Development of Temperament in Infancy and Childhood

In this chapter, we focus on the development of temperament in infancy and childhood. First, we describe ancient origins as well as recent and contemporary perspectives. Then, we describe elements of temperament theory, including definitions of theoretical constructs, proposals for the structure of temperament, and the nature of temperament dimensions and types. Then, we treat temperament development, including expectations for stability and change and developmental significance. Next, developmental behavior genetic findings are detailed. We conclude by suggesting future directions for genetic studies of the development of child temperament.