How shall we speak of children's personalities in middle childhood? A preliminary taxonomy

Developmental researchers have neglected the study of personality traits in middle childhood, thus leaving unanswered many questions about childhood p ersonality structure. This article presents a developmental framework for u nderstanding personality in middle childhood and critically reviews 5 model s of temperament and personality structure in this age range: the model sof a. Thomas and S. Chess, A. H. Buss and R. Plomin, M. K. Rothbart, J. Block and J. H. Block, and the Big Five,A number of robust personality dimensions common to these models and the broader developmental and adult personality literatures are then discussed: sociability, social inhibition, dominance, negative emotionality, aggressiveness, prosocial disposition, petsistence/ attention, mastery motivation, inhibitory control, and activity level. Thes e dimensions represent a preliminary taxonomy of personality traits for exp loring questions of individual development in childhood.