1995 edo-cg-95-15 Assessment of Temperament



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 1995

EDO-CG-95-15

Assessment of Temperament

Hedwig Teglasi

Temperament refers to basic dimensions of personality that

are grounded in biology and explain individual differences in

the developmental process rather than universal dynamics.

While these dimensions show continuity over time, they are

subject to change with maturation and experience.  The view of

behavior as a function of the organism and of the environment

is basic to psychology.  Accordingly, temperament serves as a

mechanism to explain how individuals contribute to their own

development in a given environmental context.  Harmony be-

tween persons and their surroundings is produced through bi-

directional interplay between inborn, temperamental attributes

and external demands, supports, and circumstances.

Temperament is generally identified with: a) the compo-

nents of personality that are biological in origin (e.g., Buss &

Plomin, 1984); b) traits that are relatively stable, cross

situationally consistent, and evident throughout the age span

and diverse cultures (Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981); and c) the

style (how) rather than the content (what) or purpose (why) of

behavior (Thomas & Chess, 1977).  In contrast, personality serves

as a central organizer of behavior that influences the expression

of temperamental traits.  Thus, personality determines the spe-

cific content and purpose of behavior.

Temperament is currently  an active area of research with

documented applicability to a variety of developmental and

mental health outcomes such as conscience formation, peer in-

teraction, behavior problems, school achievement, psychopa-

thology, and vulnerability as well as resistance to stress.  Given

that temperamental extremes constitute risk factors, specific

temperament dimensions can be flagged as early precursors of

impaired adjustment.

Although the importance of the construct is well estab-

lished, unresolvedconceptual issues and problems with mea-

surement limit the applicability of this knowledge by practitio-

ners.  The many choices of dimensions identified as separate

elements, how they should be combined, and their proper mea-

surement given these choices constitute a continuing debate.

Reviews of available instruments document their problems in-

cluding inconsistent stability, low interrater reliability, and ques-

tions about construct validity (Slabach, et al., 1991).  Neverthe-

less, increasing use of temperament scales call for research to

elaborate and refine conceptualizations to develop improved

measures, and to incorporate temperament constructs in theo-

ries of personality as well as in the design of prevention and

intervention strategies.

     What is the Structure of Temperament?

The nine-dimensional model of Thomas & Chess (1977) has

been the basis for the development of the most popular mea-

sures of temperament in the United States.  The nine dimen-

sions are: mood, approach-withdrawal, intensity, threshold,

rhythmicity, distractibility, attention span, persistence, and

adaptability.  However, substantial overlap found among some

of these dimensions has led to questions about their validity as

separate constructs.  Factor analyses suggest (see review by

Martin, et al., in press) that these nine dimensions separate into

five robust factors and two factors that are less consistent across

measures and ages.  The five robust factors are: i

nhibition (approach-avoidance), negative emotionality, adapt-

ability, activity level, and task persistence.  The two less consis-

tent factors are: threshold and biological rhythmicity.  The five

robust dimensions emerging from the factor analytic study of

childhood temperament resemble the Big Five factors identi-

fied in the study of adult personality and suggest a tempera-

mental underpinning to personality.

Buss and Plomin (1984) emphasized the two criteria of early

appearance and heritability as defining properties of tempera-

mental traits and developed a measure based on the following

three dimensions: emotionality, activity, and sociability (EAS).

Factor analysis of a selected set of items from the EAS and the

nine-dimensional model (ages 1-6) suggested the following fac-

tors: emotionality, soothability, activity, attention span, and so-

ciability (Rowe & Plomin, 1977).

Rothbart and Derryberry (1981) defined temperament as

constitutionally based individual differences in reactivity and

self-regulation (influenced over time by heredity, maturation,

and experience).  Reactivity refers to the activation of motor,

affective, autonomic, and endocrine systems.  Self-regulation

refers to the processes that modulate reactivity such as atten-

tion, approach-withdrawal, inhibition, and self-soothing.  This

framework broadens the possibility of identifying temperament

dimensions to include those that do not appear within the first

years of life.  Furthermore, this approach promotes the applica-

tion of research in areas such as emotion and cognition to refine

temperament dimensions.  In developing a series of tempera-

ment questionnaires for various ages, Rothbart and her col-

leagues identified as many as 15 dimensions of temperament,

some of which are refinements of those previously identified

such as emotionality (see Goldsmith & Rothbart, 1991).

  What Issues Remain in Assessing Temperament?

  One problem in the assessment of temperament is that

measures for older children have been either upward extensions

of temperament constructs and scales derived from observa-

tions on infants and toddlers or based on biological models with-

out regard to development.  An emphasis on early appearing

traits precludes the consideration of characteristics that may be

genetically programmed to emerge later in time and disre

gard

of developmental processes excludes from consideration age-



related variation in the expression of temperament.  Develop-

mental changes in the elicitors of temperamental responses such

as fear or pleasure have been studied in the early years through

contrived laboratory situations, but such prototypical situations

at later ages remain to be determined.

Response parameters need to reflect the greater complex-

ity and differentiation of behavior with development.  Com-

monly assessed response parameters in laboratory studies with

young children have been duration, latency, and intensity.  How-

ever, other parameters that tap the greater organization of be-

havior with development might entail modulation, self-regula-

tion, or attunement to context  Furthermore, age and rater dif-

ferences in the meaning of specific items on scales have not been

investigated.



How Are Temperament and Personality Related?

Despite efforts to distinguish between temperament and

the more general concept of personality, the contrast between

them is obscured by the following (see Prior, 1992): a) a com-

mon descriptive vocabulary; b) overlapping concepts; and c)

failure of empirical data to differentiate between temperament

and personality on the basis of biological factors.

ERIC Digest



ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated.  This publication was funded by the U.S.

Department of Education, Of fice of Educational Research and Improvement, Contract No. RR93002004. Opinions expressed in this report do

not necessarily reflect the positions of the U.S. Department of Education, OERI, or ERIC/CASS.

For information on other ERIC/CASS products and services, please call toll-free (800) 414-9769 or (910) 334-4114 or fax (910)

334-4116 or write ERIC/CASS, School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC   27412.

The concept of self-regulation, widely studied as a personality

variable, has also been regarded as a temperamental trait.  Self-regu-

lation as a personality construct appears to be defined in general

terms encompassing the manner in which an individual thinks, feels,

acts, and reacts.  The temperament view refers to the basic processes

involved in optimizing stimulation, alertness, and affective arousal.

Needed is an explanation of how the basic response styles iden-

tified as temperamental traits express themselves in larger units of

functioning such as self-regulation in the broader sense.  Tempera-

ment contributes to the coherence of the individual’s current func-

tioning and to both continuity and lawful changes in the develop-

mental process. The individual’s current state (personality) can be

framed in terms of unfolding processes (continuous interaction be-

tween person and environment) that led to its development.

       How do temperament dimensions exert their influence?

The mechanisms by which temperament dimensions exert their

influence on broader areas of functioning are less well understood

than the traits themselves.  Martin (1994) reviewed two possible

causal linkages between temperamental dispositions and children’s

common problems in educational settings that focus on the inter-

play of temperament with the environment:

1) Some components of the environment strengthen tempera-

mental dispositions because the environment that is actually expe-

rienced is linked with those predispositions in three ways: a) on

average, children share 50% of their own genetic make up with each

of their parents who then provide environments that are influenced

by their own genetic backgrounds; b) children’s behavioral styles

(i.e., temperaments) elicit responses from others in the environment

in ways that strengthen their disposition; and c) children actively

seek environments that are in harmony with their predispositions.

2) Temperament acts as a predisposition to (or buffer against)

risk in the context of stressful conditions.  According to this model,

the role of the environment varies with the degree of predispositional

risk.


A third possibility, that temperament influences the perception

and synthesis of life experiences, is suggested by research on the

impact of emotion on information processing and memory.  Simi-

larly, attentional processes, considered by many as temperamental,

would be expected to have a very basic impact on the interpretation

of information.  Over time, the cumulative influence of tempera-

ment on the understanding of experiences (social and task) shapes

the individual’s inner world including views of relationships and

expectations about events.  These inner structures corroborate and

amplify the original predispositions.  Strategies to intervene must

be aimed at altering the processes set into motion by the individual’s

temperamental dispositions.

                                       Conclusions

Temperament is a compelling framework within which to study

the contribution of individual differences to the developmental pro-

cess. The documented association of temperament traits with di-

verse outcomes linked with normal development and psychopa-

thology have left no doubt about the value of this construct.  Future

refinements in definitions and measurement as well as a better un-

derstanding of how temperament exerts its influence will promote

greater application of these concepts to designing programs for pre-

vention and intervention in mental health and educational settings.

                                    References

Buss, A., & Plomin, R. (1984).  Temperament: Early personality traits.

Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.

Goldsmith, H. H., & Rothbart, M. K. (1991).  Contemporary instru-

ments for assessing early temperament by questionnaire and

in the laboratory.  In A. Angleitner & J. Strelau (Eds.), Explora-



tions in temperament: International perspectives on theory and mea-

surement.  New York: Plenum.

Martin, R. P. (1994).  Child temperament and common problems in

schooling:  Hypotheses about causal connections.  Journal of

School Psychology, 32, 119-134.

Martin, R. P., Wisenbaker, J., & Huttunen, M.  (In Press).  Review of

factor  analytic studies of temperament measures based on the

Thomas-Chess Structural Model: Implications for the Big Five.

In C. Halverson, Jr., G.  Kohnstamm, & R. P. Martin Eds.), The

developing structure of temperament and personality from infancy

to adulthood. Hillsdale, N. J.: Erlbaum.

McCrae, R. R. (Ed.) (1992). The five-factor model:  Issues and appli-

cations (Special issue). Journal of Personality, 60.

Prior, M.  (1992).  Childhood temperament.  Journal of Child Psychol-



ogy and Psychiatry, 33, 249-279.

Rothbart, M. K., & Derryberry, D. (1981).  Development of individual

differences in temperament.  In M. E. Lamb & A. L. Brown

(Eds), Advances in  developmental psychology (Vol. I, pp. 37-86).

Hillsdale, N. J.: Erlbaum.

Rowe, D.C., & Plomin, R.  (1977).  Temperament in early childhood,



Journal of Personality Assessment, 41, 150-156.

Thomas, A., & Chess, S. (1977). Temperament and development. New



York: Brunner/Mazel.

Hedwig Teglasi, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Co-Director of the

School Psychology Program at the University of Maryland, College Park,

MD.

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