Following on from the book's first section concerning theoretical and methodological issues, the three chapters in this section focus on “within-individual” influences on peer relationships, as a logical prelude to the final sections concerning interactions with parents and peers. This organization reflects the levels of analysis outlined by Hinde (1987), which range from the individual to interactions, relationships, groups, and society (Fig. 9.1; further described in Chapter 6, p. 128). As indicated by the bidirectional arrows in Figure 9.1, each level influences and is influenced by sociocultural structure, with its beliefs, values, conventions, and institutions. Chen, Wang, and DeSouza's model (Chapter 6, Fig. 9.1) elaborates on this by considering specific individual characteristics in relation to their value in self-oriented versus group-oriented cultures. Particular characteristics, such as shyness–inhibition, are arranged on two main dimensions, namely social initiative and self-control. These are considered to be manifestations in the social domain of Rothbart's fundamental temperamental dimensions, namely reactivity and regulation (Rothbart & Bates, 1998).

Within Rothbart's framework, behavioral assessments include activity, duration of orienting, distress to limitations, smiling, soothability, and fear. Indeed, all the major theories of childhood temperament contain a dimension related to fearfulness (reviewed in Goldsmith et al., 1987), a trait recognized over many years (e.g., Kagan, 1994), in many species (Gosling & John, 1999), including other primates (Stevenson-Hinde, Stillwell-Barnes, & Zunz, 1980). In addition, fearfulness is a particularly salient individual characteristic in childhood, when increasing exploration beyond the family leads to encounters with unfamiliar people and events.