ABSTRACT
If we were given the task of summarizing the nature of linkages between temperament and context in one word, the word we would choose would be bidirectional. Our choice of this term is based in part on evidence illustrating structural bidirectional feedback linkages between context and temperament operating over time (temperament→ context → temperament → context). Whereas individual chapters in this volume have primarily focused either on temperament → context (e.g., Ramsay & Lewis, chap. 2, Goldsmith et al, chap. 6) or on context → temperament links (Arcus, chap. 3, Halverson & Deal, chap. 4, Matheny & Phillips, chap. 5), integrating across these chapters, plus consideration of other findings in the research literature (Crockenberg & McCluskey, 1986; Engfer, 1986; Maccoby, Snow, & Jacklin, 1984; Thoman, 1990; Wachs et al., 1993) illustrates why the structure of context-temperament linkages must be viewed as bidirectional in nature.
