Temperament

Temperament

In this series of articles we will explore the 9 characteristics of temperament, and provide a way of rating yourself on each characteristics and look at ways to manage the extremes of those characteristics.

Temperament is thought to be genetically based. The combination of temperament and our environment leads to formation of our personalities. Temperamental traits are thought to persist into adulthood. It is useful to know about these traits as they may give us some insight into our behaviours as well as those around us.

The New York Longitudinal Study by Thomas and Chess focused on how temperamental qualities influence adjustment throughout life. Young infants were rated on nine temperament characteristics. Each by itself, or in connection to another affects how well a child fits in at school, with their friends, and at home.

Behaviors for each of these traits are on a continuum. A child can lean towards the high or low end of the scale and while this is typical, it could also be a cause for concern.

The specific behaviors are listed below with a Visual Analog Scale for rating your temperamental characteristics.

Nine Temperament Characteristics or Traits

ACTIVITY LEVEL

The amount of physical energy in the person. Do they have to be constantly moving or do they have a relaxing approach?

REGULARITY LEVEL

This is also known as Rhythmicity and refers to the level of predictability in biological functions such as waking, becoming tired, hunger and bowel movements.

INITIAL REACTION

This is also known as Approach or Withdrawal. This refers to how you respond to new people or environments either positive or negative.

ADAPTABILITY

Adaptability refers to how long it takes to adjust to change. This is different from the Initial Reaction. Adaptability refers to the long term adjustment made after the first reaction to the new situation.

INTENSITY

Intensity refers to the energy level of a positive or negative response.

MOOD

Mood refers to the general tendency towards a happy or unhappy demeanor. Everyone has a variety of emotions and reactions that are the opposite of each other such as cheerful and stormy, happy and unhappy. Each person biologically tends have generally positive or negative mood.

DISTRACTIBILITY

Distractibility refers to the tendency to be sidetracked by other things going on around you.

PERSISTENCE & ATTENTION SPAN

Persistence & Attention Span refers to the ability to stay with a task through frustrations and the length of time on the task.

SENSITIVITY

Sensitivity refers to how easily you are disturbed by changes in their environment. It is also referred to as Sensory Threshold or threshold of responsiveness.