10.09.

2016

BBCFutureCluestoyourpersonalityappearedbeforeyoucouldtalk

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Clues to your personality appeared before

you could talk

Long before you could express yourself with words, you were giving away
the signs of your adult temperament. Christian Jarrett explains how.

ByChristianJarrett
9September2016

Yourpersonalityhasbeensculptedbymanyhands.Yourgenes,yourfriends,theschoolsyou
attended,plusmanyotherfactors,willallhaveplayedapartinmakingyouthepersonyouare
today.Butwhenexactlydidyourowndistinctcharacterfirstbegintotakeshape?Ifyoureashy
personnow,forinstance,doesthatmeanyouwereashychild?
Inalllikelihood,yes.Infact,researchsuggeststherearesignificantlinksbetweenour
behaviouraltendencieswhenwerejustafewmonthsoldandourlaterpersonality.Thatisntto
saythatourpersonalitywassetinstonethatearly,butthattherootsofwhowearecanbe
tracedallthewaybacktoourearliestdays.
Psychologistswhostudybabiesusuallyrefertotemperamentratherthanpersonalityandone
ofthefirsteverinvestigationsinthisareawascalledtheNewYorkLongitudinalStudy,
launchedinthe1950s,forwhichthewifeandhusbandteamofStellaChessandAlexander
Thomasbeganobserving133childrenfromtheirbirthuptoage30,aswellasinterviewingtheir
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parents.Basedontheirfindings,theseresearchersproposedthatthereareninedifferentfacets
ofinfanttemperament,includingactivitylevel,moodanddistractibility.Theyalsonotedthat
scoresondifferentfacetstendedtoclusterand,inasignofalesspoliticallycorrectage,they
describedthreecategories:easychildren,difficultchildrenandslowtowarmupchildren.

One1950sstudyfoundthatmostchildrenfallintothreecategorieseasy,difficult,and'slowtowarmup'
(Credit:CelesteLindell/Flickr/CCBY2.0)

"
Althoughinfanttemperamentdoesntcompletelyforecastlater
personality,thetwoarecertainlyconnected
Dothesechildhoodcategoriespresagelaterpersonalitytypes?TheNewYorkstudyfound
someevidencethatchildrencategorisedaseasyordifficultatagethreealsotendedtobe
categorisedthesamewayinearlyadulthood,buttheresearchdidntexaminelinksbetween
childtemperamentandadultpersonality,assuch.
Infact,foralongtimepsychologistsstudyinginfanttemperamentandthosestudyingadult
personalitydidnthaveagreatdealtodowitheachother.Increasinglyoverthelastdecadeor
so,however,thathasbeguntochangeandalthoughinfanttemperamentdoesntcompletely
forecastlaterpersonality,thetwoarecertainlyconnected.
Notethatthescoringsystemsforinfanttemperamenthavechangedovertime.Todaythe
originalnineaspectsoftemperamentaredistilledintojustthreebroaddimensions
(unfortunatelypsychologylabsoftenvaryintheprecisetermstheyuse):Effortfulcontrolwhich
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describesthingsliketheinfantsselfcontrolandabilitytofocus(resisting,forexample,thelure
ofatemptingtoy)negativeaffectivity,whichasitsounds,referstolevelsofnegativeemotion
likefearandfrustrationandextraversionorsurgency,whichistodowithactivitylevels,
excitementandbeingsociable.
ConsideraRussianstudypublishedonlinethisyearinPersonalityandIndividualDifferences
thatinvolved45parentsratingtheirinfantstemperamentonthesedimensionswhentheywere
justafewmonthsold(sevenmonths,onaverage)andthenratingtheirchildrenspersonalities
againanaverageofeightyearslater,basedonthemaintraitsofadultpersonalitysuchas
extraversionandneuroticism.

Childrenwhoshowmoreextraversionearlyinlifetendtobelessneuroticlateron(Credit:Chris
Carter/Flickr/CCBY2.0)

Comparingthemeasuresatthetwotimepointsrevealedanumberofconsistencies,suchas
thatinfantswhoscoredhigherontheextraversion/surgencydomain(theydidthingslikesmiled
more)tendedtoscorelower,atageeight,ontheadultpersonalitytraitofNeuroticism(thatis,
theyweremoreemotionallystable)andthoseinfantswhoscoredhigheronthisstudys
equivalentofeffortfulcontrolwentontoscorehigheronaspectsoftheadulttraitof
conscientiousnesswhentheywerechildren.Ifyourbabyseemstohaveadecentattention
spangoodnews,thisprobablymeanstheyllkeeptheirroomtidywhentheyreolder.
Noteverythingmatchedupinthisstudyforexample,smiley,moreoutgoingbabiesdidnt
scorehigheronextraversionaschildrenwhichisareminderthatourinfanttemperamentsare
notalwaysdestiny.Buttheresultsdoaddtowhattheresearchersdescribedasthegrowing
consensusthattemperamentalcharacteristicsthatappearinthefirstyearsoflifeformabasis
forlaterpersonality.
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Amazingly,somelinksmayevenstretchacrossfourdecades.Inanotherstudy,publishedin
2007,researchersintheCzechRepublictookmeasuresofinfancytemperamentalittlelater,
betweentheagesof12and30months,andfoundanassociation,albeitveryspecific,with
personalitytraitsinthesameindividualswhentheyweretestedagain40yearslater.

"
Ifthechildisthefatheroftheman,thenthetoddlerisaclose
relative
Thetwotraitsinquestionweretoddlerdisinhibition(similartothemorewidelyused
extraversion/surgencyrating)andadultextraversion.Thatis,themoreactiveandassertivethe
participantshadbeenastoddlers,themorelikelytheyweretoscorehighlyonextraversionas
adults,andonselfefficacy(ourbeliefinourownabilities).Ifthechildisthefatheroftheman(to
quotepoetWilliamWordsworth),thentheresearcherssaidtheywouldliketoaddtoddleris
acloserelative.
Itsworthrememberingwhenreadingaboutthesefindingsthatourpersonalities,althoughthey
showconsistencythroughlife,arealsoconstantlyevolvinganditwouldbeimpossibleto
pinpointanyonemomentwhenapersonspersonalityintheiryouthhadtakenonitsadultform
(apartfromanything,thiswoulddependonwhichversionoftheirmaturingadultpersonalityyou
hadinmind).However,asaninfantgrowsintoasmallchild,theirpersonalityisgradually
crystallising.Waituntilachildisagedthree,forexample,andnowtheirbehaviourwilleven
morestronglyforetelltheadultpersonality.

Manyparentsstraintoreadtheirchild'slaterpersonalityintheirsmallestbehaviours(Credit:Steve
Greer/Flickr/CCBY2.0)
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Takethefindingsfromapaperpublishedin2003,inwhichresearchersattheInstituteof
PsychiatryinLondoncomparedthebehaviouralscoresofoverathousandthreeyearolds
takenin19751976(basedonwhichtheyclassifiedthechildrenaseitherwelladjusted,
undercontrolled,confident,inhibitedorreserved)withthesameindividualspersonality
scoresrecordedwhentheywere26.Thistimemanystrikingconsistenciesemergedthrough
thenearlythreedecadeperiodofstudytotakejustoneexample,theconfidentchildren
becamethemostextravertedadults,andtheinhibitedchildrenbecametheleastextraverted.
Anyonewhohasyoungchildrenoftheirown,orspendstimewiththem,knowsthatitstempting
tolookforsignsofemergingpersonalitytraitsinababysgiggleorfrown.Thelatestpsychology
researchsuggestssuchspeculationmightnotbeentirelyinvain.
Buttheresalsoaserioussidetothisfield.Increasingly,researchersarerealisingthattheroots
ofadultpsychologicalproblemsmaylieinbehaviouraltendenciesthatfirstappearinearly
childhood.Bylearningtorecognisethesesigns,itmightbepossibletointervenecarefullyatan
earlyageandtohelpsteerchildrenonthepathtoahealthierfuture.

DrChristianJarretteditstheBritishPsychologicalSociety'sResearchDigestblog.Hislatest
bookisGreatMythsoftheBrain.
Join600,000+FuturefansbylikingusonFacebook,orfollowusonTwitter,Google+,
LinkedInandInstagram.
Ifyoulikedthisstory,signupfortheweeklybbc.comfeaturesnewsletter,calledIfYou
OnlyRead6ThingsThisWeek.AhandpickedselectionofstoriesfromBBCFuture,Earth,
Culture,Capital,TravelandAutos,deliveredtoyourinboxeveryFriday.

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