H. Goldsmith
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Psychology, Faculty Member
... 13 GENETICS OF PERSONALITY: A TWIN STUDY OF THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL AND PARENT-OFFSPRING ANALYSES HH Goldsmith University of Wisconsin-Madison Sandra H. Losoya University of Oregon Donna L. Dradshaw Harvard University JJ Campos... more
... 13 GENETICS OF PERSONALITY: A TWIN STUDY OF THE FIVE-FACTOR MODEL AND PARENT-OFFSPRING ANALYSES HH Goldsmith University of Wisconsin-Madison Sandra H. Losoya University of Oregon Donna L. Dradshaw Harvard University JJ Campos University of ...
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There exists a largely unrecognized correspondence between two alter-native views of the nature of longitudinal continuity of behavior and the dual nature of the discipline of genetics. The significance of this corre-spondence lies in its... more
There exists a largely unrecognized correspondence between two alter-native views of the nature of longitudinal continuity of behavior and the dual nature of the discipline of genetics. The significance of this corre-spondence lies in its heuristic value for conceptualizing the genetic basis of behavioral continuity and change. The two alternative perspectives on longitudinal continuity are probably apparent in contributions to this volume as well as earlier conceptualizations (e.g., Emde, 1978; Kagan, 1971, 1980; Lewis & Starr, 1979; McCall, 1977; Overton & Reese, 1981; Riegel, 1976; Wohlwill, 1973). At the risk of oversimplifying these contri-butions, two major themes of continuity can be discerned: (1) linear stability, in the sense of maintenance of rank order of interindividual or intraindividual differences in the same, related, or derivative behavioral dimensions; and (2) functional continuity at the level of behavioral systems, including continuity of goals of behavior across periods of reorga-nization. The latter view of continuity, rapidly gaining adherents because it offers explanations for change and emergent behavior as well as con-stancy, will be referred to as the organizational continuity perspective.
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The developing brain undergoes systematic changes that occur at successive stages of maturation. Deviations from the typical neurodevelopmental trajectory are hypothesized to underlie many early childhood disorders; thus, characterizing... more
The developing brain undergoes systematic changes that occur at successive stages of maturation. Deviations from the typical neurodevelopmental trajectory are hypothesized to underlie many early childhood disorders; thus, characterizing the earliest patterns of normative brain development is essential. Recent neuroimaging research provides insight into brain structure during late childhood and adolescence; however, few studies have examined the infant brain, particularly in infants under 3 months of age. Using high-resolution structural MRI, we measured subcortical gray and white matter brain volumes in a cohort (N = 143) of 1-month infants and examined characteristics of these volumetric measures throughout this early period of neurodevelopment. We show that brain volumes undergo age-related changes during the first month of life, with the corresponding patterns of regional asymmetry and sexual dimorphism. Specifically, males have larger total brain volume and volumes differ by sex...
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Personality, temperament, and psychopathology were until recently largely distinct areas of study, each of which emphasized partitioning of heritable and environmental variance. The emergence of the paradigm of developmental... more
Personality, temperament, and psychopathology were until recently largely distinct areas of study, each of which emphasized partitioning of heritable and environmental variance. The emergence of the paradigm of developmental psychopathology along with application of multivariate biometric models to behavioral genetic data has defined a second phase of research in these domains. Integrated research has begun to map dimensional liability-threshold models of psychopathology and to evaluate empirically the categorical versus dimensional etiology of traits and disorders. An interesting pattern in the data is that psychopathology is probably not merely an extreme of temperament or personality in many cases. Variations in temperament and personality are now known to be heavily influenced by additive genetic and nonshared environmental factors and to exhibit stable or increasing heritability across development. This pattern holds for some measures of psychopathology but not for others. For ...
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Parents of young children completed questionnaires that assessed attitudes toward parenting and specific parenting practices, the emotional atmosphere of the home, and parental personality. These parents were themselves either identical... more
Parents of young children completed questionnaires that assessed attitudes toward parenting and specific parenting practices, the emotional atmosphere of the home, and parental personality. These parents were themselves either identical twins (n = 90), fraternal twins (n = 56), or adoptive siblings (n = 40). Model-fitting results implicate modest genetic effects on affect-related aspects of parenting, such as parental warmth. The results add new dimensions to the growing body of literature that documents genetic influences on measures of the family environment and suggest that child-rearing variables are significantly related to the major factors of parental personality.
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Psychologists' ratings of infant and childhood behavioral style, or temperament, made during the course of the nationwide Collaborative Perinatal Project supplied the raw data for the largest longitudinal twin study yet reported... more
Psychologists' ratings of infant and childhood behavioral style, or temperament, made during the course of the nationwide Collaborative Perinatal Project supplied the raw data for the largest longitudinal twin study yet reported on this topic. The behavioral ratings are available for ages 8 months, 4 years, and 7 years on approximately 350 twin pairs. These ratings were factor analyzed, and co-twin similarity for identical and fraternal twins was examined at each age. The most salient results were as follows: (1) At 8 months, individual differences in a broadly based "activity" factor showed evidence of moderate genetic influences; (2) at 4 years, IQ showed appreciably greater familial influence than any of the composites of temperament ratings, but significant genetic effects were apparent for "task persistence" and "irritability" factors; and (3) some evidence for genetic effects on "active adjustment" and "'fearfulness" factors was present at 7 years. A general conclusion for all ages is that nonfamilial sources account for at least one-half of the observed variance. No strong evidence for sex differences emerged from the analyses.
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4 current approaches to understanding temperament are discussed in the roundtable. In an introductory overview, Goldsmith outlines some of the major convergences and divergences in the understanding of this concept. Theorists representing... more
4 current approaches to understanding temperament are discussed in the roundtable. In an introductory overview, Goldsmith outlines some of the major convergences and divergences in the understanding of this concept. Theorists representing 4 positions--Goldsmith, Buss and Plomin, Rothbart, and Thomas and Chess--outline their views by responding to each of 6 questions: How do you define temperament and explain the boundaries of the concept? What are the elements of temperatment? How does the construct of temperament permit you to approach issues or organize data in ways that are possible only if this construct is invoked? How does temperament develop? To what extent do you consider temperament to be a personological versus a relational or an interactional construct? and How does your approach deal with issues of temperamental "difficulty"? In 2 commentaries on the theorists' answers, Hinde highlights differences among their positions and indicates issues that current theories of temperament must take into consideration, and McCall draws on common aspects to propose a synthesizing definition that draws on all 4 approaches.
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Recent behavior-genetic studies of personality are reviewed. These studies are first organized according to their subjects' age and then interpreted by emphasizing their developmental implications. Although certain discrepancies... more
Recent behavior-genetic studies of personality are reviewed. These studies are first organized according to their subjects' age and then interpreted by emphasizing their developmental implications. Although certain discrepancies have arisen from the use of questionnaire versus laboratory assessments and twin studies as opposed to adoption designs, some consensus may be emerging. Research has moved beyond mere demonstration of heritable sources of variation in the great majority of personality measures. This overview of the literature documents (1) the demonstration of genetic bases for stability of certain personality dimensions, (2) evidence suggesting that the most influential environmental sources of variation are those not jointly experienced by family members, and (3) continuing controversy regarding the convergence of genetic results for different assessment strategies and different developmental periods. Clarifying the nature of the interplay between developmental processes and gene action is now a major task for developmental behavioral geneticists who study personality and temperament.
Research Interests: Genetics, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Child Development, Adoption, and 15 moreHuman Development, Adolescent, Humans, Child, Behavioural Genetics, Female, Male, Big Five Personality Traits, Infant, Adult, Genetic variation, Exploratory Behavior, Environment, Child preschool, and Affective symptoms
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Depression, Parenting, and 15 moreChild Development, Prospective studies, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Temperament, Mothers, Questionnaires, Adult, Behavior Problems, Maternal Behavior, Cross Sectional Studies, Socioeconomic Factors, and Child behavior disorders
The Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ) was constructed by an iterative process of item generation intended to ensure content validity, by repeated item analyses focused on internal consistency and discriminant properties,... more
The Toddler Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (TBAQ) was constructed by an iterative process of item generation intended to ensure content validity, by repeated item analyses focused on internal consistency and discriminant properties, and by scale revision. During the construction and initial validation processes reported in this article, data from 1,012 records were utilized. Internal consistency reliability estimates typically exceeded .80 for each scale. Evidence for convergent validity with other temperament questionnaires and for longitudinal stability was also obtained. Besides yielding a promising instrument, this assessment research has conceptual ramifications. For instance, components of negative affectivity (anger proneness and fearfulness) were independent, and item analyses suggested that shyness and other fears were independent as well. Consistent with most current views of temperament, the TBAQ temperament scales revealed some relationship and/or contextual specificity, as exemplified by the finding of only moderate parental agreement. The rank ordering on most temperament dimensions was impressively preserved from age 12 months, when the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) was used, to age 18 months, when the TBAQ was used (especially when subtle differences between the IBQ and TBAQ were taken into account). Most of the analyses benefit from replication.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Psychometrics, Personality, and 15 moreChild Development, Personality Assessment, Medicine, Child Behavior, Humans, Questionnaire, Personality Development, Female, Male, Infant, Temperament, Shyness, Longitudinal Studies, Reproducibility of Results, and Child preschool
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... Wiens 14 Emotional Modulation of Selective Attention: Behavioral and PsychophysiologicalMeasures 276 Kenneth ... D. Ryff, Burton H. Singer 58 Bottom-Up: Implications for NeurobehavioralModels of Anxiety ... of facial and vocal... more
... Wiens 14 Emotional Modulation of Selective Attention: Behavioral and PsychophysiologicalMeasures 276 Kenneth ... D. Ryff, Burton H. Singer 58 Bottom-Up: Implications for NeurobehavioralModels of Anxiety ... of facial and vocal expression in infants unable to self-report on their ...
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The Wisconsin Twin Project comprises multiple longitudinal studies that span infancy to early adulthood. We summarize recent papers that show how twin designs with deep phenotyping, including biological measures, can inform questions... more
The Wisconsin Twin Project comprises multiple longitudinal studies that span infancy to early adulthood. We summarize recent papers that show how twin designs with deep phenotyping, including biological measures, can inform questions about phenotypic structure, etiology, comorbidity, heterogeneity, and gene–environment interplay of temperamental constructs and mental and physical health conditions of children and adolescents. The general framework for investigations begins with rich characterization of early temperament and follows with study of experiences and exposures across childhood and adolescence. Many studies incorporate neuroimaging and hormone assays.
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The authors regret that, in this article, there was an error in the analyses comparing infant male and female regional brain volume differences.
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White matter microstructure, essential for efficient and coordinated transmission of neural communications, undergoes pronounced development during the first years of life, while deviations to this neurodevelopmental trajectory likely... more
White matter microstructure, essential for efficient and coordinated transmission of neural communications, undergoes pronounced development during the first years of life, while deviations to this neurodevelopmental trajectory likely result in alterations of brain connectivity relevant to behavior. Hence, systematic evaluation of white matter microstructure in the normative brain is critical for a neuroscientific approach to both typical and atypical early behavioral development. However, few studies have examined the infant brain in detail, particularly in infants under 3 months of age. Here, we utilize quantitative techniques of diffusion tensor imaging and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging to investigate neonatal white matter microstructure in 104 infants. An optimized multiple b-value diffusion protocol was developed to allow for successful acquisition during non-sedated sleep. Associations between white matter microstructure measures and gestation corrected ag...
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Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Eye tracking, Behavior, Facial expression, Adolescent, and 15 moreEmotions, Learning, Brain Mapping, Computation, Brain, Humans, Gaze, Face processing, Functional Imaging, Cortex, Analysis of Variance, Fusiform Gyrus, Case Control Studies, Functional Laterality, and Autistic disorder
Research Interests: Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Psychiatry, Assessment, and 15 morePuppetry, Psychopathology, Medicine, Interviews, Humans, Child, Physical Health, Female, Male, Prevalence, Questionnaires, Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, and Medical and Health Sciences
In this article, the authors examined the genetic and environmental factors influencing expressive language development in a sample of 386 toddler twin pairs participating in the Wisconsin Twin Project. Expressive language was assessed... more
In this article, the authors examined the genetic and environmental factors influencing expressive language development in a sample of 386 toddler twin pairs participating in the Wisconsin Twin Project. Expressive language was assessed using 2 measures from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories-Short Form: Total Vocabulary and Two-Word Combination Use (L. Fenson et al., 2000). A sex-limitation structural equation model estimated the contribution of genetics, shared environment, and nonshared environment to individual variation. For vocabulary, heritability was higher for boys than for girls (20% vs. 8%). For word combination use, heritability was higher for girls (28% vs. 10%). However, the majority of individual variation in both boys and girls could be attributed to shared environment (54%–78%). KEY WORDS: twins, language, toddlerhood, gender differences
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Research Interests: Genetics, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Behavior, Political Science, and 15 morePersonality Assessment, Evaluation, Humans, Female, Male, Infant, BEHAVIORAL GENETICS, Genetic determinism, Clinical Sciences, Genotype, Age Factors, Nino, Child preschool, Child behavior disorders, and Affective symptoms
Research Interests: Genetics, Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Audiology, Medicine, and 15 moreHumans, Child, Defense Mechanisms, Fragile X Syndrome, Abnormal Child Psychology, Parents, Abnormal, Questionnaires, Observer Variation, Behavior Problems, Defensive Behavior, Acoustic Stimulation, Child preschool, Attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, and Population surveillance
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Research Interests: Genetics, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Child Development, and 15 morePersonality Assessment, Emotion Regulation, Medicine, Humans, Child, Negative Affect, Personality Development, Female, Male, Human Behavioral Genetics, Infant, Genetic determinism, Environment, Nino, and Child preschool
Research Interests: Genetics, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Personality, and 15 moreIndividuality, Personality Assessment, Individual Differences, Humans, Personality Development, Female, Data Sharing, Male, Child Psychology, Infant, Environmental Effect, Developmental, Personality Traits, Arousal, and Individual Difference
The developmental courses of specific temperamental constructs were explored by using structural equation model fitting. Maternal ratings were obtained from either 2 or 3 different temperament questionnaires for 180 children at 3, 6, 12,... more
The developmental courses of specific temperamental constructs were explored by using structural equation model fitting. Maternal ratings were obtained from either 2 or 3 different temperament questionnaires for 180 children at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months of age. Several formal structural models were fit in infancy (3-18 months), in the toddler-preschooler period (24-48 months), and across all measurement occasions. In infancy, the autoregressive simplex model fit well for all 4 composites considered: Positive Emotionality, Distress-Anger, Fear, and Activity Level. In contrast to the considerable change in temperament during infancy, temperament appears to be very stable from 24 to 48 months of age, and a common factor model fits well with these data. Across all measurement occasions, models that allowed for stability in temperament to be at least partially mediated through intermediate forms of the trait fit best.
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Child Development, Medicine, and 15 moreEmotions, Humans, Models, Personality Development, Female, Male, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Age Factors, Positive Emotion, Psychological Models, Nino, Motor activity, Child preschool, and Model fitting
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The number and nature of temperamental types in 488 children aged 3 years 6 months was examined on the basis of a broad set of temperamental characteristics, including positive and negative emotionality and the attentional and behavioral... more
The number and nature of temperamental types in 488 children aged 3 years 6 months was examined on the basis of a broad set of temperamental characteristics, including positive and negative emotionality and the attentional and behavioral control domains. Configural frequency analysis methods showed clear support for two temperament types: controlled-nonexpressive and noncontrolled-expressive. These types showed meaningful differences against external criteria related to a wide range of problem behaviors from the emotional, social, and attentional domains. The reports of problem behaviors were obtained contemporaneously from fathers and caregivers. These findings replicated a year later when children were aged 4 years 6 months. Furthermore, the findings showed that infant and toddler-age temperamental characteristics differentiated these preschool-aged types. The authors discuss the implications of the results for a categorical view of temperament-personality.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Personality Assessment, Attention, and 15 moreEmotions, Social behavior, Humans, Personality Development, Parental Leave, Female, Male, Infant, Temperament, Developmental, Longitudinal Studies, Problem Behavior, Social Behavior, Behavioral Control, and Child preschool
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The Wisconsin Twin Panel utilizes the resources of state birth records to study the etiology and developmental course of early emotions, temperament, childhood anxiety and impulsivity, the autism spectrum, and related psychobiological and... more
The Wisconsin Twin Panel utilizes the resources of state birth records to study the etiology and developmental course of early emotions, temperament, childhood anxiety and impulsivity, the autism spectrum, and related psychobiological and behavioral phenotypes. The panel currently supports 5 active research studies which involve twins from birth to early adolescence. A range of research methods are employed, including questionnaires and structured interviews with caregivers, home and laboratory-based behavioral batteries, observer ratings, child self-report, psychophysiology, neuroendocrine measures, birth records, genotyping, and cognitive testing. The panel is in the early stages of generating longitudinal findings.
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To study how early father involvement and children's biobehavioral sensitivity to social contexts... more
To study how early father involvement and children's biobehavioral sensitivity to social contexts interactively predict mental health symptoms in middle childhood. Fathers' involvement in infant care and maternal symptoms of depression were prospectively ascertained in a community-based study of child health and development in Madison and Milwaukee, WI. In a subsample of 120 children, behavioral, autonomic, and adrenocortical reactivity to standardized challenges were measured as indicators of biobehavioral sensitivity to social context during a 4-hour home assessment in 1998, when the children were 7 years of age. Mental health symptoms were evaluated at age 9 years using parent, child, and teacher reports. Early father involvement and children's biobehavioral sensitivity to context significantly and interactively predicted symptom severity. Among children experiencing low father involvement in infancy, behavioral, autonomic, and adrenocortical reactivity became risk factors for later mental health symptoms. The highest symptom severity scores were found for children with high autonomic reactivity that, as infants, had experienced low father involvement and mothers with symptoms of depression. Among children experiencing minimal paternal caretaking in infancy, heightened biobehavioral sensitivity to social contexts may be an important predisposing factor for the emergence of mental health symptoms in middle childhood. Such predispositions may be exacerbated by the presence of maternal depression.