Essay on temperament (1000-1500 words)
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Answer:
Temperament is the way a child acts or responds. If we say a child is shy, energetic, or easy-going we are discussing the child’s temperament (Berk 260). When discussing temperament there are a few factors we have to take into account. How do the parents of the child contribute to the child’s reactions? In the early stages of life, children learn to react to different situations according to the way their parents react. In which, a child develops different reactions for different situations. The culture in which the cild is raised also has a direct influence on his or her temperament. There is no culture in the world that is exactly like another. These discrepancies between cultures lead to different temperaments in children. Genetics also play a vital role in a child’s temperament. Gender and other factors can make a child energetic or calm and controlled. Something else we should keep in mind is that temperament may or may not change over time.
Genetic influences can have very drastic influences on a child’s temperament. When they are young, boys tend to be daring and have much energy but also be easily frustrated and irritable. Whereas girls tend to be more timid and controlled (Beck 264). We often hear the argument of boys are better than girls and vice versa, but its all mostly opinionated. Using genetics, we can see that the answer to the argument can be settled by what the preference is for the kind of child a parent wants. Boys will usually be more active and playful and girls will tend to be shy and not as active. Of course there is always the exception, but those will be the general tendencies. However the differences in the two genders won’t become more apparent until their temperament becomes more stable in their childhood years rather than infancy (Berk 265). Once their temperament has become stable in the adolescent years, we can still see these temperament tendencies but other factors are now influencing their temperament as well.
Another influence is the parents influence on the child. In the early stages of life, children learn to control their temperament from their parents. When a child acts negatively and intensely to a new situation supportive and patient parenting can help modify his behavior (Berk 261). The child did not like being put in the situation because it conflicted with whatever agenda he or she had in mind. The mother or father then must convince the child that the situation they have been put in is not detrimental to them in anyway and with patience and gentle guidance can be calmed down. The child then registers that the stimuli he or she had just met with is not out of the norm and that he or she would not get upset over the situation. This is a form of guided control, but there is another form of control called effortful control. Effortful control allows the child’s dominant temperament to get upset and suppresses it to allow a more adaptive response to what the child is experiencing (Berk 261). When the child grows into adolescence, these reactions are still apearent bust most of the reactions developed as children have been replaced by one that reflects that person’s individualism.
The last influence would be the cultural influence on the child’s temperament. The culture in which the child is raised has an affect on them and that can adjust their temperament accordingly. For example, in the Japanese culture, mothers usually cay that their child is born as an independent who must learn to rely on their parents by staying in close contact with them. North American mothers are just the opposite. They believe that their child is born as a dependent and must slowly be weened to independence from their parents (Berk 265). These contrasting views are what brings out the dramatic differences in the children from one culture to the next. The differences are bought about because of the different ways the mothers of the two cultures would handle the same situation. Japanese mothers would rather hold their children close and have them learn by observation whereas North American mothers would have their children learn from experience. These cultural differences will likely follow the child into adolescence and even into adulthood to be passed down to the next generation.
Teachers can use this knowledge on temperament to better themselves as a educators. By understanding temperament, teachers can comprehend a students behavior and the good and bad habits they have developed and then adapt to their learning style appropriately. Teachers could learn how to relate to their student’s experiences which, then, develops a mentoring bond which, in turn, leads to a better learning environment for their students. Teachers could also use this knowledge of temperament in their home life by presenting good habits to younger generations and to their own families
I AM NOT SURE IF THEY ARE 1000 0R 1500
IF YOU HAVE TIME YOU CAN SIT A COUNT THEM.
Answer:
Temperament Behaviour Inherited
Does the evidence support the claim that children’s Temperament influences their susceptibility to environmental adversities?
What is Temperament?
There is not a single definition of temperament and there are many psychometric problems with the available temperament instruments. Temperament is about individual differences. It is very difficult and fuzzy concept. There is very little agreement on the stability of temperament. Temperament is composed of the traits, with which a person is born, which are genetic in nature. It differs from personality, which is a combination of person’s temperament and life experiences.
Temperament is "the stable individual differences in quality and intensity of emotional reaction" and is present at birth (Berk, 1998).
Historical background:
Temperament has a long history. It arose in the ancient world in the time of Hippocrates. It was then based on the predominance of inner body-processes that were seen as typical of certain outward dispositions. From 1920 to 1950 many theorists observed individual differences in children but no valid studies were reported on these individual differences. In early 1950s many researchers used the term to identify biological reasons of individual differences in styles of behaviour.
Behaviour-Genetic Approach to Temperament:
This is growing evidence for temperament that some aspects of behaviour are more influenced by inherited differences (that are strongly genetic in origin) than others. Gordon Allport was greatly influenced by Freud. Allport focused on the study of personal traits. He later changed the term personal traits to personal dispositions to emphasize the importance of unique, individual characteristics. Allport (1961) reported that temperament has an inherited biological basis and infants interact and react to the environment and experiences in different ways are reflective of their temperament, or behavioural style. (p.34)
Eysenck’s theory of temperament refers to biological and inborn personality traits. According to Eysenck’s (1947, p. 21), “personality is the more or less stable and enduring organisation of a person’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique, which determines his adjustment to the environment”. Temperament refers to emotional reactivity. Nowadays the word temperament is used very commonly.
Buss and Plomin (1975) developed four temperaments in their initial theory of temperament: emotionality, activity, sociability, and impulsivity (EASI). Temperament has biological basis that appears early in life and is stable across time (Buss & Plomin, 1984).
Buss & Plomin (1984) revised their theory by dropping impulsivity as a temperamental trait due to the lack of evidence supporting its heritability.
“Emotionality is defined as primordial distress, which is assumed to differentiate into fear and anger during the first six months of life. Activity is defined as the sheer expenditure of physical energy. Sociability is defined as a preference for being with others rather than being alone’’ (Geldolph, et al, 1989, P.49).
Many researchers accept that temperament refers to individual differences, has biological roots (Goldsmith et al., 1987).Even though they agreed that temperament can be stable over time.
McCall (1984) defined temperament as “biologically based individual differences in reactions to the world”. He also described further that these reactions are relatively stable over time and it is not personality but is one of the bases of later personality traits. Personality characteristics are based on traits and behaviors which are normally acquired after infancy. Some of the personality characteristics are not influenced by the biological factors. Temperament traits are not completely inherited. The key aspects of people’s personalities are habits, goals, and self-perceptions which are not considered as temperament traits.
children’s behaviour. But there is strong need to be integrated with evidence from other methods. It is also important to know that temperament does not excuse a child’s unacceptable behavior, but it does provide direction to how parents can respond to it.
Parents should recognize the child’s temperament and help the child to understand how it impacts his/her life as well as others is important. It is also important that parents own temperaments can effect on their child and they should recognize it. This will help to prevent and manage problems that may arise from the differences among family members. Temperament continues into adulthood, and later studies by Chess and Thomas have shown that these characteristics continue to influence behavior and adjustment throughout the life-span.