Temperament and Hemispheric Dominance

Despite the fact that temperament and hemispheric dominance have been well explored within the context of current scholarly literature, the connection between the two has not been well elucidated. This raises the central question of whether or not temperament is integrally linked to hemispheric dominance. In an attempt to answer this question, this investigation considers background information on both temperament and hemispheric dominance. After which, the investigation considers the scant research that is currently available linking the two concepts. Through a critical examination of the data it will be possible to offer some suggestions about the relationship between temperament and hemispheric and the future of research in this area.

Background Information on Temperament

Before a meaningful investigation of temperament and hemispheric dominance can be undertaken, a consideration of temperament and hemispheric dominance as separate entities must first be considered. Considering first the issue of temperament, an author (1987) contends that over the course of history, the concept of temperament has been widely explored in a myriad of disciplines. In spite of intensive investigation, however, few authors have been able to find a consensus regarding a formidable definition of the term. As such, researchers have spent a majority of their time attempting to conceptualize the idea in some theoretical framework that is applicable for research.

Seeking to explicate the manner in which temperament has been viewed in general, an author (2003) notes that "there is overall agreement that temperament is biologically based, is evident in early life and has some stability over time and situations". Even though this conceptualization appears to be quite straightforward, authors (1992) contend that there are also environmental characteristics that can shape the development of temperament. According to these authors, social expectations from parents and the environment in which the child is reared will have marked consequences for the development of temperament. What this effectively suggests is that temperament is not a simplistically defined as an innate biological phenomenon.