Temperament and Its Significance - Regarding the Dichotomy of Environmental and Biological Variables
September 17, 2017
Temperament and Its Significance - Composed for Research/Analytic Purposes
Temperament plays are large role in the everyday lives of all individuals. Temperament is
a complex term that, as Jerome Kagan suggested, denotes the qualities of one’s personality,
which are affected by environmental as well as biological variables. The concept of temperament
implies that persons vary in behavior, affecting other individuals and thereby shaping their
behaviors. Given even one such example, it can be gathered that. in a world where social
interaction is so commonplace, temperament is undoubtedly vital in the structure of the way that
human lives are lived, how they are shaped, and absolutely vital to our understanding of human
behavior in the realm of Psychology (Santrock 2015).
According to Kimberly J. Saudino, there exist findings after experimentation that
suggests that biological factors contribute between twenty and sixty percent of an individual’s
personality. Saudino continues to add that the underlying implication of this finding is that forty
to eighty percent of one’s personality. Personality, as defined by the American Psychological
Association, is the individual’s differences in way of think, behaving and feeling. Temperament
provides an unabridged idea of what the aspects of one’s personality are, thus categorizing
specific attributes with others to make a correlation between these attributes and the
aforementioned ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. “The significance of temperament lies,
in part, in the assumption that early temperament shapes personality development and influencesdevelopmental outcomes. Child temperament has been seen as a possible precursor to behavior problems… For example, dimensions associated with difficult temperament (e.g., emotionality, adaptability, approach/withdrawal, impulsivity) are predictive of both internalizing and
externalizing problems (Saudino 2005).” As stated, temperament and personality are almost the
same object. In simpler terms, the two are like a fertilized bird egg near its hatching process.
Personality is the potential life that behaves as chick embryos behave and temperament is the egg
shell. Temperament is not providing protection in this example, but rather it is showing
indications of the chick’s behavior; it will show when the chick hatches or it will show
otherwise, thus providing an understanding of the chick’s behavior.
Santrock defines Goodness of Fit as the match between a child’s temperament and the
demands of their environment that must be managed. Temperament can be greatly influenced by
factors already mentioned, but having particularly to do with the ones of the environmental sort,
a relationship can be found. Environmental factors greatly affect temperament, so it can
consequently be determined that a positive environment will provide for a temperament that is
used to positivity. Notice that the positive environment does not necessarily indicate that the
child will be a perfect person with no behavior that could deviate from what could be referred to
as “normal.” Goodness of Fit is about the child’s particular temperament and their adaptations to
the environment displayed before them. Understanding the relationship between the
environment and the child’s temperament, it would accordingly be considered which
environment is the best for a child of a particular temperament. How a child copes with their
environment can affect emotionality, activity, sociability, shyness, and many other behaviors that
can be displayed at such an age (Sautino 2005). Research also suggests that the environment that
the child must dwell within is not always family oriented. Though the development of temperament could be in an environment that is mostly family oriented, the temperament may
show attributes that do not necessarily belong to family members. While it leaves many
questions unanswered, “no shared environmental influences” are still researched and
psychologists suggest that the findings be replicated and/or reevaluated.
While an exception to a type of environmental influence can strengthen any opposition to
the idea of any relationships between one’s temperament, and thus their personality, and the
environment that surrounds the individual during vital developmental stages of temperament,
exceptions to what has been studied and granted quantitative and qualitative evidence can be
overlooked for the purpose of this explanation. A child whose personality differs from their
parent has a variety of possible outcomes for them.
For example, the given scenario may result in reduction of the child’s confidence in
public places or perhaps it could affect how others view them in social settings. In the example
given, the parent would likely have a personality that may be controlling and less likely to
discuss issues when they arise. The parent may also have an insecure personality that varies just
enough to outwardly express the dangers of social or public settings, making it easy for the child
to find reclusive behavior permissible or common.
Oppositely, a child could have a very outgoing personality while developing their
personality. An example of this outgoing behavior could be demonstrated by a desire to play
intramural sports or by extroverted social interaction. Paired with a parent had a differing
personality that did not compel them to leave their house, the child may have unfulfilled desires
that could potentially manifest themselves as behavioral or mental disorders including but not
limited to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety disorder, childhood-onset
depressive disorder (Rettew 2012). Differences in the personalities of the parent and child can provide positive and negative outcomes, but research clearly establishes that the potential for
possible negative results in the development of a child’s temperament and personality.
The conversation about differing personalities between parent and child subsequently
raises questions regarding why parents and children can have different personalities, alluding
once more to the abstract nature of temperament and personality. Since environmental factors
vary between child and parent at all stages in their concurrent lives, the more important question
which is pondered by modern psychologists is how temperament is affected by experiences
within the family as well out outside of the family. “Most research exploring environmental
influences on temperament have considered between-family effects such as parenting style and
family functioning. Behavioral genetics research suggests that instead of examining
environmental factors that differ across families, it will be more profitable to focus on
environmental factors that differ within families (e.g., differential parenting). Researchers need
to consider why individuals within the same family differ so much with regard to temperament.
This will involve studying more than one individual per family and exploring the association of
experiential differences within a family with differences in temperament (Rauer 2007).”
Recalling that Kagan suggests environmental and biological factors, it seems that there are more
variables to account for than just different personalities.
A child’s temperament provides an understanding of their behavior, thinking and feeling,
so in determining successful interaction one must understand that a proper environment must be
established. As mentioned before, there are harmful effects when a child is placed in an
environment not suited to their temperament. Because certain mental or behavior disorders can
develop from an environment that does not suit the child, it is absolutely vital that social competence and sociability remain emphasized throughout important times of development
(Colunga).
An example of a problem to avoid reveals itself in differential parenting. Differential
parenting is defined as the treatment of two or more children differently within the same family.
“…it is the continued experience of differential parenting that adversely affects the individual's
internal model, with the disfavored sibling developing more negative expectations about the
availability and sensitivity of others than the favored sibling (Rauer 2007).”
Ways to ensure the well-adjusted temperament of a child would be to avoid providing
experiences that could potentially harm the child’s psychological well-being. While no
environment is entirely regulated, a decent understanding of the child’s temperament provides
the opportunity to ensure the child can have the appropriate amount of social interaction. A child
may also benefit from a proper demonstration of emotion regulation. Using the appropriate tools,
a child will develop a better-rounded temperament, thus the child will have the necessary tools to
cope with a variety of environments. Drawing back to the concept of Goodness of Fit, the child
is already attempting to cope with their environment with the tools they are innately provided.
But after discussing environmental and biological factors which affect temperament, the
importance of correct exposure to certain factors should go without reiteration.
What can be concluded from the discussion about temperament is that both
environmental and biological factors affect the development of temperament. Goodness of Fit
offers an explanation about the match between a child’s temperament and their environment with
which they must cope. The concept proves to be an excellent tool in analyzing how to provide a
stable and beneficial environment for the child. The child will always have a temperament of a
particular kind because each child is given a different set of opportunities, experiences, family environment, social environment, etc. The importance of a proper environment shows itself
through the detriment that can be caused by an environment not suited to the child. Different
behavior and mental disorders can develop if the child is unable to cope with the environment
presented to them. Parents can also play a key role in the developmental process of a child by
having different personalities than the child. Again, the main idea of Goodness of Fit suggests
that it is important to match environments to children’s temperament. The child will prosper if
they are provided environments conducive to nurturing their unique qualities, thus making a
better-rounded child.
Colunga, E. (n.d.). Temperament and Personality. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from
http://psych.colorado.edu/~colunga/p4684/temperament.pdf
Rauer, A. J., & Volling, B. L. (2007). Differential parenting and sibling jealousy: Developmental
correlates of young adults' romantic relationships. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2396512/
Rettew, D. C., & McKee, L. (2005). Temperament and Its Role in Developmental
Psychopathology. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3319036/
Saudino, K. J. (2005, June). Behavioral Genetics and Child Temperament. Retrieved September
16, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188235/
Santrock, J. W. (2015). Life-Span Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Temperament and Its Significance - Composed for Research/Analytic Purposes
Temperament plays are large role in the everyday lives of all individuals. Temperament is
a complex term that, as Jerome Kagan suggested, denotes the qualities of one’s personality,
which are affected by environmental as well as biological variables. The concept of temperament
implies that persons vary in behavior, affecting other individuals and thereby shaping their
behaviors. Given even one such example, it can be gathered that. in a world where social
interaction is so commonplace, temperament is undoubtedly vital in the structure of the way that
human lives are lived, how they are shaped, and absolutely vital to our understanding of human
behavior in the realm of Psychology (Santrock 2015).
According to Kimberly J. Saudino, there exist findings after experimentation that
suggests that biological factors contribute between twenty and sixty percent of an individual’s
personality. Saudino continues to add that the underlying implication of this finding is that forty
to eighty percent of one’s personality. Personality, as defined by the American Psychological
Association, is the individual’s differences in way of think, behaving and feeling. Temperament
provides an unabridged idea of what the aspects of one’s personality are, thus categorizing
specific attributes with others to make a correlation between these attributes and the
aforementioned ways of thinking, feeling and behaving. “The significance of temperament lies,
in part, in the assumption that early temperament shapes personality development and influencesdevelopmental outcomes. Child temperament has been seen as a possible precursor to behavior problems… For example, dimensions associated with difficult temperament (e.g., emotionality, adaptability, approach/withdrawal, impulsivity) are predictive of both internalizing and
externalizing problems (Saudino 2005).” As stated, temperament and personality are almost the
same object. In simpler terms, the two are like a fertilized bird egg near its hatching process.
Personality is the potential life that behaves as chick embryos behave and temperament is the egg
shell. Temperament is not providing protection in this example, but rather it is showing
indications of the chick’s behavior; it will show when the chick hatches or it will show
otherwise, thus providing an understanding of the chick’s behavior.
Santrock defines Goodness of Fit as the match between a child’s temperament and the
demands of their environment that must be managed. Temperament can be greatly influenced by
factors already mentioned, but having particularly to do with the ones of the environmental sort,
a relationship can be found. Environmental factors greatly affect temperament, so it can
consequently be determined that a positive environment will provide for a temperament that is
used to positivity. Notice that the positive environment does not necessarily indicate that the
child will be a perfect person with no behavior that could deviate from what could be referred to
as “normal.” Goodness of Fit is about the child’s particular temperament and their adaptations to
the environment displayed before them. Understanding the relationship between the
environment and the child’s temperament, it would accordingly be considered which
environment is the best for a child of a particular temperament. How a child copes with their
environment can affect emotionality, activity, sociability, shyness, and many other behaviors that
can be displayed at such an age (Sautino 2005). Research also suggests that the environment that
the child must dwell within is not always family oriented. Though the development of temperament could be in an environment that is mostly family oriented, the temperament may
show attributes that do not necessarily belong to family members. While it leaves many
questions unanswered, “no shared environmental influences” are still researched and
psychologists suggest that the findings be replicated and/or reevaluated.
While an exception to a type of environmental influence can strengthen any opposition to
the idea of any relationships between one’s temperament, and thus their personality, and the
environment that surrounds the individual during vital developmental stages of temperament,
exceptions to what has been studied and granted quantitative and qualitative evidence can be
overlooked for the purpose of this explanation. A child whose personality differs from their
parent has a variety of possible outcomes for them.
For example, the given scenario may result in reduction of the child’s confidence in
public places or perhaps it could affect how others view them in social settings. In the example
given, the parent would likely have a personality that may be controlling and less likely to
discuss issues when they arise. The parent may also have an insecure personality that varies just
enough to outwardly express the dangers of social or public settings, making it easy for the child
to find reclusive behavior permissible or common.
Oppositely, a child could have a very outgoing personality while developing their
personality. An example of this outgoing behavior could be demonstrated by a desire to play
intramural sports or by extroverted social interaction. Paired with a parent had a differing
personality that did not compel them to leave their house, the child may have unfulfilled desires
that could potentially manifest themselves as behavioral or mental disorders including but not
limited to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety disorder, childhood-onset
depressive disorder (Rettew 2012). Differences in the personalities of the parent and child can provide positive and negative outcomes, but research clearly establishes that the potential for
possible negative results in the development of a child’s temperament and personality.
The conversation about differing personalities between parent and child subsequently
raises questions regarding why parents and children can have different personalities, alluding
once more to the abstract nature of temperament and personality. Since environmental factors
vary between child and parent at all stages in their concurrent lives, the more important question
which is pondered by modern psychologists is how temperament is affected by experiences
within the family as well out outside of the family. “Most research exploring environmental
influences on temperament have considered between-family effects such as parenting style and
family functioning. Behavioral genetics research suggests that instead of examining
environmental factors that differ across families, it will be more profitable to focus on
environmental factors that differ within families (e.g., differential parenting). Researchers need
to consider why individuals within the same family differ so much with regard to temperament.
This will involve studying more than one individual per family and exploring the association of
experiential differences within a family with differences in temperament (Rauer 2007).”
Recalling that Kagan suggests environmental and biological factors, it seems that there are more
variables to account for than just different personalities.
A child’s temperament provides an understanding of their behavior, thinking and feeling,
so in determining successful interaction one must understand that a proper environment must be
established. As mentioned before, there are harmful effects when a child is placed in an
environment not suited to their temperament. Because certain mental or behavior disorders can
develop from an environment that does not suit the child, it is absolutely vital that social competence and sociability remain emphasized throughout important times of development
(Colunga).
An example of a problem to avoid reveals itself in differential parenting. Differential
parenting is defined as the treatment of two or more children differently within the same family.
“…it is the continued experience of differential parenting that adversely affects the individual's
internal model, with the disfavored sibling developing more negative expectations about the
availability and sensitivity of others than the favored sibling (Rauer 2007).”
Ways to ensure the well-adjusted temperament of a child would be to avoid providing
experiences that could potentially harm the child’s psychological well-being. While no
environment is entirely regulated, a decent understanding of the child’s temperament provides
the opportunity to ensure the child can have the appropriate amount of social interaction. A child
may also benefit from a proper demonstration of emotion regulation. Using the appropriate tools,
a child will develop a better-rounded temperament, thus the child will have the necessary tools to
cope with a variety of environments. Drawing back to the concept of Goodness of Fit, the child
is already attempting to cope with their environment with the tools they are innately provided.
But after discussing environmental and biological factors which affect temperament, the
importance of correct exposure to certain factors should go without reiteration.
What can be concluded from the discussion about temperament is that both
environmental and biological factors affect the development of temperament. Goodness of Fit
offers an explanation about the match between a child’s temperament and their environment with
which they must cope. The concept proves to be an excellent tool in analyzing how to provide a
stable and beneficial environment for the child. The child will always have a temperament of a
particular kind because each child is given a different set of opportunities, experiences, family environment, social environment, etc. The importance of a proper environment shows itself
through the detriment that can be caused by an environment not suited to the child. Different
behavior and mental disorders can develop if the child is unable to cope with the environment
presented to them. Parents can also play a key role in the developmental process of a child by
having different personalities than the child. Again, the main idea of Goodness of Fit suggests
that it is important to match environments to children’s temperament. The child will prosper if
they are provided environments conducive to nurturing their unique qualities, thus making a
better-rounded child.
Colunga, E. (n.d.). Temperament and Personality. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from
http://psych.colorado.edu/~colunga/p4684/temperament.pdf
Rauer, A. J., & Volling, B. L. (2007). Differential parenting and sibling jealousy: Developmental
correlates of young adults' romantic relationships. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2396512/
Rettew, D. C., & McKee, L. (2005). Temperament and Its Role in Developmental
Psychopathology. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3319036/
Saudino, K. J. (2005, June). Behavioral Genetics and Child Temperament. Retrieved September
16, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188235/
Santrock, J. W. (2015). Life-Span Development. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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