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.

     

Partner unsupportive responses, avoidant coping, and distress among women with early stage breast cancer: patient and partner perspectives.

This 18-month longitudinal study examined the associations among partner unsupportive behavior, avoidant coping, and distress experienced by 219 women with early stage breast cancer. The role of patient and partner ratings of unsupportive behavior were evaluated. Results indicated that patient and partner ratings of unsupportive behavior were highly correlated. Growth curve modeling suggested that unsupportive behavior, from both patient and partner perspectives, predicted more avoidant coping and distress. When partner and patient perceptions were placed in the same model, patient perceptions mediated the association between partners' ratings of their unsupportive behavior and patient distress. Avoidance also mediated the association between unsupportive behavior and distress, extending prior cross-sectional findings. Results highlight the long-term detrimental effects of partners' unsupportive behavior on the quality of life of women with early stage breast cancer.     

Naming and equivalence: Response latencies for emergent relations

In an attempt to distinguish between associative network and verbal mediation accounts of equivalence formation, three experiments were carried out in which conditional stimulus relations were established and response latencies assessed during tests for emergent relations. In Experiment 1, three groups of adults were trained with six three-member classes of visual stimuli, using different kinds of stimuli for each group: readily nameable pictograms, which were “preassociated” (Group 1); equally nameable but “non-associated” pictograms (Group 2); or non-associated “abstract” stimuli, designed to discourage the use of verbal mediators (Group 3). For those trained with pictograms, equal response latencies were observed on all tested relations, viz. trained associations, symmetry, transitivity, and transitivity with symmetry, but for subjects given abstract stimuli response latencies were greater on tests requiring transitivity. In Experiment 2 this result was replicated with methodological refinements, using only groups trained with preassociated pictograms or abstract stimuli. In Experiment 3 subjects were pretrained to label abstract stimuli with either individual names or class names. Latencies were longer for tests involving transitivity in the case of those subjects using individual names, but equal response latencies were observed on all four types of test for those using class names. The results suggest that equivalence classesMaybe supported by either an associative network or by verbal mediation, depending on stimulus conditions and the subsequent strategies employed by subjects.