What you'll learn

• What psychologists mean by individual differences in child psychology.
• How temperament can affect attachment type and how attachment influences children.
• How gender and temperament can change the effects of day care.
• How to turn this into strong AO1, AO2 and AO3 essay material.

The big idea: children are not all affected in the same way

In earlier child psychology work, you may have learned about attachment, separation, deprivation and day care as if these experiences affect children in a fairly general way. This section adds an important refinement: children differ from each other, so the same experience may not have the same effect on every child.

For example, two children may both attend day care from an early age. One may become more confident and sociable. Another may become more stressed or aggressive. The difference might not be day care alone — it may be how day care interacts with the child’s temperament, gender, previous attachments and social environment.

A useful exam word here is moderator. A moderator is a factor that changes the strength or direction of a relationship between two other variables. In this topic, temperament or gender may moderate the effect of attachment type or day care.

Temperament: the child’s behavioural style

Temperament is usually thought to have a biological basis, although it can be shaped by experience. Classic work by Thomas and Chess (1977) described children as having different temperamental styles, including:

• easy temperament — generally calm, adaptable and positive in mood
• difficult temperament — more intense, irregular, easily distressed or harder to soothe
• slow-to-warm-up temperament — cautious at first, but able to adapt gradually

Later work by Kagan (1994) focused on behavioural inhibition, where some children are naturally more cautious, anxious or withdrawn in unfamiliar situations.

Why temperament matters for attachment

Attachment type is usually explained through the caregiver’s sensitivity and responsiveness. For example, Ainsworth’s work suggested that sensitive caregiving is linked with secure attachment, while inconsistent or rejecting care is linked with insecure attachment.

But individual differences complicate this. A baby with a difficult or inhibited temperament may cry more, resist soothing or appear anxious during separations. This could make them more likely to be classified as insecure in the Strange Situation, even if the caregiver is generally responsive.

Attachment type can affect individuals differently

A securely attached child usually uses the caregiver as a secure base: they feel able to explore while knowing they can return for comfort. An insecurely attached child may show avoidant, clingy or highly distressed behaviour.

However, the effects of attachment may depend on temperament. For instance, an insecure attachment may be more damaging for a highly anxious child than for a more emotionally resilient child. Equally, a secure attachment may be especially protective for a temperamentally inhibited child because the caregiver provides a safe base for dealing with unfamiliar situations.

The temperament hypothesis

Some psychologists argue that what looks like an attachment difference may partly be a temperament difference.

This is sometimes called the temperament hypothesis: the idea that children’s attachment behaviours may reflect their innate temperament as well as the quality of caregiving. For example, a child who cries intensely when the caregiver leaves may be showing high emotional reactivity rather than poor attachment security.

This is important when evaluating research such as Ainsworth and Bell (1970). The Strange Situation is useful because it is controlled and allows comparison between children, but it may not fully separate attachment from temperament. A naturally anxious child may appear insecure-resistant even if the caregiver is loving and responsive.

Day care and individual differences

Day care can have positive and negative effects. Possible positive effects include:

• better peer interaction
• improved social confidence
• increased independence
• preparation for school routines
• cognitive and language stimulation, especially in high-quality settings

Possible negative effects include:

• increased stress if care is poor-quality or starts very early
• more aggressive behaviour in some children
• insecure behaviour if separations are difficult
• less one-to-one adult attention in some settings

Research evidence is mixed. For example, Belsky and Rovine (1988) linked extensive early non-maternal care with insecure attachment in some cases, while large-scale work by the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2003) suggested that quality of care, home environment and child characteristics all matter. The EPPE project by Sylva et al. (2004) found benefits of high-quality preschool for social and cognitive development.

Temperament and day care

Temperament can affect how a child experiences day care. An easy-tempered child may enjoy new toys, adults and peers. A slow-to-warm-up child may need a gradual settling-in period. A difficult or highly reactive child may find noise, transitions and group routines more stressful.

This means day care may be particularly positive for some children and more challenging for others.

For example, a shy child may benefit from sensitive, high-quality nursery care that gently encourages social interaction. But the same child may struggle in a chaotic setting with high staff turnover. So the outcome depends on the match between the child and the environment.

Gender and day care

Gender may affect day-care outcomes because adults and peers can respond differently to children. For example, boys may be encouraged into more physically active play, while girls may be encouraged into quieter or cooperative play. These social expectations can affect peer relationships, aggression and confidence.

Some research has suggested that boys may be more vulnerable to stress or behaviour problems in lower-quality day care, while girls may sometimes show stronger verbal or cooperative benefits. However, you should be cautious: gender differences are often small, socially influenced and affected by culture.

Applying this to scenarios

Exam questions may describe a child and ask you to apply individual differences. Look for how the child’s temperament or gender may change the effect of attachment or day care.

AO3 evaluation: strengths and limits of this approach

Strength: more realistic than simple cause-and-effect explanations

Individual differences make explanations more realistic. Children are active participants in their development, not passive recipients of care. Temperament may affect how caregivers respond, how children cope with separation and how they interact with peers.

This is useful for real-world settings because nurseries can adapt care to the child, rather than assuming one approach suits everyone.

Strength: supported by mixed research findings

The fact that day-care research often finds mixed results supports the role of moderators. If day care were always harmful or always beneficial, findings would be more consistent. Instead, studies such as NICHD and EPPE suggest that outcomes depend on quality, quantity, family background and child characteristics.

Weakness: difficult to separate temperament from attachment

A major methodological problem is that temperament and attachment behaviours can look similar. Crying, clinging or avoiding may reflect attachment insecurity, temperament, tiredness, illness or unfamiliarity with the setting.

This creates a validity issue: a study may claim to measure attachment type but partly measure temperament.

Weakness: risk of socially biased interpretations

Gender differences can be overinterpreted. Research may reflect adult expectations rather than true psychological differences. For example, adults may label the same behaviour as “confident” in a boy but “bossy” in a girl. This links to wider issues of gender bias in psychology.

Ethics in child research

Research on attachment, temperament and day care often involves observing young children. Under the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct (2009), researchers should gain parental consent, protect children from harm, respect confidentiality, allow withdrawal where possible and debrief parents or carers. Studies using separation, such as the Strange Situation, must be especially careful because they may cause distress.

Building essay-style answers

For AO1, describe the idea that attachment and day care outcomes are affected by individual differences such as temperament and gender.

For AO2, apply this to a child in a scenario. Say how the child’s temperament might make separation, nursery routines or peer interaction easier or harder.

For AO3, evaluate by discussing supporting research, contradictory findings, methodological problems, ethics and real-world applications.