More precisely, temperament is an average of a person's emotional states across a representative variety of life situations . The relative predominance, across situations and over time, of a person's positive affective states over negative ones defines that person's Trait Pleasure- displeasure. Stated somewhat imprisely, but simply, arousability indexes the strength of a person's emotional reactions to both positive and negative situations. Trait Dominance is defined in terms of characteristic feelings of control and influence over one's affairs and surroundings versus typical feelings of being influenced and controlled by situations and others. A three-dimensional temperament space is defined by the three nearly independent PAD temperament traits.
Dependent persons are pleasant, arousable, and submissive.
The PAD Temperament Model and its scales and equations are intended primarily for experimental use. In the event they are used in clinical or applied settings, it is strongly advisable that findings based on the scales and formulas be checked against additional data from alternative tests and interview materials. Springer-Verlag, New York. Outline of a general emotion-based theory of temperament. Plenum Press, New York.