English children as personality theorists: accounts of the modifiability, development, and origin of traits.

Abstract

Forty-eight children, 4, 6, 7, and 10 years old, were interviewed to assess their accounts of the modifiability, development, and origin of four character traits (grumpy, shy, mean, fussy) and two physical traits (fat, thin). The youngest children described traits as moderately controllable and usually stable, whereas for the 2 middle groups, physiological traits in particular were highly modifiable and less stable. Six-year-olds frequently cited preferences as sources of individual differences, possibly as a precursor to a fuller understanding of traits as internal, partly uncontrollable, and idiosyncratic attributes. Seven-year-olds were more likely to mention cognitively mediated accounts of personality change, as were 10-year-olds, who were also more aware of the interactive and variable nature of influences on personality. All age groups showed coherent patterns of trait explanation and used different models of explanation for different traits. The results suggest that a monolithic model of trait understanding is misleading, because the children used a variety of different models of development.