No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
Temperament is defined as that part of the personality which is genetically based. Along with character, those aspects aquired through learning, the two together are said to constitute personality. |
Temperament is defined as that part of the personality which is genetically based. Along with character, those aspects aquired through learning, the two together are said to constitute personality. |
||
| − | Historically the concept was part of the theory of the [[Four humours|humours]], which had corresponding |
+ | Historically the concept was part of the theory of the [[Four humours|humours]], which had corresponding temperaments. It played an important part in premodern psychology, and was important to philosophers like [[Immanuel Kant]] and [[Hermann Lotze]]. |
More recently, with the emphasis on the biological basis of personality, the relationship between temperament and character has been examined with renewed interest |
More recently, with the emphasis on the biological basis of personality, the relationship between temperament and character has been examined with renewed interest |
||
| − | Writers as different as [[William James]] and |
+ | Writers as different as [[William James]] and Tim LaHaye have written on temperament. |
==Temperament in babies== |
==Temperament in babies== |
||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
Easy babies readily adapt to new experiences, generally display positive moods and emotions and also have normal eating and sleeping patterns. Difficult babies tend to be very emotional, irritable and fussy, and cry a lot. They also tend to have irregular eating and sleeping patterns. Slow-to-warm-up babies have a low activity level, and tend to withdraw from new situations and people. They are slow to adapt to new experiences. Thomas and Chess found that these broad patterns of temperamental qualities are remarkably stable through childhood. |
Easy babies readily adapt to new experiences, generally display positive moods and emotions and also have normal eating and sleeping patterns. Difficult babies tend to be very emotional, irritable and fussy, and cry a lot. They also tend to have irregular eating and sleeping patterns. Slow-to-warm-up babies have a low activity level, and tend to withdraw from new situations and people. They are slow to adapt to new experiences. Thomas and Chess found that these broad patterns of temperamental qualities are remarkably stable through childhood. |
||
| + | This line of evidence was further explored by Kagan and Sniderman(2004) |
||
| − | Most experts agree that temperament does have a genetic and biological basis; but researchers also agree that environmental experiences can modify a child's personality. Parents can encourage new behaviors in their children, and with enough support a slow-to-warm-up child can become less shy, or a difficult baby can become more emotionally stable. |
||
| − | |||
==Rudolf Steiner and the four temperaments== |
==Rudolf Steiner and the four temperaments== |
||
Revision as of 12:52, 14 September 2006
In psychology, temperament is the innate aspect of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion.
Temperament is defined as that part of the personality which is genetically based. Along with character, those aspects aquired through learning, the two together are said to constitute personality.
Historically the concept was part of the theory of the humours, which had corresponding temperaments. It played an important part in premodern psychology, and was important to philosophers like Immanuel Kant and Hermann Lotze.
More recently, with the emphasis on the biological basis of personality, the relationship between temperament and character has been examined with renewed interest
Writers as different as William James and Tim LaHaye have written on temperament.
Temperament in babies
Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess began a classic logitudinal study in the 1950s regarding infant temperament. The study focused on how temperamental qualities influence adjustment throughout life. Chess and Thomas rated young infants on a variety of characteristics, such as activity level, mood, sleeping and eating patterns, and attention span. The found that most babies could be categorized into one of three groups: easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up. About one third of all infants tested were characterized as average babies because they did not fit neatly into one of these three categories (Thomas & Chess 1977).
Easy babies readily adapt to new experiences, generally display positive moods and emotions and also have normal eating and sleeping patterns. Difficult babies tend to be very emotional, irritable and fussy, and cry a lot. They also tend to have irregular eating and sleeping patterns. Slow-to-warm-up babies have a low activity level, and tend to withdraw from new situations and people. They are slow to adapt to new experiences. Thomas and Chess found that these broad patterns of temperamental qualities are remarkably stable through childhood.
This line of evidence was further explored by Kagan and Sniderman(2004)
Rudolf Steiner and the four temperaments
- See also: Four humours
In his lectures on education, Rudolf Steiner brought a new approach to the four classical temperaments: melancholic, phlegmatic, sanguine and choleric. He emphasized their importance in elementary education, as this is a time when the child is strongly affected by his or her nature in this respect. A person's temperament may change, especially in the pre-puberty years, and in any case diminishes in importance as the personality becomes more developed after puberty.
In any case, the temperament is not exclusive; most people combine aspects of all of them. One or two may dominate, however, or be prominent by their absence. In addition, for each temperament Steiner pointed out that there are less and more mature forms: the sullen, self-absorbed melancholic can mature to the sympathetic helper and/or the deep thinker. A person may transform his or her own temperament, as well, either by becoming more mature in what is naturally given or by metamorphosing into a different temperament.
See also
References & Bibliography
Key texts
Books
- Kagan, J & Snidman N,(2004)The Long Shadow of Temperament,Belknap Press.
- Keirsey, D Please Understand Me II
Papers
Additional material
Books
- Anschütz, Marieke, Children and Their Temperaments. ISBN 0-86315-175-2.
- Carey, William B., Understanding Your Child's Temperament. ISBN 1-4134-7028-9.
- Steiner, Rudolf, The Four Temperaments. ISBN 910142114 Template:Invalid isbn
Papers
External links
[[Category:Personality theory
 This psychology-related article is a stub. You can help the Psychology Wiki by expanding it. |
- cs:Temperament
es:Temperamento ru:Темперамент fr:Tempérament fi:Temperamentti