Temperament and Intelligence

In this chapter, we address one of the central themes of development charted in the FLS, intelligence. The interface and overlap between temperament and cognitive ability from infancy though adolescence are examined. As noted in chapter 1, five issues will be addressed: 1 1. Which dimensions of temperament correlate with concurrently-administered standardized tests of intelligence? The temperamental concomitants of intelligence are examined across the infant, preschool, middle childhood, and adolescent eras. 2 2. Can the temperament-intelligence relationship be explained by test-taking behaviors during the administration of the intellectual tests? At three points in time during the FLS, test-taking behavior as a possible mediating variable between temperament and intelligence test scores was examined. 3 3. Are the relations evident between temperament and cognitive skills as measured by standardized tests also evident when parent reports of developmental progress are used? As another approach to explore the possible mediating effect of test taking behavior on the relation between temperament and intelligence, we examined the relation between temperament and parent reports of developmental progress on standardized inventories of child development. 4 4. To what extent do aspects of earlier temperament forecast or predict intellectual development throughout childhood and adolescence? A necessary but not sufficient observation for temperament to influence children’s cognitive/intellectual growth is that earlier temperament relate to subsequent intelligence. In this section, the degree of relation between earlier temperament and intelligence across shorter and longer intervals of time are examined. 5 5. To what extent do earlier measures of children’s intelligence predict temperament and personality? In the final section, FLS measures of intelligence are examined as potential predictors of children’s behavioral style and personality. Concurrent temperament-intelligence relations do not elucidate whether individual differences in children’s ability to process and coordinate information and communicate their needs effectively may impact their behavioral styles. Hence, earlier measures of intelligence as predictors of subsequent temperament are examined to ascertain whether empirical evidence exists to support this possible direction of relation. Furthermore, discussion regarding the intersection between personality and intelligence has been revisited recently (Collis & Messick, 2001). In chapter 3, data from the FLS failed to show direct links between temperament during infancy, preschool years, or middle childhood with personality at age 17. To conclude chapter 5, we examine the extent to which early measures of intelligence foretell personality.