Self-regulation underlies temperament and personality: An integrative developmental framework.

Abstract

In this article, we present a n integrative per-spective on temperament and personality development.Personality and temperament are concep tualized as regu-latory systems that start as physiological reactivity toenvironmenta l featu res early in life, but are increasinglysupplemented by regulation efforts oriented toward refer-ence values such as personal goals and social norms.These re ference values change during developme nt associety expects increasingly mature behaviors, but it takesregulatory resource s and incremental practice beforepeople can conform to these higher standards. Consistentwith this view, a meta-analysis of mean-level developmentof personality t raits in ado lescence revealed a decrease inconscientiousness and openness during ea rly adolescence.Negative discrepancies between reference values andactual behavior are apparentl y responsible for decreasesin perceived maturity, but more direct evidence is neededto sup port this claim.