Introduction to Temperament

In their groundbreaking research on temperament, Thomas, Chess and Birch (1968) sought to explore children’s individuality and the biological and environmental aspects that influenced children’s behaviour. They were interested in documenting children’s individuality, specifically their ways of interacting and reacting in their environments. Thomas, Chess and Birch found that children’s individual behavioural tendencies are present right from birth. Children’s temperaments not only influence how they interact with and react to people, places and things, but also influences how others interact with and react to them.

Based on information mainly from interviews with parents and teachers, Thomas, Chess and Birch outlined nine observable dimensions that were used to score children’s behaviours in order to define temperament. The nine dimensions are:

• Activity level – How active is the child i.e. how often do they move and how fast?
• Rhythmicity – How regular is the child’s bodily functions e.g., sleep, hunger, excretion?
• Approach or withdrawal – How does the child initially respond to new people? Places? Food? Objects?
• Adaptability – How easily does the child’s adapt to changes?
• Intensity of reaction – Whether a positive or negative reaction, how much energy does the child expend?
• Threshold of responsiveness – How intense does something have to be before the child responds to it?
• Quality of mood – Overall, does the child tend be happy (positive) or not (negative)?
• Distractibility – How easily distracted is the child?
• Attention span and persistence – How much time does the child spend in an activity and how long do they continue even if they experience interruptions or interference?

The results showed that these dimensions could be clustered together to outline three general types of children. The three general types of children are:

• Easy – These children tend to be positive in mood, regular in their bodily functions and adapt easily to changes.
• Slow-to-warm-up – These children tend to be negative in mood, initially react by withdrawing but adapt slowly to changes.
• Difficult – These children tend to be negative in mood, irregular in their bodily functions, adapt to new experiences slowly and with difficulty and have high-intensity reactions.

Approximately 40% of children can be categorized as ‘easy’, 15% of children can be categorized as ‘slow-to-warm-up’ and 10% of children can be categorized as ‘difficult’. The remaining 35% of the children do not fit into one of the general types but rather are different blends of the dimensions.

Consider how two children, born into the same family, can differentially influence their environment.

Masoud, age three, and Abdalla, age five, live with their parents in a small apartment, in a large urban area. Abdalla was a calm baby who fell into regular sleeping and eating patterns early in life. His parents have always said he is easy-going and well-behaved. They have always been able to use an authoritative parenting strategy, such as giving choices and having clear expectations for behaviour.

Unlike his brother, Masoud was a fidgety baby who startled easily, cried loudly, and seemed never to sleep for very long. His parents find his behaviours challenging. They try to use the same parenting skills they use with Abdalla, but sometimes act more harshly to Masoud out of frustration and exhaustion. Clearly, Abdalla and Masoud each affect their environment and experience the family context quite differently.

Thomas, Chess and Birch proposed a dynamic theory of temperament to account for the changes in children’s behaviours that can occur through their interactions with others in their environment. That is, parenting or caregiving practices can influence children’s behavioural style. For example, Masoud’s parents soon learned that by remaining calm, reducing noises and situations that would startle him and providing lots of soothing comfort through contact and voice, Masoud’s initial reactions became less intense.

Being aware of temperamental differences can assist parents and caregivers in understanding their children’s natural tendencies and tailor their approach to parenting in order to best support their children.

References

Berk, L. (2008) Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood, 6th edition. Boston, M.A.: Pearson Education, Inc.

Dixon, W.E. (2003) Twenty studies that revolutionized child psychology. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education, Inc.