Question

Using the Thomas and Chess model of temperament, identify which temperament you have. Give specific examples as related to the nine traits. Do you think your temperament has remained stable, or has it changed? What factors might be involved? Give examples.

Answer 1

9 Temperament Traits given by Thomas and Chess Model 1970 along with examples

1. Activity level: Amount of movement and body activity
2. Biological Regularity: Regularity of biological functions (e.g., sleep-wake cycle, hunger, bowel elimination)
3. Adaptability: How quickly or slowly the person adapts to a change in routine or overcomes an initial negative response
4. Approach/Withdrawal: How the person initially reactions to a new person or an unfamiliar situation
5. Sensitivity Threshold: How sensitive the person is to potentially irritating stimuli (e.g. sound, temperature, crowds, textures, tastes)
6. Intensity of Emotional Response: How strongly the person reacts to positive and negative situations. The energy level of mood expression, whether positive or negative
7. Distractibility: How easily the person is distracted by unexpected stimulus.
8. Quality of Mood:The amount of pleasant and cheerful behavior (positive mood), as contrasted with fussy, sad and unpleasant behavior (negative mood)
9. Persistence/Attention Span: How long the person will keep at a difficult activity without giving up

3 Temperament Types

Easy* or Flexible** (about 40% of most groups of children):

Typically, the easy child is regular in biological rhythms, adaptable, approachable, and generally positive in mood of mild to medium intensity. Such a child is easy for caregivers. S/he is easily toilet trained, learns to sleep through the night, has regular feeding and nap routines, takes to most new situations and people pleasantly, usually adapts to change quickly, is generally cheerful and expresses her/his distress or frustration mildly. In fact, children with easy temperaments may show very deep feelings with only a single tear rolling down a check.

Difficult* or Feisty** (about 10% of children) :

The feisty child is the opposite of the easy child. The child may be hard to get to sleep through the night, her or his feeding and nap schedules may change from day to day, and the child may be difficult to toilet train because of irregular bowel movements. The feisty child typically fusses or even cries loudly at anything new and usually adapts slowly. All too often this type of child expresses an unpleasant or disagreeable mood and, if frustrated, may even have a temper tantrum. In contrast to the easy child’s reaction, an intense, noisy reaction by the feisty child may not signify a depth of feeling. Often the best way to handle such outbursts is just to wait them out. Caregivers who do not understand this type of temperament as normal sometimes feel resentment at the child for being so difficult to manage. They may scold, pressure or appease the child, which only reinforces her or his difficult temperament. Understanding, patience and consistency, on the other hand, will lead to a “goodness of fit,” with a final positive adjustment to life’s demands.

The Slow-to-Warm-Up* or Fearful Child** (about 15% of children):

Finally, there is a group of children who are often called shy. The child in this group also has discomfort with the new and adapts slowly, but unlike the feisty child, this child’s negative mood is often expressed slowly and the child may or may not be irregular in sleep, feeling and bowel elimination. This is the child who typically stands at the edge of the group and clings quietly to her or his parent when taken to a store, a birthday party or a child care program for the first time. If the child is pressured or pushed to join the group, the child’s shyness immediately becomes worse. But if allowed to become accustomed to the new surrounds at her or his own pace, this child can gradually become an active, happy member of the group.

I have Sensitivity treshold, as i cannot stand crowded places or groups for long. For me this has remain constant since i was a young child till today.

Factors that could be involved here are

My no nonsense attitude where i can't listen to any one speaking anything baseless

i believe in hard work what others think feel do is none of my concern so i keep to myself

I am an extrovert have my group of like minded friends but cannot stand any one who talks meaningless or is more interested in life of others.