A 6-year study of children primarily from middle-class backgrounds
found that about two-thirds of the elementary school children could be
placed into one of these three categories (Thomas & Chess, 1977). Forty per-cent of the students fell into the easy child category, 10% into the difficult
child group, and 15% into the slow-to-warm-up category. Thus, the typical
elementary school classroom contains a mix of children with different tem-perament patterns. Obviously, this represents a significant challenge for the
teacher.
Temperament and Academic Performance
Numerous studies find that a child ’s temperament affects how well that child
does in school (Coplan, Barber, & Lagace-Seguin, 1999; Cowen, Wyman, &
Work, 1992; Keogh, 2003; Rudasill & Konold, 2008; Stright, Gallagher, &
Kelley, 2008). As you might expect, children with either the difficult or slow-
to-warm-up pattern tend to perform more poorly than students with the easy
child pattern. Children with an easy temperament get higher grades and better
evaluations from their teachers. Differences related to temperament are also
found in standardized achievement tests.
But studies indicate that temperament is not related to intelligence
(Keogh, 1986). So how does temperament affect a child ’s academicTABLE 9.2
Thomas and Chess ’Nine Temperament Dimensions
Activity Level General level of motor activity during such periods
as eating, playing, walking, or crawling.
Rhythmicity Predictable or unpredictable patterns of behaviors,
such as sleeping and hunger. Also known as
regularity.
Approach or Withdrawal Initial response to new situations or experiences,
either to approach eagerly or to pull away and wait.
Adaptability Ability to respond to a new or altered situation
(after the initial reaction).
Threshold ofResponsivenessAmount of stimulation necessary to evoke aresponse. Includes reactions to new sensations,objects, or people.
Intensity of Reaction Amount of energy behind response regardless of
type of response.
Quality of Mood General mood level, either pleasant and friendly or
unpleasant and unfriendly.
Distractibility Ability to stay with ongoing behavior in the face of
environmental distractors.
Attention Span and
PersistenceHow long child can focus his or her attention onone task; how long child persists at a task in theface of obstacles.240 CHAPT ER 9The Biological Approach