Temperamental Contributions to the Development of Social Behavior

这个项目的目的是研究11岁儿童的社交技能、自我认知和社会关系，这些儿童在早期被认为是非常谨慎和社交限制的。在我们的纵向研究项目中，我们发现记录在前额叶上的脑电活动模式（EEG）代表了个体在表达和调节积极和消极情绪倾向方面的差异。因此，在两岁前表现出谨慎和行为抑制的婴幼儿，以及在学龄前同伴互动中表现出更大的负额脑电图激活的婴幼儿，更有可能在社交上沉默寡言。此外，4年的社会沉默预示着7岁时同伴群体的社会退缩。我们假设社交退缩的7岁儿童，特别是那些表现出相对更大的右额叶不对称的儿童，在童年后期会被同龄人拒绝。此外，我们假设这些孩子在11岁时的友谊将比那些不孤僻的同龄人在质量上更差，更脆弱。最后，我们假设，生理上评估的谨慎，结合贫乏的社交技能和同伴关系，将预测社会能力和同伴关系的负面自我认知，以及青春期早期（11岁）的内化问题。这些假设将通过将我们纵向项目的参与者在11岁时带到实验室进行三次访问来检验。第一期将由同性四重奏组成，很像孩子们在4岁和7岁时参加的四重奏。第二阶段将包括一个友谊的互动，在这个互动中，目标孩子将被观察到与他/她最好的朋友互动。同样在第二阶段，焦点儿童和他/她最好的朋友将与另外两个不熟悉的孩子一起参加同性四重奏。第三部分将允许收集心理生理学数据。通过这三次会议，我们将能够描述沉默寡言和非沉默寡言儿童的友谊和社会互动模式。我们还将能够描述有能力的同伴互动发展的过程。这个项目的目的是研究11岁儿童的社交技能、社交关系和自我认知，这些儿童在早期被认为是非常谨慎和社交限制的。早期的研究表明，青少年和成年人的抑郁、焦虑和其他“内化”性质的问题可以从童年时期的消极自我评价和退出同伴群体中预测出来。然而，消极自我评价和社会退缩的发展前兆基本上是未知的。在我们的纵向研究项目中，我们发现，在出生后的头两年里，表现出更大的右额叶脑电图负激活的婴幼儿往往会变得谨慎，行为受到抑制。这种心理生理和行为的结合预示着学龄前儿童在同伴交往中会表现出极其谨慎、社交沉默的行为。4年的社交沉默，结合负的右额叶脑电图激活，预测7岁时同伴群体的社交退缩。在目前的研究中，我们预测社交退缩的7岁儿童，特别是那些表现出相对更大的右额叶不对称的儿童，在11岁时，当他们试图主动与同龄人互动时，会被拒绝。我们还假设，这些孩子在11岁时的友谊，在质量上比那些不孤僻的孩子更差，更脆弱。最后，我们假设，生理上评估的谨慎，加上社会技能和同伴关系的贫乏，将预示着对社会能力和同伴关系的负面自我认知，以及青春期早期（11岁）的内化问题。这些假设将通过将我们纵向项目的参与者在11岁时带到实验室进行三次访问来检验。在这些课程中，我们将评估孩子们同伴关系的质量，特别强调他们与最好的朋友关系的质量和强度/脆弱性。我们还将评估孩子们对自己的社交技能和社交关系的自我表达的看法，以及他们的焦虑、社交警惕和抑郁的感觉。最后，我们将继续收集脑电图数据，考虑到所谓的右额叶不对称在预测儿童和青少年内化障碍方面的重要性。作为这项研究的结果，我们将能够记录一些早期的起源，以及一些早期青少年伴随的消极思想和对自我的感觉，社会警惕，以及其他内化性质的问题。

The goal of this project is to examine the social skills, self-perceptions, and social relationships of 11-year-old children who, at earlier ages, had been identified as extremely wary and socially inhibited. In our longitudinal program of research we have found that the pattern of brain electrical activity (EEG), recorded over the anterior frontal lobes, represents a marker of individual differences in the tendency to express and modulate positive and negative emotions. Thus, infants and toddlers who exhibit wariness and behavioral inhibition during the first two years of life, and who display greater negative right frontal EEG activation are more likely to be socially reticent during preschool peer interaction. Furthermore, 4 year social reticence predicts social withdrawal in the peer group at age 7 years. We posit that socially withdrawn 7-year-old children, especially those who display greater relative right frontal asymmetry, will be rejected by peers in later childhood. Moreover, we hypothesize that the friendships of these children, at age 11 years, will be qualitatively inferior and more fragile than those of their non-withdrawn counterparts. And finally, we postulate that physiologically assessed wariness, in combination with impoverished social skills and peer relationships, will predict negative self perceptions of social competence and peer relationships, as well as internalizing problems in early adolescence (11 years). These hypotheses will be examined by bringing the participants in our longitudinal project to the laboratory for three visits at 11 years of age. Session 1 will consist of same-sex quartets, much like the ones in which the children participated at ages 4 and 7 years. Session 2 will consist of a friendship dyad interaction in which the target child will be observed interacting with his/her best friend. Also in Session 2, both the focal child and his/her best friend will participate in a same-sex quartet with two additional unfamiliar children. Session 3 will allow collection of psychophysiological data. As a result of these three sessions, we will be able to describe the friendship and social interactive patterns of both reticent and non-reticent children. We will also be able to characterize the processes through which competent peer interaction develops. %%% The goal of this project is to examine the social skills, social relationships, and self-perceptions of 11-year-old children who, at earlier ages, had been identified as extremely wary and socially inhibited. Earlier research has suggested that adolescent and adult depression, anxiety, and other problems of an `internalizing` nature may be predicted from negative self appraisals and withdrawal from the peer group during childhood. The developmental precursors of negative self appraisals and social withdrawal, however, are by-and-large unknown. In our longitudinal program of research we have found that infants and toddlers who display greater negative right frontal EEG activation tend to be wary and behaviorally inhibited during the first two years of life. This constellation of psychophysiology and behavior predicts extremely wary, socially reticent behavior during preschool peer interaction. And, 4 year social reticence, combined with negative right frontal EEG activation, predicts social withdrawal from the peer group at age 7 years. In the present study, we are predicting that socially withdrawn 7-year-old children, especially those who display greater relative right frontal asymmetry, will, at 11 years, be rejected when they attempt to initiate interactions with their peers. We hypothesize also that the friendships of these children, at age 11 years, will be qualitatively inferior and more fragile than those of their non-withdrawn counterparts. And finally, we posit that physiologically assessed wariness, in combination with impoverished social skills and peer relationships, will predict negative self perceptions of social competence and peer relationships, as well as internalizing problems in early adolescence (11 years). These hypotheses will be examined by bringing the participants in our longitudinal project to the laboratory for three visits at 11 years of age. In these sessions, we will assess the quality of the children's peer relationships, with a special emphasis on the quality and strength/fragility of their relationships with their best friends. We will also assess the children's self-expressed perceptions of their social skills and social relationships, as well as their feelings of anxiety, social wariness, and depression. Finally, we will continue to collect EEG data, given the purported significance of right frontal asymmetries in the prediction of internalizing disorders in childhood and adolescence. As a result of this study, we will be able to document some of the early origins, and some of the early adolescent concomitants of negative thoughts and feelings about the self, social wariness, and other problems of an internalizing nature.