Measurement of Temperament in Infancy

Abstract

temperament is descnbed, and longitudinal findmgs are reported Temperament dimensions were selected for mvestigation from the work of Thomas, Chess et al, Escalona, Diamond, and others Conceptual analysis of scale definitions was earned out to eliminate conceptual overlap of scales, and item analysis was performed for 463 Infant Behavior Quesbonnaires filled out for 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old subjects Scales widi adequate psychometnc and conceptual properbes were developed for the following dimensions activity level, soothabilih', fear, distress to limitabons, smiling and laughter, and duration of orienting In longitudinal analyses, acbvity level and smiling and laughter scales revealed stability from 3 through 12 months, durabon of onenting and soothabihty showed less general stability, and fear and distress to limitabons showed stability only beyond the age of 6 months Temperament as a psychobiological concept has been used m connecbon with the study of mdividual differences m other animal species (Diamond 1957), research on behavior genebcs (Goldsmith & Gottesman 1981), and the study of mdividual differences among human infants (Thomas & Chess 1977) Since the concept of temperament provides an mtegrative approach to the study of the development of individual differences (Rothbart & Derryberry, m press—a) and may eventually allow us to bace the relabon between children's early charactenstics and their social and cognitive development, the task of developing adequate measures for temperament is an important one Although psychologists, pediatricians, and parents have been to some extent aware of temperamental differences among infants, only recently have researchers attempted to develop techniques for assessing temperamental characteristics of infants beyond the neonatal period