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Explorations in Temperament pp 29–42Cite as

The Functional Significance of Organismic Individuality

The Sample Case of Temperament

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Part of the book series: Perspectives on Individual Differences ((PIDF))

Abstract

Developmental psychology, as a discipline, has tended to focus more on normative, developmental functions (Wohlwill, 1973) than on interindividual variation in developmental trajectories. This emphasis is changing, due to an increasing concern with biological bases of human individuality (Lerner, 1984; Plomin, 1986) and with multidirectional, life-span changes in psychological capacities and behavioral functions (Baltes, 1987). Research in our laboratory is associated with this latter concern, that is, with the nature, bases, and functional significance of interindividual variation in human development across life (e. g., Lerner & Lerner, 1983, 1987, 1989). It is because of this concern with the person’s individuality that we have been drawn to the study of temperament.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA

    Rachna Talwar, Katherine Nitz, Jacqueline V. Lerner & Richard M. Lerner

Authors
  1. Rachna Talwar
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  2. Katherine Nitz
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  3. Jacqueline V. Lerner
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  4. Richard M. Lerner
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

    Jan Strelau

  2. University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    Alois Angleitner

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Talwar, R., Nitz, K., Lerner, J.V., Lerner, R.M. (1991). The Functional Significance of Organismic Individuality. In: Strelau, J., Angleitner, A. (eds) Explorations in Temperament. Perspectives on Individual Differences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0643-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0643-4_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0645-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0643-4

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