temperament styles. Attachment researchers counter
that the procedure measures the relationship be-
tween the caregiver and the child, which is partly a re-
flection of how well the caregiver copes with the
child’s unique behavioral style.
Many social scientists believe that temperament
and parenting are both related to children’s develop-
ment, but in different ways. For instance, in a study
of more than a hundred infants, Grazyna Kochanska
found that differences in the mother-child relation-
ship predicted whether children were securely or in-
securely attached, while the children’s temperament
style predicted which type of reaction they displayed
in the Strange Situation.
In another study, Kochanska found support for
Thomas and Chess’s goodness-of-fit concept. Two
different parent-child relationships when the chil-
dren were toddlers predicted the development of
conscience in children when they were five years old.
Fearful children did better with mothers who used
gentle discipline, while fearless toddlers did better
with mothers who were very responsive. To Thomas
and Chess, healthy development occurs when parents
are able to work with a child’s temperament and influ-
ence their child’s reactions to the world. Socialization
happens and parenting is important, but each parent-
child relationship will be unique because each child
is unique.
It is important to note that Thomas and Chess’s
studies in the 1960s and 1970s were based on the
ideal characteristics for an infant reared in Western
society. Culture also plays a role in the fit between the
child and his environment. For instance, Mary Roth-
bart and others have found that parents in the United
States and the People’s Republic of China described
their children using the same dimensions. Chinese in-
fants, however, were lower in activity level compared
to American children, a finding that has been repli-
cated in other studies. In addition, the implications
of certain temperament styles for children’s develop-
ment differ across cultures. Shyness or behavioral in-
hibition is associated with adjustment problems in the
United States and Canada; the same temperament
style, however, is associated with healthy develop-
ment in China. What is considered a difficult temper-
ament style depends on the culture, context, and
characteristics of the family.
See also: ATTACHMENT; PARENTING; PERSONALITY
DEVELOPMENT
Bibliography
Asendorpf, Jens B. ‘‘Abnormal Shyness in Children.’’ Journal of
Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines 43
(1993):1069–1081.
Buss, Arnold H., and Robert Plomin. Temperament: Early Developing
Personality Traits. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1984.
Cole, Michael, and Sheila R. Cole. The Development of Children, 4th
edition. New York: Worth Publishers, 2000.
Goldsmith, Hill H., Arnold H. Buss, Robert Plomin, Mary K. Roth-
bart, Alexander Thomas, Stella Chess, Robert A. Hinde, and
Robert B. McCall. ‘‘Roundtable: What Is Temperament? Four
Approaches.’’ Child Development 58 (1987):505–529.
Kagan, Jerome. Galen’s Prophecy: Temperament in Human Nature.
New York: Basic, 1994.
Kochanska, Grazyna. ‘‘Multiple Pathways to Conscience for Chil-
dren with Different Temperaments: From Toddlerhood to
Age Five.’’ Developmental Psychology 33 (1997):228–240.
Kochanska, Grazyna. ‘‘Mother-Child Relationship, Child Fearful-
ness, and Emerging Attachment: A Short-Term Longitudinal
Study.’’ Developmental Psychology 43 (1998):480–490.
Lykken, David T., Matt McGue, Auke Tellegen, and T. J. Bou-
chard. ‘‘Emergenesis: Genetic Traits that May Not Run in
Families.’’ American Psychologist 47 (1992):1565–1577.
Rothbart, Mary K., Stephan A. Ahadi, and David E. Evans. ‘‘Tem-
perament and Personality: Origins and Outcomes.’’ Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology 78, no. 1 (2000):122–135.
Thomas, Alexander, and Stella Chess. Temperament and Develop-
ment. New York: Bruner/Mazel, 1977.
Shirley McGuireTERATOGENS
A teratogen is an environmental agent that can ad-
versely affect the unborn child, thus producing a birth
defect. Teratogens include infectious agents, such as
rubella, syphilis, and herpes, and chemicals. Chemi-
cal exposures can occur through lifestyle choices (e.g.,
alcohol, smoking, drugs) or exposure to environmen-
tal hazards (e.g., X rays, certain environmental chem-
icals). The teratogenicity, or nature and extent of
harm to the fetus, is influenced by fetal genetic vul-
nerability, type and amount of teratogen, and timing
of the exposure during pregnancy. For example, cer-
tain teratogens may have adverse effects only during
critical periods of fetal development or after a certain
amount of exposure. There are possible exceptions to
these principles in which teratogenic exposures may
not result in negative effects. There are also agents
and conditions with possible, but unproven, effects on
fetuses. Therefore, it is important to check with a
knowledgeable source for possible consequences of
exposure.See also: DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES; PRENATAL
DEVELOPMENTBibliography
Brendt, Robert, and David Beckman. ‘‘Teratology.’’ In Robert
Eden, Frank Boehm, Mary Haire, and Harry Jonas eds., As-
sessment and Care of the Fetus: Physiological, Clinical, and Medico-
legal Principles. Norwalk, CT: Appleton and Lange, 1990.
Kolberg, Kathleen J. Sipes. ‘‘Environmental Influences on Prenatal
Development and Health.’’ In Thomas Whitman, Thomas
Merluzzi, and Robert White eds., Life-Span Perspectives on
Health and Illness. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1999.412 TERATOGENS