Temperament, perceived competence, and depression in early and late adolescents.

141 6th graders and 240 undergraduates were administered the Dimensions of Temperament Survey (DOTS) and the Perceived Competence Scale for Children (PCS); undergraduates also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES—D). Results show that for both groups, more than 50% of predicted associations among DOTS scores, PCS scores, and the CES—D score were found. As predicted, perceived competence varied positively with DOTS scores for approach, flexibility, positive mood, high rhythmicity, high task orientation, and high persistence. High distractibility scores on the DOTS (indicating low distractibility) were positively correlated with PCS scores. In turn, all of these DOTS attributes covaried negatively with the CES—D score. Demands regarding desired or expected temperament characteristics by teachers of the 6th graders, 141 parents (mean age 47.7 yrs) of the undergraduates, and peers were assessed in a 2nd study to compare a personological and a goodness-of-fit model of the relation between temperament and psychosocial functioning. For both age groups, results provide stronger support for the personological model. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament measures in industrial selection.

The scores on the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey of 924 industrial Ss (338 college graduates, 128 with some college, 335 HS graduates, 105 grade school graduates), 94 college graduate vocational guidance clients, 56 HS graduate guidance clients, and 109 college students were compared to test the hypotheses that (1) Ss in the industrial situation will score higher than either guidance clients or students, and (2) the higher the educational level of Ss in the industrial situation, the greater will the faking be. Inter-group differences on most of the scales significant at the .01 level or better verified the hypotheses. "These extreme results apply mostly to… a college graduate population… wherein the need for… temperament evaluation is greatest." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A cineradiographic study of articulation in two talkers with temporarily induced oral sensory deprivation

Cineradiography was used to study the behavior of the lips, tongue, and mandible in two subjects talking normally and under the influence of trigeminal nerve-block anesthesia. The speech sample consisted of isolated words and sentences. The nerve block was administered to eliminate somesthetic sensation in all of the oral articulators except the jaw. Frame-by-frame measurements of lip protrusion, tongue position, and jaw placement were taken from the film data for selected stops, glides, fricatives, and vowels in the speech sample. Comparison of these measurements from the normal and nerve-block condition revealed the following changes in the nerve-block data: (1) reduction in context-appropriate lip protrusion and loss of precision in lip closure activity, which was more noticeable for the upper than the lower lip; (2) a reduction in the precision of tongue articulations particularly on contacts for lingua-alveolar and lingua-velar consonants, apical retroflexion on glides, and steady state postures for lingua-palatal fricatives and vowels; and (3) noticeable alterations in inferior/superior jaw position which was systematically closer to the maxilla for bilabial consonant closures and often reduced or extended in excursion for vowels and other consonants. The data are discussed in terms of the relative effects of an oral somesthetic feedback deficit on speech production, and also with respect to compensation within the articulatory system under conditions of sensory deprivation.     

Temperament and helping behavior in preschool children.

This study investigated the idea that children's temperaments, in interaction with situational factors, are related to their helping behavior. Twenty-four preschool children were each presented with four opportunities for helping a female adult during a play session in the laboratory, while their mothers rated the children's helpfulness at home. Multiple measures of sociability as well as a broad temperament measure called social adaptability were gathered from mothers and preschool teachers, some several months prior to the laboratory session and some concurrent with it. The primary hypothesis that sociable children would appear to be more helpful than less sociable children was supported for helpfulness in the laboratory, but not at home. It was suggested that this was because in the laboratory the person needing help was unfamiliar, which may have differentially affected the sociable and unsociable children. Preliminary evidence suggested an association between discipline techniques reportedly used by mothers and their children's temperaments. Possible mechanisms by which temperament could mediate prosocial behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament characteristics of suicide attempters.

Administered temperament assessment measures to 45 suicide attempters (aged 15–67 yrs) to test the hypothesis that suicide attempters have arousable and submissive temperaments. Data support the hypothesis. A significant positive correlation between lethality of the suicide attempt and trait arousability reinforced the importance of high arousability as a temperament characteristic of suicide attempters. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament as a prerequisite of creative capabilities

Temperamental and creative characteristics were compared in three groups of subjects who manifested a bent for creative activity. The groups differed in their age: 14-year-old schoolchildren of architectural class (n = 20), 18 to 20-year-old students of architectural institute (n = 94), and 25 to 45-year-old professional architects (n = 25). The temperamental properties were measured using the STQ method. The creative characteristics were evaluated by E. P. Torrance's non-verbal tests of creative thinking. In the structure of creative abilities, only two creative characteristics, i.e., fluency and flexibility, correlated at the statistically significant level with temperamental properties in all the age-specific groups under study. The closest correlations were found with plasticity and emotionality of temperament both in object-related and subject-related spheres.     

Temperament and the development of personality.

Presents a psychobiological approach to personality development, incorporating developmental principles outlined by R. B. Cairns (1979). The authors review individual differences in temperament and ask how a temperamental approach to personality might be congruent with these complex and flexible principles. Then, the nature of temperamental processes is illustrated by considering several developmental topics. The interaction of infant distress-proneness and maternal behavior in the development of attachment is considered, and the development of self-regulatory mechanisms, emphasizing development of conscience, aggression, and mastery motivation, is described. Finally, mechanisms of temperament and environment interaction, illustrating these processes through variable developmental pathways for risk of adolescent and adult psychopathology, are reviewed. Throughout, the idea that temperamental models of personality development are dynamic, interactive, and fit well with Cairns's developmental principles is stressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament, character, and personality disorders

This study compares two self-report instruments--the Dutch version of Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Questionnaire on Personality Traits (VKP)--in a Dutch sample of 148 people in a healthy population. The aims of this study are to create a norm group for the Dutch TCI, to investigate the psychometric properties of the TCI, and to examine the relationship between temperament, character (as measured by the TCI), and personality disorders (as measured by the VKP). The Dutch TCI has a good internal consistency. Some scales do intercorrelate. Seven factors can be identified with principal components analysis. T-tests show differences between the mean score of this Dutch population and Cloninger's community sample. According to the results of correlations and multiple regression of the TCI and the VKP, the self-directedness scale can predict the presence or absence of a personality disorder. Other scales might predict the type of personality disorder. It is concluded that the TCI can be a useful aid in the assessment of personality disorders.     

Learning to recognize talkers from natural, sinewave, and reversed speech samples.

In 5 experiments, the authors investigated how listeners learn to recognize unfamiliar talkers and how experience with specific utterances generalizes to novel instances. Listeners were trained over several days to identify 10 talkers from natural, sinewave, or reversed speech sentences. The sinewave signals preserved phonetic and some suprasegmental properties while eliminating natural vocal quality. In contrast, the reversed speech signals preserved vocal quality while distorting temporally based phonetic properties. The training results indicate that listeners learned to identify talkers even from acoustic signals lacking natural vocal quality. Generalization performance varied across the different signals and depended on the salience of phonetic information. The results suggest similarities in the phonetic attributes underlying talker recognition and phonetic perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament and major depression in 11 to 16 year olds

Temperament (EAS teacher and parent questionnaire) and mental state (modified DISC-C interview with adolescent) was systematically assessed in 193 11 to 16 year olds (112 girls, 81 boys) screened for major depression in the community. Sex differences in the structure of temperament were noted from both parent and teacher reports. High (negative) emotionality alone was associated with major depression, particularly (but not exclusively) in girls.     

Temperament and personality: Origins and outcomes.

This article reviews how a temperament approach emphasizing biological and developmental processes can integrate constructs from subdisciplines of psychology to further the study of personality. Basic measurement strategies and findings in the investigation of temperament in infancy and childhood are reviewed. These include linkage of temperament dimensions with basic affective–motivational and attentional systems, including positive affect/approach, fear, frustration/anger, and effortful control. Contributions of biological models that may support these processes are then reviewed. Research indicating how a temperament approach can lead researchers of social and personality development to investigate important person–environment interactions is also discussed. Lastly, adult research suggesting links between temperament dispositions and the Big Five personality factors is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of affiliation-related traits in terms of the PAD Temperament Model

Affiliation-related traits were explored using findings relating to the Affiliative Tendency (MAFF) and Sensitivity to Rejection (MSR) scales and 3 nearly independent dimensions of the PAD Temperament Model: trait pleasure-displeasure (P), trait arousability (A), and trait dominance-submissiveness (D). Summary equations showed that Affiliative Tendency involved pleasantness and arousability [.66P + .34A], whereas Sensitivity to Rejection was mostly submissiveness [.15A - .85D]. Dependency resembled affiliative tendency but also included submissiveness [.26P + .30A - .44D]. Emotional empathy also resembled affiliative tendency but emphasized arousability over pleasantness [.30P + .70A]. Conformity consisted only of submissiveness. Loneliness [-.77P - .23D] resembled boredom and depression. Popularity, moderately opposed to loneliness [.45P + .17A + .38D] resembled the MAFF augmented by dominance. Shyness [-.30P + .13A -.57D] resembled anxiety and neuroticism.     

Temperament development to 30 months of age in discordant twin pairs

Twins within pairs often have different weights at birth. A difference of 15% or greater is defined as discordance for weight and is considered to place one or both infants at risk. Temperature differences had been found in the neonatal period for fullterm discordant cotwins, but not for preterm discordant cotwins, suggesting that continued gestation for discordant twins was a risk variable for early behavior. 30 pairs of fullterm and 17 pairs of preterm discordant pairs were followed at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 30 months of age. Group differences were observed for the longitudinal maintenance of cotwin discordance in physical measures, with preterm cotwins becoming more like each other. In laboratory assessments, temperament differences no longer were observed between the larger and smaller cotwins. Questionnaires indicated that mothers generally did not differentiate between their larger and smaller cotwin children in temperament ratings, except for ratings of mood for the fullterm pairs. Thus, emotionality was the only temperament dimension that differentiated between the fullterm discordant twins both in the neonatal period and at later ages. In the main, it was concluded that the fullterm discordant twins overcame the adverse in-utero influences on early behavioral development.     

The internal consistency of the Humm-Wadsworth Temperament Scale.

For 508 male industrial applicants, a revised Likert analysis failed to substantiate unidimensionality. Reasons ascribed these results are ambiguous definitions and item formulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament as a predictor of behavior during initial dental examination in children

Temperament refers to children's behavioral style, or the manner in which they interact with their environment. Temperament has been quantified into nine temperament categories and five temperament constellations by Thomas and Chess. Temperament categories and constellations of children can be measured using one of several parental questionnaires, each of which focuses on age-appropriate behavior. For this study the Behavioral Style Questionnaire (BSQ) was administered to the parents of 50 healthy children (mean age 48.8 months) receiving initial dental examinations. The examinations were videotaped and The Ohio State Behavior Rating Scale (OSUBRS) was used to rate each child's behavior into one of four behavioral categories: 1) quiet; 2) crying only; 3) disruptive movement only; and 4) crying and disruptive movement. For data analysis the percentage duration of each behavioral category was calculated. Using one-way ANOVA, significant differences between constellations were found for quiet (P = 0.03) and combination behavior (P = 0.03). Using a stepwise linear regression, the temperament category of approach/withdrawal was found to predict the percentage of quiet (multiple R = 0.42357, R2 = 0.17941, and P = 0.002), crying (multiple R = 0.42124, R2 = 0.17744, and P = 0.002), and combination behaviors (multiple R = 0.30008, R2 = 0.09005, and P = 0.03). Additionally, significant regressions were found with temperament categories predicting behavioral categories depending on the child's age. The results of this pilot study suggest that the BSQ temperament constellations and categories appear to be modest predictors of a child's specific behaviors in the dental environment. Knowledge of a child's temperament may prepare the clinician to predict patient behaviors in the dental environment.     

Temperament and substance abuse in schizophrenia: is there a relationship?

Dyspnea may be easily appreciated during exercise with dyspneic scales, but methodological standardisation still needs to be specified. Authors review the basic physiological mechanism relating dyspnea to indices obtained during a stress test. They propose to use the dyspnea/VE relationship. With the concept of dyspneic threshold (close to the ventilatory threshold) and the ramp that both could be modified (for instance by rehabilitation programmes including exercise training). Interpretation of dyspnea during an exercise test obviously needs to be integrated with other parameters studied during exercise.     

Do early talkers become early readers? Linguistic precocity, preschool language, and emergent literacy.

25 children, selected for verbal precocity at 20 mo of age, participated in a longitudinal study investigating predictors of later language and literacy skills. Although children remained verbally precocious, there was a low incidence of precocious reading. Exposure to instruction in letter names and sounds was a significant predictor of children's knowledge of print conventions, invented spelling, and phonological awareness at age 4? yrs. Frequency of story reading in the home and child engagement in a story reading episode at age 24 mo were significant predictors of children's language ability at age 2? yrs and 4? yrs and knowledge of print conventions at age 4? yrs. It is concluded that story reading with parents as well as literacy instruction contributes to the development of emergent literacy in verbally precocious children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament stability between the neonatal period and 24 months.

The predictive relation between neonatal behavior and temperament at 24 months was examined for 67 infants. Behaviors rated by trained examiners at both ages were aggregated into composite scores to provide a more reliable indicator of individual differences than single-item scores. Longitudinal analyses revealed several significant relations between the two ages, most notably that irritable neonates were rated as more upset, less attentive to stimuli, and less responsive to the staff at 24 months. The common variable describing behavior at both ages was related to emotionality. Examination of extreme groups on ratings of emotional tone indicated that the distressed toddler had high irritability ratings as a neonate, but the more pleasant toddler was not different from the average group in neonatal irritability scores. It was concluded that a modest predictive relation between temperament variables was demonstrated from the neonatal period to 24 months. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament as a Unifying Basis for Personality and Psychopathology.

Personality and psychopathology long have been viewed as related domains, but the precise nature of their relations remains unclear. Through most of the 20th century, they were studied as separate fields; within psychopathology, clinical syndromes were separated from personality disorders in 1980. This division led to the revelation of substantial overlap among disorders both within and across axes and to the joint study of normal and abnormal personality. The author reviews these literatures and proposes an integrative framework to explain personality-psychopathology relations: Three broad, innate temperament dimensions--negative affectivity, positive affectivity, and disinhibition--differentiate through both biologically and environmentally based developmental processes into a hierarchical personality trait structure and, at their extremes, are risk factors (diatheses) for psychopathology, especially given adverse life experiences (stress). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Temperament and personality features in panic disorder with or without comorbid mood disorders

We treated a patient with a 30-year history of ethanol and benzodiazepine abuse who, on emerging from general anesthesia, was combative and confused. Our working diagnosis was acute ethanol withdrawal, and the patient received intravenous (i.v.) propofol, and midazolam. Initially small doses (10 to 20 mg) of propofol, combined with a midazolam infusion (50 mg/hr), produced sedation. Later, however, the patient became increasingly combative, confused, hypertensive, and tachycardic despite an i.v. propofol infusion at doses up to 1,000 micrograms/kg/min (total propofol dose: 1,755 mg). Immediate sedation was produced by thiopental bolus (500 mg) and i.v. infusion (200 mg/hr). The implication of the patient's initial appropriate response to propofol, followed by the lack of effect when much higher doses were employed, is discussed. While tachyphylaxis has been reported after long-term propofol use, we believe this to be the first case of acute tachyphylaxis.