Transcription of Temperament & Personality
1 1 Temperament & Personality Temperament : constitutionally basedindividual differences in emotion, motor,reactivity and self-regulation that demonstrateconsistency across situations and over time Temperament is biologically based: Heredity,neural, and hormonal factors affect response tothe environment. Temperament can be modulated byenvironmental factors; parental of Thomas and Chess sTemperament Dimensions2 Temperament Dimensions (continued)Thomas and Chess s Temperament Types Easy babies: 40% of infants; adjust easily tonew situations, quickly establish routines, aregenerally cheerful and easy to calm.
2 Difficult babies: 10% of infants; slow toadjust to new experiences, likely to reactnegatively and intensely to stimuli and events. Slow-to-warm-up babies: 15% of infants;somewhat difficult at first but become easierover Dimensions of InfantTemperament (Rothbart & Bates) Fearful distress Irritable distress Attention span and persistence Activity level Positive affect Rhythmicity4 Role of Temperament in SocialSkills and Adjustment Differences in anger/irritability, positiveemotion, and ability to regulate emotions areassociated with social competence andadjustment. Children who are negative, impulsive, andunregulated tend to have poor peer relationsand get in trouble with the law.
3 They aredifficult partners and roommates. Behaviorally inhibited children are more likelyto experience anxiety, depression, and Social Adjustment Goodness of fit : the degree to which anindividual s Temperament is compatible withthe demands and expectations of his or hersocial environment Parents can modulate children s temperamentby their influences on the environment. What is good parenting for a difficultbaby/child? What is good parenting for a slow-to-warm-upor inhibited baby/child?
