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Personality across the Lifespan

Personality across the Lifespan. What is temperament and how can we measure it?. Biologically based individual differences in behaviour that are present in early life, and are relatively stable across situations and time (Bates, 1987)

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Personality across the Lifespan

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  1. Personality across the Lifespan

  2. What is temperament and how can we measure it? • Biologically based individual differences in behaviour that are present in early life, and are relatively stable across situations and time (Bates, 1987) • What are the issues about measuring personality/temperament in children?

  3. Type of study • Prospective vs Retrospective - what are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of study? • What are the problems with retrospective reports?

  4. Types of study II • Volunteer, birth cohort, selected sample – what are the issues with each type of study? • Longitudinal studies versus cross-sectional? • Confounding factors may be?

  5. Method of measurement • Self versus other report? • Observer report • Parent versus carer report?

  6. Tool of measurement • Test-retest? • Developmental change with maturation and learning – what would this affect? • Can not use the same tool • What tools are available?

  7. Predictions of temperament • What aspects of behaviour do you think temperament can predict? • From what age? • How would you go about designing such a study?

  8. Are there differences in children? • Behavioural differences can be noticed in children • Are these individual differences due to differences in temperament / personality or due to parenting style or other factors?? • Does the behaviour in childhood predict the personality of the adult?

  9. Approaches • First approach pioneered by Thomas and Chess (1977) • Distinction between personality and temperament is blurred. • Some researchers see temperament and personality traits as almost the same • Second approach pioneered by Strelau (1983) • Draws a distinction between temperament and personality, between biological and socialisation

  10. (Thomas and Chess 1977; Chess and Thomas, 1996) • 9 categories of behaviours: • Activity-level • Rhythmicity • Approach-withdrawal • Adaptability • Threshold of responsiveness • Intensity of reaction • Quality of mood (predominant) • Distractability • Attention span/persistence

  11. Normal temperaments(Thomas and Chess) Temperament Types • Easy (40%) • Slow-to-warm-up (15%) • Difficult (10%) • ?35%

  12. Categorical and Dimensional approaches to personality • Categorical models: people can be divided into types eg.astrology • Dimensional models: assume that scores are distributed continuously in the population

  13. Further work on temperament • Problems with Thomas and Chess – small samples • Rothbart and Bates asked parents about specific behaviours in specific contexts • Rothbart and Bates asked questions such as: • “When put in the bath, how often did the baby kick and splash? Or: “When meeting a stranger, how often did the baby cry?” Response on 7 point scale, never to always. • They had two strands of behavioural-type research • parental report • home observations.

  14. Rothbart and Bates • Two main dimensions: • positive (smiling, laughter, activity) • negative reactivity (fear, frustration) • BUT: problems – Can you think of any???? • They had no control in either self-reports or observations for actual level of stimulus baby experienced: eg. Bath time: • They developed the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Inventory

  15. Laboratory Temperament Assessment Inventory • Goldsmith & Rothbart (1991) • Assessed • Smiling and laughter • Fear • Frustration • Attention • Soothability

  16. Seven factor Model of Temperament? • Martin, Wisenbaker and Hattunen (1994) • Activity level • Negative emotionality • Task persistence • Adaptability / agreeableness • Inhibition • Rhythmicity • Threshold

  17. Comparisons • Parent ratings - 6 factors (Presley & Martin (1994)); teacher ratings –3 (Martin, 1988) • Activity-level Activity • Rhythmicity Rhythmicity • Approach-withdrawal Social inhibition yes • Adaptability Adaptability • Threshold of response • Intensity of reaction • Quality of mood Negative emotionality yes • Distractability • Attention span/persistence Task persistence yes

  18. Why different Dimensions • Different raters? • Different behaviours shown at different times? • Parental Bias? • Individual differences in raters?

  19. Psychobiological approaches • Rothbart & Derryberry • Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) • Strelau

  20. Reactivity and self-regulation: (Rothbart, Bates, Derryberry) • Temperament (and personality) has basis in neural systems • Motivation, attention and emotion

  21. Reactivity and self-regulation: (Rothbart, Bates, Derryberry) • Temperament (and personality) has basis in neural systems • Motivation, attention and emotion • Children’s Behaviour Questionnaire: • higher order factors: extraversion/surgency, negative affectivity, effortful control

  22. Defensive/fearful motivation system. Novel stimuli, fear, punishment. Appetitive system: approach Affiliant/nurturant system. Social rewards Vigilance system. Alertness Temperament Frustrative/aggressive behaviour system. Irritation, rage. Rothbart & Derryberry

  23. Neo-Pavlovian approach: (Strelau) • Strength of nervous system activation • Derives from the hypotheses of Pavlov, Teplov and Nebvlitsyn • The cns has general formal characteristics which can be assessed psychophysiologically and behaviourally • Individuals differ on the strength of excitation of their nervous system • The length of time that the cns maintains its response in the face of intense or prolonged stimuli.

  24. Strelau II • Strength of excitation can be measured by techniques such as testing the effect of an extra, intense stimulus on a person’s visual threshold (Mangan, 1982). • Behaviourally – ability to maintain performance on a task under high levels of stimulation. • Extraversion : Strength of the nervous system? • extraverts appear to tolerate stimulation better than introverts (Eysenck and Eysenck, 1985). • Behaviour-Temperament Inventory: • Briskness, perseverance, sensory sensitivity, emotional reactivity, endurance, activity • Conceptual overlap with structural approaches

  25. Distinctions between temperament and personality (Strelau)

  26. Linking temperament, later outcomes, personality • Can be related psychometrically • NEO-FFI, EAS-TS: • N: Fearfulness, distress, anger • E: Sociability • O: Activity • A: Anger • C: ?Impulsivity • Longitudinal studies

  27. Can Behaviour in childhood tell us about adulthood • Temperament • Personality • Learning styles • Cognition • Can it predict mental health?

  28. Temperament and personality from childhood to adulthood • New Zealand: Dunedin Study (Caspi et al) • 1037 infants, 1972-73 • longitudinal study assessed at age 3 then again at 5,7,9,11,13,14,15,18 and 21 • Children - divided into three temperamental types • well-adjusted, undercontrolled, inhibited

  29. Age-3 temperament and later outcomes • What outcomes would you predict? • What aspects of life? • Children’s behaviour problems • ‘Adult’ Personality • Interpersonal Relationships • Employment • Psychiatric Disorders • Criminal Behaviour To answer these questions you need to read Caspi (2000) The Child is Father of the Man: Personality Continues From Childhood to Adulthood JPSP 78: 158-172

  30. Basic reading • Personality Traits Matthews, Deary and Whiteman Further Reading Caspi, A. (2000) The child is the father of the man: personality continuities from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 158-172. (not on reserve, see journal in psych library) Rothbart, M.K,Ahadi, S.A., & Evans, D.E. (2000). Temperament and personality: origins and outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 122-135. (see journal in psych library). McCrae, R.R., Costa, P.T., Pedrosa de Lima, M, et al (1999) Age differences in Personality Across the Adult Life Span: Parallels in Five Cultures

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