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History of Temperament
In 1956 Drs. Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas began a 30-year longitudinal study examining individual differences in children. Their
pioneering research determined that temperament influences how a child moves through developmental stages, forms relationships, and responds to the world. They found that children differ in nine characteristics: sensitivity,
activity, intensity, adaptability, mood, approach to novelty, persistence, biological rhythms, and distractibility. They also found that the interaction between the child's temperament and the child's environment helped
determine the development of behavioral issues. They called this concept "goodness of fit." According to Chess and Thomas "Goodness of fit exists
when the demands and expectations of parents and other people important to the child's life are compatible with the child's temperament, abilities, and other characteristics." |
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