Derivation and prediction of temperamental types among preschoolers.

The number and nature of temperamental types in 488 children aged 3 years 6 months was examined on the basis of a broad set of temperamental characteristics, including positive and negative emotionality and the attentional and behavioral control domains. Configural frequency analysis methods showed clear support for two temperament types: controlled-nonexpressive and noncontrolled-expressive. These types showed meaningful differences against external criteria related to a wide range of problem behaviors from the emotional, social, and attentional domains. The reports of problem behaviors were obtained contemporaneously from fathers and caregivers. These findings replicated a year later when children were aged 4 years 6 months. Furthermore, the findings showed that infant and toddler-age temperamental characteristics differentiated these preschool-aged types. The authors discuss the implications of the results for a categorical view of temperament-personality.

A longitudinal study of the roots of preschoolers' conscience: committed compliance and emerging internalization.

The focus of this study is the complex relation between compliance and internalization in childhood. It is a replication and a longitudinal extension of earlier work, where we distinguished between 2 forms of compliance: committed, when the child eagerly embraced and endorsed the mother's agenda, and situational, when the child was cooperative, but lacked the sincere commitment and feeling of internal obligation. 99 children, seen previously at 26-41 months, were studied again at 43-56 months. Compliance and internalization were assessed in multiple observational contexts and using maternal reports. As at toddler age, the 2 forms of compliance had distinctly different developmental trajectories, and again, only committed compliance was significantly associated with measures of internalization. Moreover, committed but not situational compliance at toddler age predicted internalization at preschool age. Shared positive affect within the mother-child dyad at toddler age predicted some measures of internalization at preschool age. Further evidence of significant differences in children's compliance to maternal "dos" versus "don'ts" is reported.