Babies vary in the way they react to new things, in their typical moods, in their rate of activity, in the regularity of their daily rhythms, etc. These variations usually go by the name of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The term that best encompasses the range of individual differences described in the question is temperament. Temperament refers to a person's characteristic patterns of emotional responsiveness, behavior, and cognition, and is believed to have a biological basis. States refer to the different levels of arousal and engagement that infants cycle through during the day, while habituation refers to the process by which infants gradually become accustomed to and less responsive to repeated stimuli. Instincts and conditioning may play a role in shaping behavior, but are less relevant to the question of how infants differ from one another.

Babies Vary in the Way They React to New Things