By: Lucy

Lucy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:39:27 +0000

Something that most people forget is that there is a difference between temperament and personality. It sounds like what they are describing in the study sited is actually the “temperament” (aspects which are hardwired and cannot be changed), rather than what is typically referred in the American medical community to as “personality” (those things about yourself which are more variable, and therefore can be worked on and improved, etc.).
The other thing we must keep in mind is that most people’s temperament and personality are made up of a combination of these variables. No one is ONLY a novelty-seeking or ONLY a harm-avoidance type. Typically, we have a dominant temperament (or a mix of two), with some less dominant aspects of the others as well. Thus, we end up with a world where everybody is different. If you are interested in reading more about temperament, you might look up the book Baby Hearts by Goodwyn & Acredolo. They do a wonderful job (based on years of research) of covering both the nature AND nurture aspects of our children’s temperaments, they explain it really well, and they give you examples of how to nurture your child’s individual temperament.

By: isis

isis — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:29:33 +0000

while there may be some minor link to personality traits and brain formation, I doubt that its more important that the nurturing aspect of a baby’s first five to eight years of development. The reason being is the “neural net” is not completely formed then and its this network of neurons that form learning, habits, and patterns that go towards the development of a child’s personality traits. The baby’s first few years of development is dependent on how those neurons make connections. Perhaps a child with more left inferior frontal lobe matter may make more neural connections that reaffirm its propensity to seek novel experiences, but just as likely – if that person exists in a negative environment that fears novelty or change, may learn to associate fear with such pursuits. I think we cannot rule one out without assessing the implications of the other.
isis´s last blog ..holly coming to wa

Comments on: Your Baby’s Personality is Decided at Birth

By: Lucy

By: isis