Work

Temperament and the Reactions to Unfamiliarity

Year: 1997

Type: article

Abstract: The behavioral reactions to unfamiliar events are basic phenomena in all vertebrates. Four-month-old infants 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, whereas infants who show a high arousal threshold are more likely to become bold and sociable. After presenting some developmental correlates and trajectories of these 2 temperamental biases, I consider their implications for psychopathology and the relation between propositions containing psychological and biological concepts.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb01931.x

Author: Jerome Kagan

Institution: Harvard University

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

Awards: Children at Risk for Anxiety Disorders: A Follow up Study, G8073469300