6: Temperament

Question 1

Temperament

Answer 1

biologically based individual differences in reactivity and self regulation that tend to be stable

Question 2

Role of amygdala in temperament

Answer 2

controls reactivity - shows automatic response to threat regardless of attention, awareness - fear response - activation manifests as irritability

Question 3

Role of pre-frontal cortex in temperament

Answer 3

regulatory component - important in personality development

Question 4

Categorisations of temperament

Answer 4

1. Easy child
2. Slow to warm up child
3. Difficult child
4. Difficult to classify

Question 5

Slow to warm up child

Answer 5

• relative inactivity
• mild intensity of reaction to new stimuli
• slow adaptability

Question 6

Easy child

Answer 6

• rhythmicity in functions
• positive approach
• high adaptability
• mild or moderately intense mood (+ve)

Question 7

Difficult child

Answer 7

• irregular biological functions
• withdrawal
• slow adaptability
• intense moods (-ve)

Question 8

Contributions to temperament

Answer 8

• Could be nature

- Could also be nurture

Question 9

Is temperament stable? Explain.

Answer 9

.7-.8 stability, few change radically

Heredity and parenting tend to influence parenting

Question 10

Explain the relationship between temperament and parenting

Answer 10

• temp may impact responsiveness of parents
• parenting may influence temperament
• relationship may be moderated by age. gender, parent characteristics and cultural factors

Question 11

‘Hot’ effortful control tasks

Answer 11

assess ability to delay gratification (eg. putting snack in front of child’ - eg. marshmallow experiment

Question 12

‘Cold’ effortful control tasks

Answer 12

assess ability to inhibit a dominant response and perform a subdominant response - eg. stroop task

Question 13

Explain temperament’s longer term outcomes?

Answer 13

• classification could predict clinical outcomes
• found that own temperament can influence parenting (Sanson, Pryor, Oberklaid)
• In longitudinal Study of Australian Children (Forbes, Rapee, Camberis & McMahon) - found:
• • high reactivity - ADHD, conduct link
• • high approach - ADHD, conduct
• low approach – anxiety
• • low persistence - more conduct problems

Question 14

Differential susceptibility

Answer 14

certain temperamental dispositions are particularly susceptible to both positive and negative environments.

Question 15

Is temperament a ‘protective’ or ‘risk’ factor?

Answer 15

• easy temperament as protective – more resilient – evocative gene environment correlations

Question 16

Emotion regulation

Answer 16

All strategies to increase, maintain, or decrease a component of an emotional response

Question 17

Under regulated

Answer 17

Deficit in emotional regulation that may result in externalising (conduct disorder)

Question 18

Over regulated

Answer 18

Deficit in emotion regulation which may lead to internalising (depression, anxiety)

Question 19

Socio emotional competence

Answer 19

Socio-emotional competence by Denham in:

• emotional expression
• emotional understanding
• emotion regulation

Question 20

Trajectory in emotional expression and understanding

Answer 20

Infants: develop social smile between 3wks-3mths. Display 5 basic emotions in 3-4 months with faces.
Toddlers & preschoolers: maintain stable basic emotions and develop more complex social emotions (empathy, pride, guilt, etc.) developed by cognition and social forces.
- cognitive foundations of more complex emotions
- socialised aspects are from parent’s reactions, values, and vicarious experience of other’s emotions
Preschoolers: can begin posing with facial expressions but harder with negative emotions and voluntarily express emotions.
Primary schoolers: can begin to substitute and mask affect.