PSYC 233 Temperament

Dr. Kathy Jones - Psych - Lewis and Clark11 minutes read

Temperament is the foundation of personality, evolving over time through biological factors influenced by the environment and impacted by parenting styles. Thomas, Chess, and Rothbart have contributed to understanding temperament dimensions, with caregiving playing a crucial role in mediating temperament for children.

Insights

  • Temperament is the innate foundation of personality, shaped by biological factors and influenced by the environment, evolving over time.
  • Parenting styles, caregiving consistency, and environmental factors can impact a child's temperament, with researchers like Thomas, Chess, and Rothbart contributing key dimensions and classifications to understand these variations.

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Recent questions

  • What is temperament?

    Temperament is the inborn foundation of personality.

  • How does parenting impact temperament?

    Parenting styles can influence a child's temperament.

  • Who are Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess?

    Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess are researchers.

  • What is effortful control in temperament?

    Effortful control focuses on regulating responses.

  • What factors influence a child's temperament?

    Genetics, caregiving, hormones, and attachments influence temperament.

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Summary

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Temperament: Foundation of Personality Evolution and Influence

  • Temperament is the inborn foundation of personality, not the personality itself, and it evolves over time through biological factors influenced by the environment.
  • Temperament is moderately stable and can be impacted by parenting styles and environmental factors.
  • Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess, along with contemporary researcher Rothbart, have contributed to the understanding of temperament dimensions.
  • Thomas and Chess's model includes dimensions like activity level, rhythmicity, distractibility, approach withdrawal, adaptability, attention span, intensity of reaction, threshold of responsiveness, and quality of mood.
  • Rothbart added the concept of effortful control, which focuses on an infant's ability to regulate their responses.
  • Thomas and Chess categorized temperaments into easy, difficult, slow to warm up, and unclassified/average babies based on their patterns of behavior and reactions.
  • Genetics, hormones like cortisol, caregiving consistency, prenatal influences, and attachments are significant factors influencing a child's temperament.
  • Caregiving plays a crucial role in mediating temperament, especially for difficult or slow to warm up babies, by providing consistency, appropriate introductions to new stimuli, and understanding the child's needs for attachment.
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