Temperament: Early Developing Personality Traits

Originally published in 1984, this title looks at the development of temperament in early life. At the time of publication there were three major perspectives on temperament: paediatrics, individual differences in infants, and inherited personality traits that appear in early life. Whatever the diversity of these perspectives, they converge on personality traits that develop early in life, hence the title of this book. The authors start by looking at the main research in this field, then go on to discuss their own approach to temperament, building on their original theory from 1975. - Introduction 1. "The Measurement of Temperament", John E. Bates -- General Definition -- Specific Definitions -- Goals for Improving Temperament Assessment -- References 2. "Issues of Stability and Continuity in Temperament Research", Robert B. McCall -- The Two Realms of Development -- Stability and Continuity of Temperament -- Conclusions -- References 3. "Continuity and Discontinuity of Temperament in Infancy and Early Childhood: A Psychometric Perspective", Sean C. McDevitt -- Developmental Trends in Continuity and Stability of Temperament -- Birth to Three Months -- Four to Eleven Months Prediction -- One-Year Prediction -- Two-Year Prediction -- Early Childhood Prediction -- Summary and Implications -- References 4. "The New York Longitudinal Study: From Infancy to Early Adult Life", Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess -- Measures Utilized -- Continuity and Change in Temperament -- NYLS Quantitative Analyses of Continuity in Temperament -- Easy-Difficult Temperament: Continuity and Predictability -- Qualitative Study of Individual Subjects -- Goodness of Fit -- The Concept of Difficult Temperament -- Directions for Future Research -- References 5. "Temperamental Inhibition in Early Childhood", Jerome Kagan, J. Steven Reznick, and Nancy Snidman -- Summary of Current Work -- Conclusions -- References 6. "The EAS Approach to Temperament", Arnold H. Buss and Robert Plomin -- Conceptual Changes -- Nature -- Nurture -- Conclusion -- References 7. "Behavior-Genetics Research in Infant Temperament: The Louisville Twin Study", Ronald S. Wilson and Adam P. Matheny, Jr. -- Parental Reports -- Direct Observations -- Results for Expanded Sample -- References 8. "Children and Adolescents in Their Contexts: Tests of a Goodness of Fit Model", Richard M. Lerner, Jacqueline V. Lerner, Michael Windle, Karen Hooker, Kathleen Lenerz, and Patricia L. East -- The Goodness of Fit Model -- Tests of The Goodness of Fit Model -- Conclusions -- References 9."Changes in Associations Between Characteristics and Interactions", Joan Stevenson-Hinde and Robert A. Hinde -- Initial Considerations -- Effects of Context on Associations -- Effects of Time on Associations -- Effects of Sex on Associations -- Effects of Other Characteristics on Associations -- Summary -- References 10. "Temperament, Development, and Culture", Charles M. Super and Sara Harkness -- Environments are Organized and They Organize Development -- Current Research on Group Differences in Temperament -- Four New Questions -- Cultural Differences in Temperament -- References 11. "Clinical Interactions of Temperament: Transitions from Infancy to Childhood", William B. Carey -- Introduction -- Temperament as an Outcome of Clinical Conditions -- Temperament as a Factor Predisposing to Clinical Conditions -- Bidirectional Effects or Uncertain Ones -- Conclusion: A Plea for More Clinical Research -- Summary -- References 12. "Commentary: Issues for Future Research", Judith Dunn -- 1. Developmental Change and its Relation to Temperament -- 2. Individual and Environment - References - Author Index - Subject Index First Published in 1986. The modern history of temperament research began in the late 1950s with the New York Longitudinal Study. Twenty-five years later, temperament has become a major focus of research on early developing emotional and social traits. The impetus for this growth in temperament research stems from the merging of several shifts in child development research: from a view of the child as passive to a model of the child as an active, transacting partner with the environment; increasing interest in individual differences in development; an expansion of research on emotional and social development; and a clear change from an exclusive reliance on environmental explanations of developmental differences to a more balanced perspective that recognizes the possibility of biological as well as environmental influences. Most stimulating is the multidisciplinary flavor of temperament research-clinicians, infancy researchers, cultural anthropologists, and behavioral geneticists have, each for their own reasons, been drawn to the study of temperament. Each of these fields is represented in the present volume, which provides the first overview of the growing field of temperament. Edited By Robert Plomin, Judy Dunn. Includes Bibliographies And Indexes.