This observational study investigated children's temperaments and their relation to behavior and emotion across different contexts. Temperament, or individual behavioral style, was conceptualized as the manifestation of affect displays and social behaviors in context, with emotions acting as signals for interactions. Ratings of child temperament were obtained from parents and teachers of 205 children. Sixty-four hours of observation in preschool and junior primary classrooms were undertaken with a selected sample of 32 children. The findings revealed low to moderate correlations between teacher and parent ratings of child temperament and of expectations for children, indicating the differing perspectives of teachers and parents on child temperament and providing support for the view of child temperament as context-specific. There were strong temperament-behavior relationships found in classroom observations, in respect of affect, and in respect of interactions between temperament and affect. Difficult temperament children were consistently involved in more negative interactions for emotional and social behaviors with teachers and peers than the easy temperament children. Easy children displayed and were responded to with more positive responses in emotional and social behaviors. The function of emotions as signals in classroom interactions, reflecting the relational view of emotions as developing in the context of interactions, was confirmed. (Contains 36 references.) (KB)