Self and Personality Flashcards
Temperament:
an individual’s behavioural style and characteristic way of emotionally responding to events.
Personality
Unique, organized combination of characteristics, motives, values and behaviours that make up an individual.
Self-concept
Perception of self; your understanding of what you are like.
Self-esteem
Your evaluation of yourself; self-worth.
Identity
An overall sense of who you are.
Thomas and Chess (NYLS)
assessed infants on 9 temperamental dimension: 1 Activity level 2 Rhythmicity (regularity) 3 Approach/withdrawal 4 Adaptability 5 Sensitivity 6 Intensity of reaction 7 Mood 8 Persistence 9 Distractibility
Three temperamental catregories
- easy infants
- difficult infants
- slow to warm up infants
Easy infants
are cheerful and even-tempered, have regular biological rhythms and adapt easily to new experiences.
Difficult infants
are active, intense and irritable, have irregular biological rhythms and are negative towards new experiences
Slow to warm up infants
are much less active and intense, but take some time to adapt to new experiences.
Rothbart’s three basic temperamental dimensions
- Surgency/extraversion
- Negative affectivity
- Effortful control
Surgency/extraversion:
tendency to actively and energetically approach new experiences
Negative affectivity:
tendency to be sad, easily frustrated, and irritable
Effortful control:
ability to sustain attention, control one’s behaviour, and regulate one’s emotions.
Behavioural inhibition:
(Kagan)
unihibited children are confident, eager and positive whereas inhibited children are shy, cautious and timid.
How is temperament measured?
3 main techniques:
- Parental questionnaire
- Laboratory observations
- Home observations
How does temperament affect development?
- How caregivers react to the child
- How the child interprets and makes sense of life experiences
- The child’s choice of certain activities and environments
inhibited children brain
The amygdala and hypothalamus, which control responses to uncertainty, are more easily aroused in inhibited children.
Kagan’s belief about temperamental genetics
Early temperamental differences in behavioural inhibition are rooted in inherited differences in brain chemistry and functioning.
Heritability research
- indicates that only about half of the individual differences in temperament can be traced to differences in genetic make-up.
- A child’s experiences play an important role in shaping temperament-based behaviours.