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.

     

Predicting real-world behaviour: Cognition-emotion links across adulthood and everyday functioning at work

ABSTRACT

Inspired by the discovery of positive age trends in emotional well-being across adulthood, lifespan researchers have uncovered fascinating age differences in cognition–emotion interactions in healthy adult samples, for example in emotion processing, memory, reactivity, perception, and regulation. Taking stock of this body of research, I identify four trends and five remaining gaps in our understanding of emotional functioning in adulthood. In particular, I suggest that the field should pay stronger attention to the prediction of real-world behaviour. Using the sample case of work functioning, I outline gaps in current knowledge, including the lack of data on middle-aged adults, the neglect of relevant cognitive-emotional mechanisms, and the unclear role of life experience. Filling these gaps will enable progress in research on emotional aging in and beyond the work setting and enhance its practical utility for individuals, organisations, and society.     

What’s an early triadic interaction made of? A methodological proposal to study the musical dynamics of interaction

Classical theories of intersubjectivity hold that the first interactions in which children participate are dyadic (adult-baby). However, thanks to the material shift that is taking place in the cognitive sciences, an increasing number of authors began to recognise the constitutive role that materiality has for cognition, from the very beginning of life. Interactions do not occur in a vacuum, but within a meaning-loaded material world that adults actively seek to bring to children. While in the field of dyadic interactions studies on communicative musicality have shown how interactive exchanges are structured and how that structure unfolds over time, little is known yet about the internal structure of early triadic interactions. In this paper, we propose a longitudinal, mixed and multilevel methodological framework aimed at describing the dynamics of the musical organisation of early triadic interactions between adults, babies and things, and its development over different timescales. We conclude that if researchers want to fully understand early triadic interactions and their musical structuring, further studies that take into account the cognitive relevance of things and the dynamics of our interactions with and through materiality are needed.     

Caught on camera: Cross-race interactions captured in daily life

The present study examined the prevalence of cross-race interactions occurring in daily life using wearable camera technology that captures photographs of a participants’ immediate environment and social interactions. Coders used appearance-based cues to identify the number of interaction partners captured in the photos who appeared to be White or a racial minority. We found that 29.6% of Whites’ social interactions were with racial minorities and 23.9% of racial minorities’ social interactions were with Whites. Furthermore, we examined whether personality and other individual differences correlated with being captured in more cross-race interactions. We found that Whites who used more emotion-focused coping and less emotional suppression were more likely to be captured engaging in cross-race interactions.     

‘If they didn’t support me,I most likely wouldn’t be here’: Transgender young people and their parents negotiating medical treatment in Australia

Abstract

Background: It is increasingly recognized that transgender young people require affirming medical care, however the provision of such care may be mitigated by the availability of services and the views of parents.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the views of Australian transgender young people (aged 11–17) and their parents with regards to medical treatment.

Methods: Ten qualitative interviews were conducted with parent-child dyads in two Australian states. Thematic analysis was undertaken on responses to interview questions related to family relationships, views about medical treatment (specifically hormone blockers and hormones), and the relationship between medical treatment and sense of self.

Results: Themes developed focused on the importance of strong supportive parent-child relationships, the meaning of and access to hormone blockers, and the meaning of and access to hormones.

Discussion: The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for clinical services, particularly in relation to supporting parents to be affirming of a transgender child, the need to prepare transgender young people and their parents for the passage of time in regards to medical treatment, and the need to focus on expectations in regards to sense of self in relation to medical treatment.