Dr.

Alexander Thomas, 89; Studied Human Temperament

By Wolfgang Saxon
Jan. 31, 2003
Dr. Alexander Thomas, a child psychiatrist who served as director of psychiatry at Bellevue and whose
research revealed much about the nature of human temperament, died on Wednesday at St. Luke's
Hospital in Manhattan. He was 89.
For much of his professional life, Dr. Thomas worked and wrote with his wife, Dr. Stella Chess, also a
child psychiatrist. They met at New York University Medical School, married in 1938 and collaborated as
researchers, clinicians and parents. Both became professors at N.Y.U..
In the late 1950's, they undertook a long-term project known as the New York Longitudinal Study,
which followed the emotional and social development of 133 children for 30 years, starting at birth, to
understand temperament and its development.
The research by the couple and their colleagues found that while temperament appears to be well
established at birth it is not immutable. Over the years, almost unnoticeably, parents and children tend to
become more like one another.Temperament& Personality
In some cases, their findings ran counter to accepted wisdom.
Individual development, their study indicated, is neither wholly preordained genetically, nor is it wholly
determined environmentally. While genes delineate the scope of variations, environment applies the final
touches.

Temperament & Personality

• Temperament: constitutionally based
individual differences in emotion, motor,
reactivity and self-regulation that demonstrate
consistency across situations and over time

• Temperament is biologically based: Heredity,

neural, and hormonal factors affect response to
the environment.

• Temperament can be modulated by

environmental factors; parental response.

Temperament is an individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of responding.

Theory on Temperament (Thomas and Cheese)
Key Dimensions of Temperament
Thomas and Chess (1987,1991), believe there are three basic types, or clusters, of temperament:
easy, difficult, and slow to warm up.
 The Easy Child is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishing regular routines in infancy
and adapts easily to new experiences.
 The Difficult Child tends to react negatively and cry frequently, engaging in irregular daily
routines and is slow to accept new experiences.
 The Slow to Warm Up Child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, shows low
adaptability and displays a low intensity of mood.

Descriptions and the Basic Clusters of Temperament

Temperament Description Easy Difficult Slow to Start

Type
Basic Body Regularity of Regular Irregular
Rhythm eating, sleeping,
toileting
Activity Level Degree of energy High Low
movement
Accessibility Ease of Positive Negative Negative
approaching new
people and
situations
Descriptive Degree of affect Low to High Low
expressions when pleased, moderate
displeased,
happy, sad
Mood Swings Degree of Positive Negative
positive or
negative effect

(Chess and Thomas table)

Children studied in current research (Chess & Thomas, 1987, 1991) found that 40 percent of children fit
into the easy child category; 10 percent are considered difficult; and 15 percent are slow to start or warm
up child. Other research suggests that temperament is composed of three basic components:

 Emotionality: the tendency to be distressed. During infancy, distress develops into two separate
emotional responses: fear and anger. Fearful infants try to escape something that is unpleasant,
angry infants choose to protest. To be labeled easy or difficult is to base the label on their
emotionality.

 Socialibility: the tendency to prefer the company of others rather than be alone.

 Activity level: this component involves tempo and vigor of movement. Some children walk fast,
are attracted to high-energy games and jump or bounce around a lot while others are more placid.
Thomas and Chess's nine temperament characteristics
 Activity: refers to the child's physical energy. Is the child constantly moving, or does the child have a
relaxing approach? A high-energy child may have difficulty sitting still in class, whereas a child with
low energy can tolerate a very structured environment. The former may use gross motor skills like
running and jumping more frequently. Conversely, a child with a lower activity level may rely more
on fine motor skills, such as drawing and putting puzzles together. This trait can also refer to mental
activity, such as deep thinking or reading—activities which become more significant as the person
matures.
 Regularity: also known as rhythmicity, refers to the level of predictability in a child's biological
functions, such as waking, becoming tired, hunger, and bowel movements. Does the child have a
routine in eating and sleeping habits, or are these events more random? For example, a child with a
high regularity rating may want to eat at 2 p.m. every day, whereas a child lower on the regularity
scale may eat at sporadic times throughout the day.
 Initial reaction: also known as approach or withdrawal. This refers to how the child responds
(whether positively or negatively) to new people or environments. Does the child approach people or
things in the environment without hesitation, or does the child shy away? A bold child tends to
approach things quickly, as if without thinking, whereas a cautious child typically prefers to watch for
a while before engaging in new experiences.
 Adaptability: refers to how long it takes the child to adjust to change over time (as opposed to an
initial reaction). Does the child adjust to the changes in their environment easily, or is the child
resistant? A child who adjusts easily may be quick to settle into a new routine, whereas a resistant
child may take a long time to adjust to the situation.
 Intensity: refers to the energy level of a positive or negative response. Does the child react intensely
to a situation, or does the child respond in a calm and quiet manner? A more intense child may jump
up and down screaming with excitement, whereas a mild-mannered child may smile or show no
emotion.
 Mood: refers to the child's general tendency towards a happy or unhappy demeanor. All children
have a variety of emotions and reactions, such as cheerful and stormy, happy and unhappy. Yet each
child biologically tends to have a generally positive or negative outlook. A baby who frequently
smiles and coos could be considered a cheerful baby, whereas a baby who frequently cries or fusses
might be considered a stormy baby.
 Distractibility: refers to the child's tendency to be sidetracked by other things going on around them.
Does the child get easily distracted by what is happening in the environment, or can the child
concentrate despite the interruptions? An easily distracted child is engaged by external events and has
difficulty returning to the task at hand, whereas a rarely distracted child stays focused and completes
the task at hand.
 Persistence and attention span: refer to the child's length of time on a task and ability to stay with
the task through frustrations—whether the child stays with an activity for a long period of time or
loses interest quickly.
 Sensitivity: refers to how easily a child is disturbed by changes in the environment. This is also
called sensory threshold or threshold of responsiveness. Is the child bothered by external stimuli like
noises, textures, or lights, or does the child seem to ignore them? A sensitive child may lose focus
when a door slams, whereas a child less sensitive to external noises will be able to maintain focus.
PRENATAL PERIOD AND
INFANCY
GROUP 1

Theory on Temperament
(Thomas and Chess)

Reporter: Barado, Ma. Loida R.