Browsing by Subject "Temperament"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    A comparison of temperament in nonhuman apes and human infants.
    (Dev Sci, 2011-11) Herrmann, Esther; Hare, Brian; Cissewski, Julia; Tomasello, Michael
    The adaptive behavior of primates, including humans, is often mediated by temperament. Human behavior likely differs from that of other primates in part due to temperament. In the current study we compared the reaction of bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, and 2.5-year-old human infants to novel objects and people - as a measure of their shyness-boldness, a key temperamental trait. Human children at the age of 2.5 years avoided novelty of all kinds far more than the other ape species. This response was most similar to that seen in bonobos and least like that of chimpanzees and orangutans. This comparison represents a first step in characterizing the temperamental profiles of species in the hominoid clade, and these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that human temperament has evolved since our lineage diverged from the other apes in ways that likely have broad effects on behavior. These findings also provide new insights into how species differences in ecology may shape differences in temperament.
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    Differences in the cognitive skills of bonobos and chimpanzees.
    (PLoS One, 2010-08-27) Herrmann, Esther; Hare, Brian; Call, Josep; Tomasello, Michael
    While bonobos and chimpanzees are both genetically and behaviorally very similar, they also differ in significant ways. Bonobos are more cautious and socially tolerant while chimpanzees are more dependent on extractive foraging, which requires tools. The similarities suggest the two species should be cognitively similar while the behavioral differences predict where the two species should differ cognitively. We compared both species on a wide range of cognitive problems testing their understanding of the physical and social world. Bonobos were more skilled at solving tasks related to theory of mind or an understanding of social causality, while chimpanzees were more skilled at tasks requiring the use of tools and an understanding of physical causality. These species differences support the role of ecological and socio-ecological pressures in shaping cognitive skills over relatively short periods of evolutionary time.
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    Sex, temperament, and family context: how the interaction of early factors differentially predict adolescent alcohol use and are mediated by proximal adolescent factors.
    (Psychol Addict Behav, 2011-03) Burk, Linnea R; Armstrong, Jeffrey M; Goldsmith, H Hill; Klein, Marjorie H; Strauman, Timothy J; Costanzo, Phillip; Essex, Marilyn J
    Adolescent alcohol use is common and has serious immediate and long-term ramifications. While concurrent individual and context factors are robustly associated with adolescent alcohol use, the influence of early childhood factors, particularly in interaction with child sex, are less clear. Using a prospective community sample of 362 (190 girls), this study investigated sex differences in the joint influence of distal childhood and proximal adolescent factors on Grade 10 alcohol use. All risk factors and two-way early individual-by-context interactions, and interactions of each of these with child sex, were entered into the initial regression. Significant sex interactions prompted the use of separate models for girls and boys. In addition to the identification of early (family socioeconomic status, authoritative parenting style) and proximal adolescent (mental health symptoms, deviant friends) risk factors for both girls and boys, results highlighted important sex differences. In particular, girls with higher alcohol consumption at Grade 10 were distinguished by the interaction of early temperamental disinhibition and exposure to parental stress; boys with higher alcohol consumption at Grade 10 were distinguished primarily by early temperamental negative affect. Results have implications for the timing and type of interventions offered to adolescents.
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    Subjective experience of sensation in anorexia nervosa.
    (Behaviour research and therapy, 2013-06) Zucker, Nancy L; Merwin, Rhonda M; Bulik, Cynthia M; Moskovich, Ashley; Wildes, Jennifer E; Groh, Jennifer
    The nature of disturbance in body experience in anorexia nervosa (AN) remains poorly operationalized despite its prognostic significance. We examined the relationship of subjective reports of sensitivity to and behavioral avoidance of sensory experience (e.g., to touch, motion) to body image disturbance and temperament in adult women currently diagnosed with AN (n = 20), women with a prior history of AN who were weight restored (n = 15), and healthy controls with no eating disorder history (n = 24). Levels of sensitivity to sensation and attempts to avoid sensory experience were significantly higher in both clinical groups relative to healthy controls. Sensory sensitivity was associated with body image disturbance (r(56) = .51, p < .0001), indicating that body image disturbance increased with increased global sensitivity to sensation. Sensory sensitivity was also negatively and significantly correlated with lowest BMI (r(2) = -.32, p < .001), but not current BMI (r(2) = .03, p = .18), and to the temperament feature of harm avoidance in both clinical groups. We discuss how intervention strategies that address sensitization and habituation to somatic experience via conditioning exercises may provide a new manner in which to address body image disturbance in AN.