Temperament Theory - Research Paper Example

Temperament Theory Temperament theory was modulated to know about a child’s behavior in the society. These theories were proposed to improve children’s attitude and behavioral aspects. Temperament theories deal with the children’s behavior by assessing their activities, persistence level and their ability to react to new situations and people. The various methods and components of these theories enable the researchers to analyze the children. This in turn improves a child’s behavior and character as a whole.

Introduction Temperament theory has been used to study the behavior of infants. It also shows the difference between each and every individual infant. The way children behave in the society forms the major part of this study. Since behavior of children in each stage of their life changes, this theory gives us an opportunity to study about the difference in their behavior. It also provides a way to know about the children’s psychological development and factors that determine a child’s relationship with their parents.

Temperament theory paves a way to analyze a child’s social activities and its approach towards life. As parent play a major part in a child’s life, their experiences are also taken into consideration. Temperament theory was proposed way back in the 1970’s but it has gained popularity only after the intervention of certain researchers. Researches specify that parents and pediatricians have a major part to play in a child’s life and they are considered to be the best people from whom a child’s characteristic feature can be understood.

(Rothbart, 1981).This theory uses parents report to analyze the children and this report is of great help to measure a child’s level of tolerance and behavior. Recent studies have proposed advanced techniques to assess a child’s behavior and temperament. Temperamental characteristics of a child are recorded for a longer duration since the behavior differs depending on the situation. Though there are various methods to analyze a child’s temperament, certain unique theories and methods have been used for a longer of period of time.

They have proved to be successful among most of the countries. These methods consider a child’s activities, level of stress and fear to a particular situation. The level of persistence is also taken into consideration since it enables them to know about the child’s annoyance and arrogance. This process cannot be done hastily and no child can be analyzed overnight. It requires months of study and analysis. To accomplish this, a questionnaire is initially provided to the parents and other people who closely move with the children.

The method constitutes of various dimensions based on which the analysis is carried out. Apart from the level of activity, approach withdrawal is also considered in assessing the temperament.(Sterry & Purtil, 2010). This factor determines how a child reacts and responds to a new situation or new people. Children’s action in this situation is recorded, whether the child reacts positively or moves away from that place. Next factor is adaptability and this shows a child’s adjustment temperament to the changes.

This may occur even during transition of activities. (Belsky & Hseich, 1996). Distractibility analyses the way in which the child pays attention to a particular task or event. Persistence is also equally important when analyzing the temperament of a child. Conclusion Temperament theory is a psychological approach to a child’s behavior and character. This theory proposed by researchers has gained more popularity and have been declared a success since it uses basic concepts to analyze a child’s character.

Since temperament of a child clearly portrays a child’s behavior, these basic methods and standards makes the process easier.ReferencesRothbart, M.,(1981). Measurement of Temperament in Infancy. Child Development, 152, 369 – 378. Sterry, T., & Purtil, J. (2010). Temperament and Peer Acceptance: The Mediating Role of Social Behavior. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 56(2), 189-219. Belsky, J., & Hseich, K. (1996). Infant Positive and Negative Emotionality: One Dimension or Two?, Developmental Psychology , 32(2), 289-298.