Temperamental Contributions to the Development of Social Behavior

这个项目的目标是研究的社会技能，自我认知，和社会关系的11岁的孩子，在早期的年龄，已被确定为非常谨慎和社会抑制。 在我们的纵向研究计划中，我们发现，在前额叶记录的脑电活动（EEG）模式代表了表达和调节积极和消极情绪倾向的个体差异。 因此，在生命的头两年表现出警惕和行为抑制的婴儿和幼儿，以及表现出更大的负右额叶EEG激活的婴儿和幼儿在学龄前同伴互动中更有可能是社交沉默的。 此外，4年的社会沉默预测社会退缩的同龄人在7岁。 我们认为，社交退缩的7岁儿童，特别是那些表现出更大的相对右额叶不对称，将被拒绝的同龄人在以后的童年。 此外，我们假设，这些孩子的友谊，在11岁时，将是质量低劣，比他们的非撤回同行更脆弱。 最后，我们假设，生理评估谨慎，结合贫困的社会技能和同伴关系，将预测负面的自我认知的社会能力和同伴关系，以及在青春期早期（11岁）的内化问题。 这些假设将通过将我们的纵向项目的参与者带到实验室进行三次访问来检验。 第一阶段将由同性四重奏组成，就像孩子们在4岁和7岁时参加的那样。 会话2将包括一个友谊二元互动，其中目标儿童将被观察到与他/她最好的朋友互动。 同样在第二次会议上，焦点儿童和他/她最好的朋友将与另外两个不熟悉的儿童一起参加同性四重奏。 第3次会议将允许收集心理生理数据。 通过这三个环节，我们将能够描述沉默和非沉默儿童的友谊和社会互动模式。 我们也将能够描述的过程中，通过主管同侪互动的发展。 这个项目的目标是检查社会技能，社会关系，和自我认知的11岁的孩子，在早期的年龄，已被确定为非常谨慎和社会抑制。 早期的研究表明，青少年和成年人的抑郁、焦虑和其他“内化”性质的问题可能是从童年时期消极的自我评价和退出同龄人群体中预测出来的。 然而，消极的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，右额叶脑电活动消极程度较高的婴幼儿在出生后的头两年往往会表现出警惕和行为抑制。 这种心理生理学和行为的组合预示着学龄前儿童在与同伴互动时会表现出极度谨慎、社交沉默的行为。 而且，4年的社交沉默，加上右额叶脑电负激活，预示着7岁时会退出同龄人群体。 在本研究中，我们预测，社交孤僻的7岁儿童，特别是那些表现出更大的相对右额叶不对称的儿童，在11岁时，当他们试图开始与同龄人互动时，会被拒绝。 我们还假设，这些孩子的友谊，在11岁时，将是质量低劣，比他们的非撤回同行更脆弱。 最后，我们认为，生理评估的谨慎，结合贫困的社会技能和同伴关系，将预测社会能力和同伴关系的负面自我认知，以及在青春期早期（11岁）的内化问题。 这些假设将通过将我们的纵向项目的参与者带到实验室进行三次访问来检验。 在这些课程中，我们将评估孩子们的同伴关系的质量，特别强调他们与最好的朋友的关系的质量和强度/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，以及他们的焦虑，社交谨慎和抑郁情绪。 最后，我们将继续收集脑电图数据，因为右额叶不对称在预测儿童和青少年内化障碍方面具有重要意义。 通过这项研究，我们将能够记录一些早期的起源，以及一些早期青少年对自我的负面想法和感受，社会戒心和其他内化性质的问题的伴随物。

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 We posit that socially withdrawn 7-year-old children, especially those who display greater relative right frontal asymmetry, will be rejected by peers in later childhood.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.