From negative reactivity to empathic responding: Infants high in negative reactivity express more empathy later in development,with the help of regulation

Empathy has great effect on human well‐being, promoting healthy relationships and social competence. Although it is increasingly acknowledged that infants show empathy toward others, individual differences in infants’ empathy from the first year of life have rarely been investigated longitudinally. Here we examined how negative reactivity and regulation, two temperament traits that predict empathic responses in older children and adults, relate to infants’ empathy. Infants were studied at the ages of nine (N = 275) and 18 (N = 301) months (194 infants were studied at both ages). Empathic responses were assessed by infants’ observed reactions to an experimenter's simulated distress. Negative reactivity (fear, sadness, and distress to limitations) and regulation (soothability and effortful control) were assessed by parental reports. Negative reactivity was also examined by infants’ observed reactions to an adult stranger (fear) and during interaction with their mothers (displays of sadness/distress). When examined cross‐sectionally, infants’ fear and distress to limitations associated with self‐distress in response to others’ distress. In contrast, when examined longitudinally, early sadness and distress to limitations, but not fear, associated with later empathic concern and inquisitiveness. Moreover, this longitudinal relation was moderated by infants’ soothability and was evident only for children that had high soothability by the later time‐point. Our findings suggest that infants who at an earlier age show negative reactivity, react later in development with more empathy if they achieve sufficient regulation abilities. By that, the findings stress the developmental nature of temperament–empathy relations during infancy.     

Maternal preconceptions about parenting predict child temperament, maternal sensitivity, and children's empathy

This study examined the influence of maternal preconceptions on child difficult temperament at 6 months and maternal sensitivity at 12-15 months and whether all 3 variables predicted children's empathy at 21-24 months. Within a low-income, ethnically diverse sample of 175 mother-child dyads, path models were tested with 3 empathy indices (prosocial, indifference, inquisitive) as outcomes. Results indicated that maternal preconceptions significantly predicted child difficult temperament, maternal sensitivity, and children's empathy. Temperament mediated the link between maternal preconceptions and inquisitiveness, and maternal sensitivity mediated the link between preconceptions and prosocial responses. Group modeling techniques revealed no significant differences across gender or ethnicity. Correlations suggested contextual effects based on the familiarity of the person in distress. The implications and utility of developing parenting interventions are discussed.     

Children's social wariness toward a different-race stranger relates to individual differences in temperament

When children first meet a stranger, there is great variation in how much they will approach and engage with the stranger. While individual differences in this type of behavior—called social wariness—are well-documented in temperament research, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the social groups (such as race) of the stranger and how these characteristics might influence children's social wariness. In contrast, research on children's social bias and interracial friendships rarely examines individual differences in temperament and how temperament might influence cross-group interactions. The current study bridges the gap across these different fields of research by examining whether the racial group of an unfamiliar peer or adult moderates the association between temperament and the social wariness that children display. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset that collected multiple measurements of children's temperament and behaviors (including parent-reported shyness and social wariness toward unfamiliar adults and peers) across early childhood, we found that 2- to 7-year-old children with high parent-reported shyness showed greater social wariness toward a different-race stranger compared to a same-race stranger, whereas children with low parent-reported shyness did not. These results point to the importance of considering racial group membership in temperament research and the potential role that temperament might play in children's cross-race interactions.

Research Highlights

• Previous research on temperament has not considered how the race of strangers could influence children's social wariness.
• We find evidence that 2- to 7-year-old children with high parent-reported shyness show greater social wariness toward a different-race stranger compared to a same-race stranger.
• These results point to the importance of considering racial group membership in temperament research.
• Our findings also suggest temperament may play a role in children's cross-race interactions.

     

儿童移情指向性的发展及不同语言提示的作用

采用图片故事和情境实验,对3到9岁儿童移情指向性的发展及不同语言提示对助人行为的作用进行了探讨。研究表明,3～5岁幼儿自我指向的个人悲伤体验占优势,5岁以后他人指向的移情担心开始超过个人悲伤而占优势;他人关注组的助人行为优于自我关注组和控制组,自我关注组和控制组前后测成绩差异不显著,他人关注组后测成绩优于前测成绩。     

婴儿期母亲将心比心对儿童5岁共情的预测:母亲陪伴总时间的调节作用

使用追踪设计，以68对母婴为被试，探讨母亲养育质量、陪伴时间影响儿童共情发展的机制。在婴儿期（9、14个月）评估母亲将心比心并调查母亲每周陪伴婴儿的总时间与母亲参与的互动时间；在儿童5岁时，采用“陌生人假装受伤情境”范式测查儿童共情。结果发现：（1）婴儿期母亲恰当的心理相关评论能够正向预测5岁时儿童的行为共情，而对情绪共情与认知共情的预测则受到婴儿期母亲陪伴总时间的调节：母亲恰当的心理相关评论能够显著正向预测陪伴总时间短的儿童的情绪共情与母亲陪伴总时间长的儿童的认知共情；（2）婴儿期母亲不协同的心理相关评论能够显著正向预测儿童5岁时的认知共情；（3）婴儿期母亲陪伴总时间能够显著正向预测5岁时儿童的情绪共情。     

Empathic distress and concern predict aggression in toddlerhood: The moderating role of sex

Impaired empathy is an important risk factor of aggression, but results are contradictory in toddlerhood. The association between empathy and aggression may differ for empathic distress and empathic concern in response to empathy-evoking situations, and for boys and girls. Therefore, the current study investigated whether empathic distress and empathic concern at age 20 months (N = 133, 69 boys) predicted aggression at ages 20 and 30 months (N = 119, 62 boys), while taking a potential moderating effect of sex into account. Empathic behavior was observed during a distress simulation task 20 months post-partum. Physical aggression was assessed through maternal report, using the Physical Aggression Scale for Early Childhood. Linear regression analyses revealed sex differences in the associations between empathic distress and concern on the one hand and physical aggression at age 20 months on the other. Furthermore, physical aggression at age 30 months was predicted by the interaction of sex with empathic distress at age 20 months, while controlling for aggression at age 20 months. More empathic distress and concern were associated with less physical aggression in girls, but not in boys. The findings indicate that the prediction of physical aggression by empathic distress was more robust over time than for empathic concern. This study sheds new light on the intricate relationship between empathy, aggression, and sex from a developmental perspective.     

Children in Asian cultures say yes to yes-no questions: Common and cultural differences between Vietnamese and Japanese children

We investigated whether children's response tendency toward yes-no questions concerning objects is a common phenomenon regardless of languages and cultures. Vietnamese and Japanese 2- to 5-year-old (N = 108) were investigated. We also examined whether familiarity with the questioning issue has any effect on Asian children's yes bias. As the result, Asian children showed a yes bias to yes-no questions. The children's response tendency changes dramatically with their age: Vietnamese and Japanese 2- and 3-year-olds showed a yes bias, but 5-year-olds did not. However, Asian 4-year-olds also showed a yes bias only in the familiar condition. Also, Asian children showed a stronger yes bias in the familiar condition than the unfamiliar condition. These two findings in Asian children were different from the previous finding investigated North American children (Fritzley & Lee, 2003). Moreover, there was a within-Asian cross-cultural difference. Japanese children showed different response tendencies, which were rarely observed in Vietnamese children. Japanese 2-year-olds and some 3-year-olds showed a "no answer" response: they tended not to respond to an interviewer's questions. Japanese 4- and 5-year-olds also showed an "I don't know" response when they were asked about unfamiliar objects. Japanese children tended to avoid a binary decision. We discussed the cross-cultural differences.     

Developing mechanisms of temperamental effortful control

Studies of temperament from early childhood to adulthood have demonstrated inverse relationships between negative affectivity and effortful control. Effortful control is also positively related to the development of conscience and appears as a protective factor in the development of behavior disorders. In this study, the development of attentional mechanisms underlying effortful control was investigated in 2- to 3-year-old children, as indexed by their performance in a) making anticipatory eye movements to ambiguous locations and b) resolving conflict between location and identity in a spatial conflict task. The ability to make anticipatory eye movements to ambiguous locations within a sequence was clearly present at 24 months. By 30 months, children could also successfully perform a spatial conflict task that introduced conflict between identity and location, and at that age, children's success on ambiguous anticipatory eye movements was related to lower interference from conflict in the spatial conflict task. Children's performance on the eye-movement task was correlated with performance and reaction time on spatial tasks, and both were related to aspects of effortful control and negative affect as measured in children's parent-reported temperament.     

Observant, nonaggressive temperament predicts theory of mind development

Temperament dimensions influence children's approach to and participation in social interactive experiences which reflect and impact children's social understandings. Therefore, temperament differences might substantially impact theory of mind development in early childhood. Using longitudinal data, we report that certain early temperament characteristics (at age 3)--lack of aggressiveness, a shy-withdrawn stance to social interaction, and social-perceptual sensitivity--predict children's more advanced theory-of-mind understanding two years later. The findings contribute to our understanding of how theory of mind develops in the formative preschool period; they may also inform debates as to the evolutionary origins of theory of mind.     

Age-related differences in affective and cognitive empathy: self-report and performance-based evidence

The correlation between age and empathy is not clear, with prior findings yielding mixed and inconsistent results. Here, we distinguished between two aspects of empathy and respectively investigated the effects of age on the affective and cognitive facets of empathy using a self-report measure (interpersonal reactivity index, IRI) and performance-based tasks (viewing films). The results showed that older adults manifested age-related deficits in both trait and state cognitive empathy, with the latter being positively associated with memory. Otherwise, the overall affective empathy increased in the elderly, but the age-related differences in affective empathy may be qualified by the valence of the film clips. Specifically, older participants showed more empathic concern (EC) and less personal distress (PD) to other people’s emotions than the younger participants for the distress film. Interestingly, for the amusing film, older participants demonstrated more EC and PD. Overall, the two aspects of empathy have different development trajectories.     

儿童2岁时情绪调节策略预测4岁时社会行为

考察儿童情绪调节的早期发展对以后社会行为的预测。对 176名儿童进行 2年追踪 :2岁时 ,观察他们在陌生情境和延迟满足情境下的情绪调节策略。 4岁时 ,对他们在陌生同伴情境中的自由游戏活动进行观察 ,评价其社会交往能力和社会退缩性。在儿童完成分车票任务和收拾玩具过程中对其任务坚持性进行评价。通过回归分析我们发现在预测 4岁时社会行为上早期情绪调节策略的主效应显著。这表明 2岁时的情绪调节策略能显著地预测儿童 4岁时的社会行为     

Undercontrolled temperament at age 3 predicts disordered gambling at age 32: a longitudinal study of a complete birth cohort

Using data from the large, 30-year prospective Dunedin cohort study, we examined whether preexisting individual differences in childhood temperament predicted adulthood disordered gambling (a diagnosis covering the full continuum of gambling-related problems). A 90-min observational assessment at age 3 was used to categorize children into five temperament groups, including one primarily characterized by behavioral and emotional undercontrol. The children with undercontrolled temperament at 3 years of age were more than twice as likely to evidence disordered gambling at ages 21 and 32 than were children who were well-adjusted at age 3. These associations could not be explained by differences in childhood IQ or family socioeconomic status. Cleanly demonstrating the temporal relation between behavioral undercontrol and adult disordered gambling is an important step toward building more developmentally sensitive theories of disordered gambling and may put researchers in a better position to begin considering potential routes to disordered-gambling prevention through enhancing self-control and emotional regulation.     

3~5岁幼儿自我延迟满足的发展特点及其中澳跨文化比较

采用实验室实验和情境观察相结合的方法,考察了我国3~5岁幼儿自我延迟满足发展的特点及中澳幼儿自我延迟满足的跨文化差异。研究结果表明：(1) 3~5岁幼儿自我延迟满足平均延迟时间随年龄增长而延长;3岁幼儿使用延迟策略少,4岁幼儿主要使用寻求策略,5岁幼儿主要使用寻求策略和自我分心、问题解决策略,自我言语控制策略在整个幼儿期始终不具有显著优势性。(2) 澳大利亚幼儿自我延迟满足发展水平高于我国同龄幼儿;在延迟策略选择上中澳幼儿既具有差异性,又具有一定的相似性;文化价值观通过教育影响着幼儿自我延迟满足的发展。     

Infant temperament and the brainstem auditory evoked response in later childhood.

Brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) were evaluated on 10-12-year-old children (N = 56) who had been classified as high or low reactive to unfamiliar stimuli at 4 months of age. BAER measurement was selected because high reactive infants tend to become inhibited or fearful young children, and adult introverts have a faster latency to wave V of the BAER than do extroverts. Children previously classified as high reactive at 4 months had larger wave V components than did low reactive children, a finding that possibly suggests greater excitability in projections to the inferior colliculus. The fact that a fundamental feature of brainstem activity differentiated preadolescent children belonging to two early temperamental groups supports the value of gathering physiological data in temperament research.     

Antecedents of mothers' emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress: The role of family,mother, and infant characteristics

The antecedents of mothers' emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress were examined. Participants were 67 mothers and their infants. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing their experiences in the family of origin and current marital relationships both pre‐ and postnatally and their coping strategies prenatally. Infant temperament was observed at 6 months, and mothers were interviewed about their emotional and cognitive responses to infant distress 2 years later to assess their emotional competencies (i.e., accurate identification of negative emotions, emotion efficacy, emotional responses to infant distress, and emotion goals). A childhood history of emotional rejection was negatively associated with empathy and efficacy and positively associated with negative emotions. The association between childhood history and some emotional competencies was moderated by current marital dysfunction, engaged coping, and positive intervening relationships. Maternal marital styles and coping strategies and infant temperament correlated with emotional competencies. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed from an attachment theory perspective.     

Cross‐Cultural Misunderstandings Reduce Empathic Responding1

An experiment was conducted with American college students to determine whether differences in cultural perspectives might act as an impediment to empathic responding. Participants read about targets who experienced distress in a social context and who assumed a perspective that was consistent or inconsistent with norms typical of U.S. culture. When evaluating targets with a dissimilar as opposed to similar cultural perspective, participants exhibited a lack of perspective taking, perceiving those responses as inappropriate, atypical, and dissimilar to their own likely response in that situation. They also tended to attribute dissimilar targets' distress to dispositional as opposed to situational forces, essentially assigning them more blame. Further, emotional empathy, including feelings of compassion and sympathy were lessened with respect to targets whose responses reflected unfamiliar cultural norms. Path analyses indicated that inadequate appreciation of the different cultural perspective could account for much of the reduction in empathic concern. Results suggest that lack of perspective taking with regard to divergent cultural norms may compromise cross‐cultural exchanges of tolerance and compassion.     

Test-taking behaviors in a neurocognitive assessment: associations with school-age outcomes in a Finnish longitudinal follow-up

Test-taking behaviors (i.e., task focus, maintenance of attention, and cooperation) affect children's cognitive test performance, and, thus, it is critical to take test-taking behavior into account when drawing conclusions and making recommendations. Prior studies have evaluated test-taking behaviors at the end of the assessment; the present study focused on the fluctuation of cooperation and attention during a neuropsychological assessment. We examined the attention and cooperation of 5-year-old children in a test-taking situation; the associations between these aspects of their test-taking behavior and the children's concurrent neurocognitive test performance, IQ, and parent-rated behavior; and the associations with their IQ, behavioral outcomes, and academic achievement at 8 years of age. The data (for 76 boys and 63 girls) were drawn from the Jyv?skyl? Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (Lyytinen et al., 2001, 2004). All the children were Caucasian and spoke Finnish as their native language. As a whole, the 5-year-old children showed high cooperation and attention, but a slight decrement in test-taking behavior toward the end of the session was rather common. Three subgroups of children with different levels of cooperation and attention were identified. Children in the subgroup with nonoptimal attention and cooperation showed decreasing neurocognitive test performance toward the end of the assessment session. They also showed more inattentive behavior 3 years later. The findings imply that the examiner's observations of waning attention and cooperation during the assessment session are highly relevant, as these provide stable and clinically meaningful information about the child's behavioral tendencies.     

Children’s Sympathy for Peers Who Are the Targets of Peer Aggression

Although a goal of many aggression intervention programs is to increase children's concern (often termed sympathy or empathy) for their peers as a means of ultimately reducing aggressive behavior, there are no measures specifically of children's concern for peers who are the targets of peer aggression. A participatory action research (PAR) model was used to create a culturally-sensitive measure of urban African American children's sympathy for peers who are the targets of physical aggression, relational or social aggression, verbal aggression, and property damage. In Study 1, 40 children (M (age)?=?9.71?years; 47.5 % female) were interviewed about the types of incidents that lead them to feel sympathy for a peer. Based upon these findings, the 15-item Peer Sympathy Scale (PSS) was developed. In Study 2, the PSS was administered to 517 children (M (age)?=?9.82?years; 47.4 % female) to examine the psychometric properties of the measure and to explore the association between children's sympathy for their peers and their social behavior. Greater sympathy was associated with less overt and relational aggression according to both peer and teacher reports as well as with less oppositional-defiant behavior according to teacher reports. The clinical utility of the PSS as an outcome assessment tool for social skills intervention programs is discussed.     

心理理论对幼儿白谎行为的影响：认知移情的部分中介作用

采用失望礼物研究范式考察心理理论与幼儿白谎行为的关系,及认知移情和情绪移情在其中的中介作用。结果发现：（1）幼儿的白谎行为发生率、心理理论、认知移情和情绪移情能力随年龄的增长而提高;（2）控制年龄与言语能力后,幼儿的心理理论与认知移情呈显著正相关、与白谎行为也呈显著正相关,且认知移情与白谎行为呈显著正相关;（3）幼儿的认知移情在心理理论和白谎行为间起部分中介的作用。结果表明：幼儿的心理理论可直接影响其白谎行为,也可通过认知移情的中介作用间接影响其白谎行为。     

Agreeableness and the self-regulation of negative affect: Findings involving the neuroticism/somatic distress relationship

In the temperament literature, agreeableness has been theoretically linked to effortful control. Further, research in this area has suggested that effortful control may play a broad role in moderating temperament-based tendencies toward negative affect. The present three studies, involving a total of 300 undergraduate participants, sought to extend this perspective to the adult literature by examining potential interactions between agreeableness and neuroticism in predicting reported somatic symptoms. Although such symptoms have been linked to neuroticism, they are not characteristic of the interpersonal concerns linked to agreeableness. Nevertheless, all studies found that agreeableness and neuroticism interacted to predict somatic symptoms such that high levels of agreeableness decoupled the relationship between neuroticism and somatic distress. These findings indicate a broad role for agreeableness in the self-regulation of neuroticism-linked distress.