child developement: temperament
Temperament and AttachmentS. Hinshaw DVD 6
Temperament and Attachment are the 2 earliest influences on the creation of the childs mind (s.hinshaw)
The amount the baby cries is related to temperament
The soothability is related to the type of attachement (s. Hinshaw)
Consequences for developement
Specific applicability
Possibly influencing resistance to stress
i.e. more stress (i.e. when hospitalized) experienced with certain temperament?study: true for children from poor background
reasearch is ongoing
Early indicator of adjustment problems
Behaviour / peer problems
Learning and Attention problems
General
temp. diff. can however be overcaome with maturation and by experience
Reininforcement of temperament
temperamental predispositions influence information processing / cognition
attention influences learning and memory
emotion influences memory
d) temperament determines impact of environment
i.e. stress response
c) by self-selecting environmentsthat fit temperament
b) by determining response of others
nice and easy behaviour get more positive attention
a) through a parental environment which is genetically similar
introverted kid raised by introverted mother
goodness of fit
Temperament influenced by several factors
other biolgogical factors
illness
low birht weigth
premature birth
environmental i.e. goodness of fit
genetics
Stability of temperament
Temperament possibly the building block of personality (hinshaw)
overall: genetic influencewill decrease with more environmental difference
Caspi et al: similarities between 3 and 26 y
stable: over > 2 years
Temperament occuring so early that it is assumed that no learning has occurd (hinshaw)
Role
determine infdividual differences in behaviour
Consitency of behavioural style
Across age/ time
Accross Situations
Personality concepts
Trait
People varying on dimensions
Amalgam of genes, chosices & experience
Cattell 16-PF (Catell & Kline)
Big 5 (Costa & McCrae)
biological / nativist
EPI 3 (Eysenck)
extroversion/introversion, neuroticism/stability, psychoticism/stabilization)
Type
qualitatively distinct types
i.e. MBTI
thinkers, feelers, intuiters, sensers
Problems
Problems with measurement
Who should measure them (mothers?)
How to measure them (problem of (mis) interpreting questions)
what factors are relevant
3 versus 5 versus 9?
Adultness vs childhood
differnt asessment mehthods
kids can't fill out question.
differnt traits surface
vs. concept of "Personality"
Temperament = based in biology
Personality = more experience/ envrionmentally based
Temperamental = basis of Personality?
Similarity of EAS with Eysenck's Dimensions
similarity of t&c 5 robust factors with big 5
Personality determines
experession of temperamental traits (the "how")
Purpose (why)
Content (what)
Personality = central organizer of behaviour
Temeperament = dimensions of personality grounded in biology
Factors not comparable
effect of temperament on developement
Thomas and Chess(their transactional concept)
Goodness of fit
"If a person’s characteristics of individuality match, or fit, thedemands of a particular social context then positive interactions andadjustment are expected"
Sameroff
Child actively creates his experiences
indirectly
Transactional Model
Child influences behaviourof caretakers
directly
child selects preferred environments
Keogh
influence of temperament in school
3 temp. factors
-Task Orientation,-Personal–Social Flexibility -Reactivity
All effect performance and (via attention or shaping of social context)
Dunn and Kendrick
Temperament is also context/relation dependent
Somehow similar to ...
Sameroff's Transaction (nature vs. nurture)
Stability of attachment
Stable only if family situation is stable
Stability of relation guaranteesstability of temperament
"behavioural style that a child will show in a particular setting will be consistent. This consistency is a property of the relationshipbetween the child and the other person"
KagenTemperament approach(inhibition to the unfamiliar)
Kagan identified behavioural types accroding to their inhibition to unfamiliar events and people(shyness) as one of the most stable temperament dimensions.
Found important physiologicaldifferences in reactivity (e.g.autonomous nervous system)
suggests differnces in brain sites concerned with emotinal regulation and long term memory
Bad memory performance after emotional experience
cortisol secretion
Pupil dilation
Blood Pressure
Heart Rate variabilty
Heart rate
Dick Day: "Neurtoic introverts"
15 per cent or so of children aged 2–3 years of age are very shy and timid when faced with the unfamiliar. 15% are uninhibited and socially responsive when confronting unfamiliar people. These 2 groups show a high degree of stability into middle childhood with the children becoming quiet and cautious, and talkative and sociablerespectively. Rest 70% normal
75% of the first 2 groups show high stability of behaviour
Those 15% seem similar to the "difficult child"
Rothbart & Derryberry(not in the book)
temperament =
Processes that regulate reactivity
attention, approach-withdrawal, inhibition, and self-soothing
Reactivity
activation of motor, affective, autonomic, and endocrine systems
Buss & Plomin EAS-Framework
advantages
Relatedness to Eysenck's dimensions of "extroversion" (sociability) and "neuroticism" (emotionality)
reducess complexity (onyl 3 vs. 9)
emotionality, activitysociability
sociability
= friendlieness towards peoeple
activity
= how active (motorwise)
emotionality
strenght and duration o
Thomas & Chess (9 Dimensions)first researcher to devolp systematictheory of temperament
Problems
Validity of construct: Substantial overlap between factors
5 are enough
mood, approach-withdrawal, intensity, threshold, rhythmicity, distractibility, attention span, persistence, and adaptability
2 inconsistent ones
threshold and biological rhythmicity
5 robust factors
resemble the "big 5"
NYLS (New York Longtitudanal study)
Concept of "the difficult child"
children rated high on Intensity and Reaction and on NegativeMood and low on Adaptability, on Rhythmicity and on Approach
increased risk of later behaviour disorders.(confirmed by Earls and Jung) and others
Tested children at ages 3, 8 and 13
Important categorization: a.) easy’ child b.) the ‘slow to warm up’ child andc.) the ‘difficult’ child
