Final answer:
Temperament tendencies present from birth have a significant impact on our adult personalities, including elements like reactivity and self-regulation. However, it is a combination of these innate predispositions and environmental influences that shape who we become.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks whether the personality of an adult is mostly derived from the temperament tendencies present at birth. To answer this, we need to understand that temperament represents inborn, genetically based personality differences that manifest early in life and have a biological basis. Psychologists like Rothbart suggest that temperament is evident from early life stages, while others like Thomas and Chess categorize babies' temperament into easy, difficult, or slow to warm up. Additionally, these innate tendencies are modulated by environmental factors and maturation.
Children with easy temperaments are often met with positive parenting styles, while those with more challenging temperaments may incite more negative responses from their caregivers. The two dimensions of temperament, reactivity and self-regulation, are seen to carry over into adult personalities, affecting how we respond to environmental stimuli and control those responses.
While some psychologists focus on biological approaches to personality, highlighting physiological processes and inherited predispositions, others emphasize the importance of nurture and the role of relationships and environment. It is a combination of these innate predispositions and environmental interactions that sculpt our adult personalities, rather than solely our temperament at birth.