Temperament

     This week I have decided to do my reflection blog on temperament. It's always been something I've been curious about (what contributes to it, how it affects us as we grow up, etc...) and so, while reading this section, I was very interested and intrigued.

     As defined, temperament is a consistent style or pattern of behavior. Basically, any aspect of a persons personality, such as, extroversion and introversion.

     The three dimensions of temperament, devised by Mary K. Rothbart:

• Surgency/extroversion: The span of which a child is happy, active, and looking for stimulation.
• Negative affect: The span to which a child is upset, angry, shy, and fearful.
• Effortful control: The span to which a child can focus his/her attention, doesn't get distracted, and responds.

     I definitely found it interesting to read about stability of temperament from infancy to toddler years. A great example of that was the Fels Longitudinal Project, which studied physical and psychological development from infancy. This study showed that fearful Pre-K children tended to be discouraged as they grew to be older children and into their teen years.

     I can  relate to this section of the reading with my 5 year old son, Colton. He was very very active while I was pregnant with him (like he was doing some hardcore gymnastics). After I had him, and as the months progressed, he still was extremely active. He was never really tired, was difficult to soothe, cried A LOT (definitely more that the 2-3 hours a day they say is the norm in the book), and was just a little more defiant. On that same aspect though, he is no longer a difficult child. I think the idea of environment is really significant in the temperament concept. I know they say it isn't a sure thing- that if your child is difficult as a baby, he/she may not be difficult as they grow older- and my son kind of proves that. Even though he was very difficult as an infant, and up until he was about 3 years old, he is no longer like that. I think it was definitely impacted on how I have raised him, the environment he's been in.

     I think if I could learn more about something from this section of reading, it would definitely be more on how the environment impacts how a child's temperament is formed as they grow older. They stated how you could kind of "help" how the child will grow up, as in reading to them if they are quiet babies, or being more physical with active babies. I guess I would just like to know if you can stabilize a temperament by giving a good mix of both of those things.

     These two chapters were really fun for me to read. Examining and studying how children grow into adults, and what gives the boost to what part of the personality, is engaging and thought-provoking.

Thanks for reading!

-Keisha

    
    

First Reflection Blog for Psych 200

I decided to do my reflection blog on some of the topics brought up in the article "The Identity Dance". I really enjoyed reading this article because, to me, the whole "Nature Vs. Nurture" concept is one that definitely piqued my curiosity.

Quick review of some of the information:

• Nature- Genetic or hereditary influences
• Nurture- Life experiences or influences from the surrounding environment.

Both of these are said to impact how a person gets their distinct personality, and what kind of person they will become.

I found it interesting to read specifically about how it takes a combination of genes (specifically the short version of the serotonin transporter gene) and life turmoil's, or being raised differently, to cause a disadvantage in how you might handle, or react, to specific events.

My favorite example of the Nature Vs. Nurture concept was George, the monkey. He was separated from his mother very early on and was raised in a nursery with other monkeys his age. He also had a short version of the serotonin transporter gene. Because of those combined, he is more susceptible to being aggressive, alcoholism, and being a little more "standoffish" around new people and objects. His cousin, Jim, on the other hand, was raised by his mother and doesn't display those same attributes.

When I was in grade school (probably 2nd or 3rd grade), I had 2 twin girls in my class with me. My teacher called them "Thing One" and "Thing Two" (awful, I know). You could definitely tell which one would have been the "George" in that situation, and which one the "Jim". One was more outgoing, friendly, would share, laughed, played, and was just super excitable. The other, not so much. She would throw tantrums.... A LOT, liked to distance herself, and would get upset very easily. After reading this article, it definitely made me wonder what exactly were the underlying issues, or differences between these girls who seemed so identical in every way.

I think if I could choose to learn more on a topic from this reading, it would be something along the lines of how peoples upbringing relates to aggression. They discussed a little about how having low monoamine oxidase in the brain, combined with being neglected or abused as a child, would contribute to being aggressive or being a part of violent behaviors as adults. I guess I would just like to study, or research what kind of neglect or abuse would constitute this type of lifestyle for an adult.

All and all, I really found this article and the whole chapter one from the book entertaining, educational, and fun.

Thanks for reading!

-Keisha