers and educators play a big role in recognizing and supporting a child’s natural temperament, while recognizing their individual differences
E.g. an intense, reactive child may need more time to calm down and soothe; a slow to warm child may need more preparedness for new situations and time to adjust to transitions or new routines
**The goal is not to CHANGE the child, but rather nurture their strengths, help them feel supported, accepted, and confident when faced with new or unfamiliar situations or challenging tasks
Parents should recognize their own temperament and styles, may be difficult to parent a child who has a temperament different than one’s own. Be aware of their own limitations, influences