ABSTRACT
Despite variation among researchers in their emphasis on specific dimensions of temperament, most current models of temperament include some aspect of negative reactivity (e.g., Buss and Plomin, 1984; Goldsmith and Campos, 1982; Rothbart and Derryberry, 1981; Thomas et al., 1968). Negative reactivity is used to describe signs of distress including crying, fussing, and motoric agitation. Using standardized assessment procedures, individual differences in infant irritability have been identified in the neonatal period and these early differences are predictive of later differences in global negative reactivity (Crockenberg, 1981; Riese, 1987). Negative reactivity has been implicated as the temperamental precursor for the later display of behavioral inhibition in response to novel objects, people, and events (Buss and Plomin, 1984; Calkins et al., 1996; Engfer, 1993; Kagan and Snidman, 1991).
