Roy P. Martin

Relationship of Temperament Characteristics to the Academic Achievement of First-Grade Children

Relationships between teacher ratings of six “temperament” characteristics and four measures of achievement for 104 first-grade children were analyzed in a short-interval prediction study. Activity level, adaptability, approach or withdrawal, distractibility, and persistence were found to be significant predictors of reading and mathematics grades and reading performance on a standardized test with the effects of IQ controlled. Further, multiple regression analysis demonstrated that persistence and adaptability made significant and sizable contributions to the prediction of achievement over that made by IQ.

Season of Birth Is Related to Child Retention Rates, Achievement, and Rate of Diagnosis of Specific LD

A sizable literature has demonstrated that the achievement of children in early elementary school is related to their season of birth: Those born in summer typically perform less well than those born in the fall. A small literature indicates that more children diagnosed with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are born in the summer. We have begun to explore the possibility that the same processes may account for both outcomes. In order to better understand these processes, the standardized achievement levels and rates of diagnosis of SLD for children born during each season were studied in one geographical area of the State of Georgia served by 28 school districts. Standardized achievement scores in reading, mathematics, and science were reliably lower for those born in the summer. Furthermore, there was a strong relationship between season of birth and the rate at which children received a diagnosis of SLD. Summer-born children were diagnosed with SLD at a higher rate than their peers. Four hypotheses for both the lower performance in the general school population and the greater rate of SLD diagnosis among these children are discussed.

Relationships between Temperament and Classroom Behavior, Teacher Attitudes, and Academic Achievement

This paper investigates the concurrent validity of the Teacher Form of the Temperament Assessment Battery. This questionnaire was designed to measure activity level, adaptability, approach/withdrawal, emotional intensity, distractibility, and persistence in children 3 to 7 years of age. In study 1, significant correlations were obtained between several temperament dimensions and observed classroom behavior among first-grade children. Study 2 focused on the relationships between teacher attitudes (attachment, indifference, concern, rejection) and temperament variables. Children nominated for three of the four attitude groups were found to be differentiated from their nonnominated peers by temperament ratings. Finally, correlations between achievement and temperament variables were obtained in study 3.

Child temperament and common problems in schooling: Hypotheses about causal connections

Abstract While there has been substantial progress made in many areas of temperament research during the past 15 years, insufficient attention has been given to issues that clarify the mechanism by which temperament predisposes children to learning and behavior problems that are manifested in the school environment. After reviewing some contemporary literature that introduces the reader to the concept of temperament, this article addresses two sets of theoretical principles that seem particularly appropriate to clarifying the connection between temperamental dispositions and problematic school behavior. First, the theory of gene-environment correlation is used to explain how behavior patterns can become more stable over the life span. Second, diathesis-stress theory is used to clarify how the environment interacts with behavioral dispositions to result in problematic behavior. The purpose of this theoretical review is to provide psychologists with stronger etiological explanations for the problematic behaviors they encounter in schools.

Gender differences in temperament at six months and five years

This investigation was designed to help clarify the literature on gender differences in temperament. A birth cohort was sampled at 6 months and at 5 years. Gender differences in factor structure were not expected and were not found. Large and significant gender differences were obtained for the infant sample for Distress to Novelty, with smaller differences obtained for Biological Irregularity and Stimulation Threshold. In all cases girls had higher (less socially desirable) scores than boys. For the preschool sample, gender differences were obtained for Activity Level and Nonadaptability (boys higher), and for Threshold (girls rated as more sensitive). No moderating effects of family or maternal characteristics were obtained.

The inventory of children's individual differences : Development and validation of a short version

As more researchers utilize the Five-factor model (FFM) of personality with children and adolescents, the need for instruments designed specifically for use with children and adolescents increases. In the United States, the 108-item Inventory of Childrens Individual Differences (ICID; Halverson et al., 2003), has provided researchers with an age and culture neutral instrument designed specifically to assess the FFM of personality in children and adolescents, ages 2 to 15, using parental, nonparental, or self-reports. This article presents a shorter, 50-item version of the ICID (the ICID-S) that maintains the levels of validity and reliability previously established for the full instrument.

Temperament Factors as Longitudinal Predictors of Young Adult Personality

While there is a general consensus that temperament forms the enduring, biologically based foundation of personality and that this biological basis should imply some continuity within the individual across time, there is a limited literature exploring linkages between these areas. The purpose of this article was to provide an initial assessment of the relation between a two-factor model of temperament in early/middle childhood and the five-factor model of personality in late adolescence/young adulthood. Data were gathered from 115 children who had participated in a longitudinal study of early/middle childhood and who provided follow-up data 15 years later. Significant linkages were found between the two time periods. At the facet level, temperament in early and middle childhood accounted for an average of 32% of the variance in personality in late adolescence/early young adulthood. At the domain level, temperament accounted for an average of 34% of the variance.

Interactive Effects of Student Temperament and Instruction Method on Classroom Behavior and Achievement.

This aptitude-treatment interaction study examined the effects of student temperament, instructional method (computer vs. teacher), and the interaction between the two on (a) observed off-task behavior, and (b) problem-solving performance. Student temperament was measured by teacher ratings on the Temperament Assessment Battery for Children. Control variables included age, gender, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability. The sample of 78 public school kindergarten students were randomly assigned to treatment groups. During a 3-week treatment period, five problem-solving tasks were introduced and subsequently practiced with either computers or manipulative materials. Multiple regression analyses showed that children with low Task Orientation (high distractibility, high activity, and low persistence) exhibited significantly more off-task behavior in both groups (p < .0005). Further, a significant interaction effect was found between temperament and instructional method: Students with highest Task Orientation exhibited almost no off-task behaviors with either method, whereas students with lowest Task Orientation showed significantly more off-task behavior with teacher-directed instruction than with computer-directed instruction (p < .05).

Interrelationships between temperament characteristics and first-grade teacher-student interactions

The relationships between temperament characteristics and first-grade teacherstudent interaction were investigated. It was hypothesized that the temperament characteristics of Adaptability and Approach/Withdrawal would be potent predictors of teacher-student interactions since they had been found previously to be strong predictors of childrens emotional and behavioral adjustment to school. The teachers of 105 first-grade children completed temperament questionnaires during the early part of the academic year, and their interactions with the children were observed soon thereafter. The teacher temperament ratings were factor-analyzed, and regression models were generated to predict classroom interactions. The studys hypothesis was supported, and three separate temperament dimensions were found to be predictive of classroom interactions. Suggestions are made for future extensions of the findings.

Effects of age and experience of consultant and consultee on consultation outcome

Most writers in the consultation literature (Bergan, 1977; Caplan, 1970; Dinkmeyer & Carlson, 1973; Meyers, 1973) imply that if the consultant is skilled in the verbal and nonverbal aspects of the consultation process, he/she can consult effectively with all types of consultees. Practical experience, however, indicates that consultation is often unsuccessful even when the psychologist-consultant is highly skilled. The conclusion to be drawn from such experience is that it is more difficult to establish productive consultation relationships with some types of persons in some types of settings than with others. Practical experience seems to indicate that it is more difficult to establish an effective consultation relationship with older, more experienced teachers than with younger, less experienced teachers. Two explanations of this apparent phenomenon seem plausible. One point of view would indicate that a consultant would tend to be less successful with older, more experienced teachers because the older teachers are more set in their professional attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. The new teacher, on the other hand, is more flexible because the techniques and attitudes that he/she applies to the profession have not been reinforced for as long a period of time. An alternative view is suggested by Martin (1978) in a recent analysis of