This "Monograph" reports theoretically relevant behavioral, biological, and self-report assessments of a sample of 14-17-year-olds who had been classified into one of four temperamental groups at 4 months of age. The infant temperamental categories were based on observed behavior to a battery of unfamiliar stimuli. The infants classified as high…

Observed 193 children at 4.5 years who had been classified at 4 months as high or low reactive to stimulation for signs of inhibited or uninhibited behavior. Children classified as high reactive were less spontaneous and less sociable than low-reactive children, but only a small proportion maintained a consistently inhibited or uninhibited…

Notes that 4-month olds who show a low threshold to become distressed and motorically aroused to unfamiliar stimuli are more likely than others to become fearful and subdued during early childhood, while infants who show a high arousal threshold are more likely to become bold and sociable. Considers implications for psychopathology and relation…

Examined the relationship between temperament and craniofacial variation in 372 infants observed at ages 4, 14, and 21 months. Found that high-reactive 4-month olds, who are predisposed to becoming timid, inhibited toddlers, had smaller bizygomatic ratios (narrower faces) at both 14 and 21 months compared to their low-reactive peers. (MDM)

Evaluated brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) on 10- to 12-year-olds who had been classified as high or low reactive to unfamiliar stimuli at 4 months of age. Found that children previously classified as high reactive at 4 months had larger wave V components than did low reactive children, possibly suggesting greater excitability in…

A review of Character Structure and Impulsiveness," by David Kipnis. (MB)

This essay argues that humans are capable of a large number of affect states; a distinction should be made among acute emotions, chronic moods, and temperamental vulnerabilities to a particular emotion state; and research on human effects will profit from a return to, and reinterpretation of, Sigmund Freud's suggestion of unconscious affect…

Reflects on researchers' conceptions about psychological growth over the last century. Discusses five themes relevant to developmental research: (1) the selection of phenomena for study; (2) the use of continuous dimensions or categories to describe children's characteristics; (3) continuity versus discontinuity in development; (4) the influence…

Human development has two different stories to tell. One describes the growth of the universal characteristics that are present in all human beings because humans possess a particular set of genes. Four examples of biologically prepared, universal characteristics in the psychological growth of children are the growth of memory, of moral sense and…

Noting that a reluctance to question some assumptions of social and behavior sciences is one reason for the halting progress in these fields, this book examines three potentially misleading ideas and reasons for their continued popularity. Chapter 1 critiques the idea that all behavior is influenced by one's psychological construction of the…

This study examines infant temperament (inhibited and uninhibited styles) as a predictor of behavior in the kindergarten classroom. Thirty-one kindergarten children were observed in their classrooms for approximately 1.5 hours on each of four occasions between September and January. Fourteen children (8 girls, 6 boys) had been classified as high…