What Can Temperament Research Teach Parents About Their Child’s Behavior?

A person's temperament or disposition refers to the mostly innate, biological underpinnings of how they behave and interact with the world around them. Temperament is part of but not equivalent to personality. It’s an especially relevant concept when it comes to the behavior of young children, since they haven't had much time for their environment to shape their character yet. That’s why much of the discussion surrounding temperament happens in the domain of child psychology. In this context, the term “temperament” is usually used for infants and toddlers, whose behavior is guided more by innate traits than conscious decisions. Understanding how a child’s behavior is impacted by their temperament can give parents and caregivers helpful insights into ways to support their child's early development.

Early temperament research

In the late 19th century, the field of psychology in general experienced a boom in terms of research and clinical practice. At the time, Freud's psychoanalytic theories dominated the field, so early research into child development was conducted through a psychoanalytic lens—which largely disregarded temperament in favor of lived experience. Because of this early focus on what a child experienced rather than their innate biological traits, it wasn't until the mid-1960s that the concept of temperament began to be investigated.

In 1964, child psychiatrists Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas released the first clinically oriented study of infant and child temperament. Their work indicated that innate temperamental qualities seem to affect how children behave and interact with their environments. While a child's development is difficult to quantify exactly, Chess and Thomas did develop nine temperament traits that can be used to define the temperament of a child so that parents and caregivers can adapt their parenting accordingly. We’ll outline these below.

Chess and Thomas’s findings came as a relief for some parents, because the prevailing belief at the time was that parents were solely responsible for their children's attitudes and behavior—even in the infant stage. Today, however, researchers have come to understand that a combination of environmental and biological factors contribute to a child's behavior rather than only how their parents interact with them. 

The modern understanding of temperament

The work of Chess and Thomas has been expanded in the years since they first published their findings. Researchers in the field of infant psychology continue to build on their original study, now also incorporating modern technology like gene analysis for further insights. So far, Chess and Thomas’s nine traits remain relevant.

The nine traits of temperament

By the time children start preschool, their temperament is usually relatively stable and well-known to those around them. By that age, children readily accept and incorporate information from their environment as they interact with it. As they continue to grow, temperament becomes less relevant as conscious decision-making begins to guide their behavior.

Thomas and Chess's nine traits or components of child temperament are as follows:

• Activity level. An active child tends to have a lot of energy and moves quickly from task to task. Lower-activity children generally prefer quiet and calm environments.
• Biological rhythms. A biological rhythm refers to the regularity of a particular biological drive, such as sleeping or eating. Children with regular rhythms tend to stick to regular sleeping and eating times, while those with irregular rhythms may have trouble maintaining a routine.
• Sensitivity. A highly sensitive child will reach their sensory threshold quickly. They may react disproportionally to low levels of sensory input, like being bothered by the tag on their shirt, for instance. Low-sensitivity children, on the other hand, generally need higher levels of sensory stimuli in order to elicit a response.
• Intensity of reaction. A child's reaction intensity can range from high to low. As an example, high-intensity children may exhibit strong reactions to both positive and negative events.
• Adaptability. If a child adjusts easily to change, they may be highly adaptable. Children with low adaptability may have trouble shifting gears or responding to changes in routine.
• Approach/withdrawal. An approaching child is willing to step out of their comfort zone and try new things such as playing with unfamiliar children on the playground, for example. Withdrawing children are more reserved and may need extra time to engage with new people or things.
• Distractibility. A distractible child may have more trouble maintaining attention and holding focus, while low-distractibility children can usually keep their attention on something longer and with greater ease.
• Persistence. Persistence refers to how long a child typically perseveres with a task. Children with high persistence will usually try harder to overcome challenges independently, while low-persistence children may ask for help sooner or find a new activity instead.
• Mood. While mood may vary from day to day, children tend to experience patterns of more positive or more negative moods over time. In children, these mood patterns may skew toward optimism or melancholy. 

Each trait exists on a spectrum and can vary in intensity. For example, a child with a generally positive mood might express their feelings in a low-intensity way. Another child with a generally positive mood but higher intensity might cry out in happiness or appear extraordinarily upbeat.

Three additional categories of child temperament

Chess and Thomas used their nine traits to further group children into three broad categories. Their categories as listed below were primarily used to describe infants, whose behavior is guided almost entirely by temperamental qualities:

• “Easy” or flexible children are likely to be happy, calm, and adaptable. An “easy” child readily adapts to their environment, displays generally positive moods, and usually gets along with other children.
• Slow-to-warm or cautious children may react negatively to new situations but behave more like flexible children once they are used to their surroundings.
• Active or feisty children tend to act out, are fearful of new people, are easily upset by stimulation, and are intense in their reactions. It used to be said that children in this category had a "difficult" temperament, but that term is quickly falling out of favor.

It’s important to note, however, that only about two-thirds of children can be placed into one of the three categories above. Research suggests that around 40% are “easy” or flexible, 15% are considered cautious, and 10% fall into the active or feisty category. The other 35% of children do not fit neatly into any one of the three.

Researchers also have concerns about the effects of labeling a young child with terms like these. On the one hand, using a label like "difficult" for an infant may validate the extra challenges their parent or caregiver could be experiencing as a result. On the other, however, there’s concern that this practice could create a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein "difficult" children receive harsher treatment and "easy" children may receive unnecessary leniency. That’s why today, experts tend to rely on the nine traits alone and not the three additional categories to help parents better understand their children.

The potential benefits of understanding temperament

In addition, understanding their child's unique temperament may help parents and caregivers develop “goodness of fit,” a term originally coined by Chess and Thomas. It refers to the alignment between the temperament of a child, their caregiver's approach, and the environment the child lives in. Here are some tips for parents and caregivers to help promote a good fit:

• Reflect on your own temperament. Although temperament is typically discussed in the context of children, adults have temperaments too. You might consider your own innate traits and try to use that knowledge to empathize with your child's experience.
• Refrain from judging temperament traits as good or bad. Each temperament trait has its pros and cons. Focusing on the positive may help you manage your child's needs.
• Respect your child's temperament when planning activities or routines. For example, you might try to be flexible and patient when necessary and offer plenty of encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Seeking professional support for parenting challenges

Parenting can come with its fair share of challenges, whether they’re related to difficulties understanding or relating to your child’s temperament or another area. That’s why many parents and caregivers can benefit from support in this realm. Formal support groups and informal sources of social support for parents, such as friends and neighbors who are caregivers too, are often helpful. In addition, many find significant benefits in meeting with a trained therapist. In therapy, parents can find a safe space to express their emotions, analyze their thought patterns, and get support in developing healthier ways of relating to their children. 

That said, many parents and caregivers have busy schedules that can make attending in-person therapy on a regular basis more difficult, which is an example of a situation in which online therapy can be a more convenient option. With a platform like BetterHelp, parents and any other individuals can get matched with a licensed therapist who they can meet with via phone, video call, and/or in-app messaging—all from the comfort of home or anywhere else they have an internet connection. Online therapists use the same evidence-based techniques as traditional therapists, and research suggests that this format can be as effective as traditional, in-office therapy in many cases.