Temperament is defined as a person’s characteristic, biologically based way of a

Question

Temperament is defined as a person’s characteristic, biologically based way of approaching and reacting to situations. Reports from nursing personnel support the notion that infants do show differences in temperament even in the hospital nursery. Tammy, for example, could be described as a quiet, somewhat docile baby while in the hospital nursery. Her roommate, Tina, in contrast, was described as a rather demanding baby who was difficult to soothe and not at all happy if her needs were not immediately addressed. When does the development of temperament begin? List and describe the characteristics of the three patterns of temperament. Identify which pattern best describes both Tammy and Tina. Describe the role that both genetic and environmental influences have on the development of individual styles of temperament in infants. Be sure to list examples of temperament in cross-cultural studies.

Explanation / Answer

Temperament refers to children’s emotionality, activity and attention, and can be defined as individual differences in constitutionally based reactivity and self-regulation. It includes variability in positive affect and approach, fear, frustration, sadness and discomfort, as well as attentional reactivity and self-regulatory controls on behaviour, thought and emotion. There are various dimensions of temperament that include;1) positive emotionality; 2) activity level; 3) fearfulness; 4) anger/frustration; 5) attentional orienting; and later, in early childhood, 6) effortful control, i.e. the capacity to inhibit a dominant response in order to perform a subdominant response. It is something which develops with age.During the first few months of life, individual differences in orienting, distress proneness, positive affect and approach, and frustration can be observed. By 6 months of age, when infants are presented with objects, some infants will also show rapid approach by reaching and contacting them, while others will approach more slowly. In the later years,individual differences in fearful inhibitions can be seen as well.Fearful inhibition shows considerable stability and is related to the later development of empathy, guilt and shame in childhood. Fearful children tend to develop greater early conscience and benefit from gentle parental discipline in promoting internalized conscience. According to psychiatrists Thomas and Chess,there are 3 different temperament patterns which includes,1)The Easy Child is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishing regular routines in infancy and adapts easily to new experiences. 2)The Difficult Child tends to react negatively and cry frequently, engaging in irregular daily routines and is slow to accept new experiences. 3)The Slow to Warm Up Child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, shows low adaptability and displays a low intensity of mood. Tammy is more of a slow temperament pattern,who is quite and shy and will take time to adapt to new people and new situations. Whereas,Tina has a difficult temperament pattern who is difficult to control,has an intense reaction when her needs are not met,might cry and through tantrums frequently and also have a negative mood. A comparison of temperament styles in American and Finnish children indicated higher negative effect in American children as compared to Finnish children.Americans reported more tendencies toward behavioral aspects of surgency whereas Finns expressed higher levels of positive affectivity and more effortful control.Differences between Finnish and American individuals with regard to negative affect may instead be explained through the effects of harsh parenting on systems underlying behavioral inhibition. Parents in America, who receive relatively little childcare support from their government, are required to return to work earlier than Finnish parents, and must frequently leave young children with non-familial caretakers, may experience higher stress levels. These factors may have both direct and indirect effects on the fearfulness and negative affect of their infants and children, as well as on themselves. Twin studies using parent ratings, the most frequently employed measure of temperament in infancy and childhood, provide strong evidence of genetic influences on temperament. The finding of significant and substantial nonshared environmental influences on temperament provides an important focus for researchers interested in environmental effects on temperament. Another study was done German and Polish twins between age of 14-80 years,through the use self report measures,it was found that genetic factors and environmental influence both play a role in temperament styles.

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