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# Temperament

- Concept

Temperament is a baby's inborn style of reacting: how active, regular, adaptable and intense it is. It shapes, but does not fix, later personality.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Three types (Thomas and Chess): easy (about 40 %), difficult (about 10 %), slow to warm up (about 15 %); the rest are mixed.
- Goodness of fit: outcomes depend on the match between the child's temperament and the demands and responses of the caregivers.
- Behavioral inhibition (Kagan): shy, withdrawn responses to new people and situations; linked to later anxiety.
- Temperament is partly heritable and appears early, which supports a biological basis.
- Two dimensions carry into adult personality: reactivity and self-regulation.
- A difficult temperament is not a disorder and is not caused by bad parenting.

## What it is

Temperament is the set of early, biologically based differences in how a child reacts to stimuli and regulates that reaction. In the New York Longitudinal Study, Thomas and Chess rated infants on nine dimensions and described three broad types: easy, difficult and slow to warm up. Temperament is partly heritable and fairly stable, but the environment and the fit between the child and the caregivers change how it is expressed.

## Key facts

- The nine dimensions: activity, rhythmicity, approach or withdrawal, adaptability, intensity, mood, persistence and attention span, distractibility, and sensory threshold.
- Twin studies show moderate heritability (about 20 to 50 %) of many traits, with genes acting together and with the environment.
- Temperament is the early core around which personality later develops.

## Thomas and Chess temperament types

| Type | Description | What helps |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Easy (about 40 %) | Regular rhythms, positive mood, adapts quickly to change | Ordinary routines |
| Difficult (about 10 %) | Irregular rhythms, intense and often negative reactions, slow to adapt | Patience, predictable routines, calm consistent limits |
| Slow to warm up (about 15 %) | Mildly negative first reaction to new things, adapts slowly with repeated exposure | Gradual introductions and time, without pressure |
| Mixed (about 35 %) | Does not fit one pattern | Respond to the child's specific traits |

## Clinical notes

- Explaining a baby's temperament to parents reduces guilt and helps them adjust routines and expectations.
- Children with high behavioral inhibition are at higher risk of anxiety disorders; supportive, gradual exposure helps more than overprotection.
- In hospital, slow-to-warm-up children need more time before examination and procedures.

## Memory aid

Easy flows, Difficult storms, Slow warms: the fit with the caregiver decides the weather.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What are the three temperament types described by Thomas and Chess?

Easy, difficult and slow to warm up.

## What does goodness of fit mean?

That outcomes depend on how well the child's temperament matches the expectations and responses of the caregivers and setting.

## Which temperamental trait is linked to later anxiety disorders?

Behavioral inhibition: shy, withdrawn reactions to new people and situations.

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## Connections

## Related 4

- [Attachment: Bowlby, Ainsworth and the attachment styles](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/attachment-bowlby-ainsworth-and-the-attachment-styles/)
- [Personality: traits, the Big Five and Freud's models](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/personality-traits-the-big-five-and-freud-s-models/)
- [Milestones of the first year](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/milestones-of-the-first-year/)
- [Coping and resilience](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/coping-and-resilience/)

## Related conditions 2

- [Social anxiety disorder and specific phobia](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/social-anxiety-disorder-and-specific-phobia/)
- [Separation anxiety disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/separation-anxiety-disorder/)

[← All of behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/)

Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Temperament and Its Role in Developmental Psychopathology](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3319036/) (Harvard Review of Psychiatry (PubMed Central), 2005); [Not all babies are the same: an examination of temperament profiles during infancy](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13035708/) (Frontiers in Psychology (PubMed Central), 2026).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/temperament/