Every person has a unique inner rhythm.
At Brain Hug, we help children, teens, and adults understand their natural temperament — the biological blueprint that shapes how they respond to the world.
When you understand temperament, you can move from self-criticism to self-compassion — and begin living and relating in ways that truly fit.
Book a Temperament Assessment or Discovery Session
Unlocking Temperament: Understanding the Basics
Every person—child or adult—brings a unique temperament to the relationships, learning, challenges, and growth they experience. At Brain Hug, our goal is to help you understand why you or your child acts, feels, and reacts in particular ways—and to harness that understanding for positive change.
Start your journey today. Contact us to explore temperament assessment and coaching support.
A Brief History of Temperament Theory
Ancient & Humoral Beginnings
The idea of temperament dates back to Hippocrates (~400 BC) and Galen, who proposed that human behaviour and mood derived from balances of bodily “humors” (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm). IRep+2colorcode.com+2 Over centuries the humoral model persisted in medicine and psychology as a way to categorize personality differences. colorcode.com+2SpringerLink+2
19th and 20th Century Revival
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, psychologists and psychiatrists renewed interest in personality and temperament, increasingly using empirical methods, trait theory, and psychometric assessment.
Stella Chess and Alexander Thomas made a landmark contribution with the New York Longitudinal Study (starting in 1956), identifying several temperamental traits in infants (e.g. activity, adaptability, mood, distractibility, rhythmicity) and following them over time.
Other influential theorists include Rothbart & Bates, who emphasized the roles of emotional reactivity and regulatory capacity, integrating biological bases and developmental trajectories.
In more recent decades, models such as the activity-specific approach (developed by Vladimir Rusalov) further refined temperament theory by distinguishing temperamental traits in physical, social-verbal, and intellectual domains.
The Research Behind Temperament Assessments
Temperament has been one of the most consistent and well-documented areas in developmental psychology.
Long-term studies such as the New York Longitudinal Study (Thomas & Chess, 1956) demonstrated that temperament traits appear early in life and remain relatively stable across time. This work introduced the concept of the “goodness of fit” — how well an individual’s temperament aligns with their environment.
Later researchers, including Mary Rothbart, built on this foundation using neuroscience and behavioural analysis. They identified three broad temperament factors that underlie most individual differences:
- Surgency/Extraversion – activity, energy, and approach behaviour
- Negative Affectivity – sensitivity, frustration, or fear response
- Effortful Control – attention, regulation, and flexibility
Modern neurobiological research confirms that these patterns correspond to measurable variations in autonomic nervous system activity and emotion regulation circuits in the brain.
At Brain Hug, we use this scientific foundation to guide our assessments and interventions — blending the latest evidence with compassionate, human understanding.
What Is Temperament?
Temperament is the innate part of who we are — the inborn style of reacting, feeling, and adapting that appears in infancy and stays with us throughout life.
It affects everything from how quickly we warm up to new situations, to how strongly we feel emotions, to how easily we calm down afterward.
Researchers describe temperament as the early biological foundation of personality. It doesn’t determine who we become, but it sets the tone for how we experience and interpret the world.
At Brain Hug, we see temperament as the meeting point between biology and environment — a gentle reminder that many of our patterns have roots in our nervous system, not flaws in our character.
Temperament Across the Life Span: From Child to Adult
In Children
- Temperamental patterns become evident early—infants vary in how easily they are soothed, their sensitivity to stimulation, how intensely they express distress,
- As children grow, temperament influences how they respond to new people and environments (approach/withdrawal), how easily they adapt to change, and how persistent or flexible they are.
- Some core traits often studied include activity level, attention/focus, emotional intensity, persistence, sensory threshold, mood, and self-regulation.
Into Adolescence & Adulthood
- Over time, temperament contributes to stable personality traits: traits such as extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness all reflect the interplay of temperament and experience.
- Because temperament has a biological basis, many individuals retain recognizable “core style” throughout life, even as they gain coping strategies, relational skills, and context adjustments.
- Life transitions (e.g. work environments, relationships, stress) test temperament: mismatches between one’s temperament and life demands can cause difficulties, but when well aligned, they can support thriving.
Why Understanding Temperament Matters
- Promotes self-awareness: Understand your natural emotional and behavioural patterns.
- Improves relationships: Communicate and connect based on genuine differences, not assumptions.
- Supports emotional regulation: Build strategies that complement your nervous system.
- Reduces frustration: See challenging traits in yourself or your child through a kinder, more accurate lens.
- Prevents mislabelling: What seems “stubborn,” “shy,” or “overreactive” often reflects innate temperament, not poor character.
How We Use Temperament Assessments at Brain Hug
We integrate temperament profiling into therapy and coaching for both children and adults to provide clarity, self-understanding, and practical tools for everyday life.
1. Personalised Assessment
We use validated questionnaires, sensory-processing checklists, and structured interviews. For children, we gather input from parents, teachers, and caregivers to form a complete picture.
2. Temperament Mapping
Each profile highlights key traits such as adaptability, persistence, sensitivity, and emotional intensity — helping you see how these tendencies play out day to day.
3. Goodness-of-Fit Review
We explore how your temperament interacts with your environment. Does your child’s need for predictability clash with school transitions? Does your own sensitivity create overwhelm in a noisy workplace? We identify friction points and ways to restore balance.
4. Strategy and Support Plan
We translate findings into clear, practical strategies:
- Calming and activating routines that suit your rhythm
- Adjustments for sensory comfort and recovery time
- Regulation tools that match your nervous system style
- Communication frameworks that reduce misunderstanding
5. Integration with Broader Therapy
Temperament work sits alongside other Brain Hug approaches — including emotional regulation, trauma recovery, and relational therapy — to create a cohesive path toward understanding and growth.
How Temperament Fits Into Our Work
At Brain Hug, temperament isn’t a label — it’s a language.
It helps us decode behaviour, guide self-awareness, and create environments where people of every temperament can flourish.
Whether we’re supporting:
- Children struggling to manage big feelings
- Teens exploring identity and sensitivity
- Adults seeking balance, understanding, or self-regulation
…temperament helps us build insight and compassion into every step of the therapeutic process.
Take the Next Step
If you’ve ever wondered why you or your child react so strongly to certain situations — or why others seem unaffected — understanding temperament can bring clarity and peace.
Book a Temperament Assessment or Consultation today
and start using self-knowledge as a foundation for growth and connection.
Brain Hug – Therapy for Sensitive, Thoughtful, and Growing Minds
Discover the science of who you are — and the safety of being understood.
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