The Influence of Rurality and Parental Affect on Kindergarten Children's Social and Behavioral Functioning

Research Findings: Children's early academic achievement is supported by positive social and behavioral skills, and difficulties with these skills frequently gives way to underachievement. Social and behavioral problems often arise as a product of parent–child interactional patterns and environmental influences. Few studies have examined the role of a salient aspect of children's environments, community locale, in the relationship between parenting practices and child outcomes. Using a large, nationally representative sample, we examined whether preschool parenting practices and children's social-behavioral skills in kindergarten were related to geographic setting (rural vs. city, suburban, and town). Results indicated that rural children experienced greater difficulties with parent-reported externalizing behaviors. Furthermore, rural parents displayed less emotional support than parents in other settings. Preschool parenting behaviors were associated with social skills and behavior problems in kindergarten, as reported by both parents and teachers. Parents' emotional supportiveness was found to account for the relationship between geographic setting and parent-reported children's social skills, such that rural parents who provided less emotional support had children with lower social skills in kindergarten. Practice or Policy: Findings of this research indicate that rural children may face particular risk for behavioral issues and highlight the need for increased behavioral supports in rural communities. Moreover, our results suggest that interventions designed to promote parents' support of children's emotions may have particular utility for rural families.     

Getting Ready to Learn—And Learning

Research Findings: The study examined children's recognition of emotion from faces and body poses, as well as gender differences in these recognition abilities. Preschool-aged children (N = 55) and their parents and teachers participated in the study. Preschool-aged children completed a web-based measure of emotion recognition skills that included 5 tasks (3 with faces and 2 with bodies). Parents and teachers reported on children's aggressive behaviors and social skills. Children's emotion accuracy on 2 of the 3 facial tasks and 1 of the body tasks was related to teacher reports of social skills. Some of these relations were moderated by child gender. In particular, the relationships between emotion recognition accuracy and reports of children's behavior were stronger for boys than girls. Practice or Policy: Identifying preschool-aged children's strengths and weaknesses in terms of the identification of emotion from faces and body poses may be helpful in guiding interventions with children who have problems with social and behavioral functioning that may be due in part to emotion knowledge deficits. Further developmental implications of these findings are discussed.     

Peer perceptions of hyperactivity and medication effects

This study focused on peer sensitivity to differences in social behaviors between hyperactive and normal comparison peers and, especially, to medication-related behavioral differences. In Study 1, normal sixth graders rated videotapes of normal and hyperactive boys playing a social interaction game. Half of the hyperactive boys were taking methylphenidate, and the other half placebo. In Study 2, fourth- and sixth-grade children rated a different sample of hyperactive boys (seen on both methylphenidate and placebo) playing the same interaction game. Hyperactive boys taking placebo were perceived as exhibiting more externalizing problem behaviors than either medicated hyperactive boys or comparison boys. The medication effects were robust, spanning many behavioral domains and emerging consistently across the 2 studies. There were few grade or gender differences. Discussion focused on children's detection of treatment-related differences in the social behaviors of their peers, as well as on the imperfect relation between social behavior and social standing.     

Does Temperament Underlie Infant Novel Food Responses?: Continuity of Approach–Withdrawal From 6 to 18 Months

This study investigated whether temperamental approach–withdrawal underlies infants' responses to novel foods. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of mother–infant dyads (n = 136). Approach–withdrawal responses to novel foods and novel toys were coded when infants were 6 and 12 months of age. When infants were 18 months of age, approach–withdrawal behaviors, positive affect, and negative affect were used in a latent profile analysis to identify groups of toddlers who exhibited similar responses to novelty. As predicted, novel food and novel toy responses were concurrently associated at 12 months and followed a similar developmental pattern across the 1st year. Furthermore, novel food acceptance at 12 months of age, but not 6 months, predicted greater toddler approach.     

Social skills and problem behaviors as mediators of the relationship between behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement

Early behavioral self-regulation is an important predictor of the skills children need to be successful in school. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) through which self-regulation affects academic achievement. The current study investigates the possibility that two aspects of children's social functioning, social skills and problem behaviors, mediate the relationship between preschool self-regulation and literacy and math achievement. Additionally, we investigated whether the meditational processes differed for boys and girls. We expected that better self-regulation would help children to interact well with others (social skills) and minimize impulsive or aggressive (problem) behaviors. Positive interactions with others and few problem behaviors were expected to relate to gains in achievement as learning takes place within a social context. Preschool-aged children (n = 118) were tested with direct measures of self-regulation, literacy, and math. Teachers reported on children's social skills and problem behaviors. Using a structural equation modeling approach (SEM) for mediation analysis, social skills and problem behaviors were found to mediate the relationship between self-regulation and growth in literacy across the preschool year, but not math. Findings suggest that the mediational process was similar for boys and girls. These findings indicate that a child's social skills and problem behaviors are part of the mechanism through which behavioral self-regulation affects growth in literacy. Self-regulation may be important not just because of the way that it relates directly to academic achievement but also because of the ways in which it promotes or inhibits children's interactions with others.     

Young Children's Projective Abilities: what can a monster see?

Abstract A series of four tasks was presented to 3‐7 year‐old children in order to investigate their understanding of the way in which an obstruction restricts a person's view of an array. The results indicated that children's ability to predict another person's line of sight and field of view develops significantly during this period. The responses of most 4‐7 year‐olds in a nonverbal hiding game were consistent with their verbal judgments about what another person could see, but 3‐year‐olds’ responses in the hiding game were much more sophisticated than could be expected from their performance on the verbal tasks. The possibility is raised that satisfactory performance in hiding games may not always depend on a child's first working out what a seeker can see.     

Links Between Preschoolers' Behavioral Regulation and School Readiness Skills: The Role of Child Gender

Research Findings: We examined relations among preschoolers' behavioral regulation, gender, and school readiness outcomes in preacademic and classroom skills using a sample of South Korean preschoolers aged 3–5 (N = 229). Behavioral regulation was assessed using a direct measure, the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task, which requires children to switch rules by responding in the opposite way to 4 different oral commands. Results demonstrated nonsignificant gender differences in behavioral regulation and academic skills but significant gender differences in classroom work-related skills and social skills, with higher scores for girls. Multilevel path modeling revealed that behavioral regulation predicted none of the preacademic skills and classroom behaviors after child age, gender, verbal intelligence, maternal education, and classroom nesting were controlled. However, there was an interaction effect of behavioral regulation and gender for early reading; the contribution of behavioral regulation to early reading was positive and stronger for boys. Practice or Policy: These results suggest that behavioral regulation is not an overall strong predictor of school readiness in South Korean children. Early educators need to support the development of behavioral regulation skills, especially for boys, as these skills may work as an important path to school readiness when children lack other classroom social strategies and resources.     

Effects of a Game‐Based e‐Learning Module on Undergraduate Food Science Students’ Planned Behaviors Concerning Good Manufacturing Practices

Understanding the role of food science education in developing undergraduate students’ intentions to implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) may be a key strategy in developing the workforce's implementation of GMPs and other food safety programs. Previous research has demonstrated the effects of educational interventions on planned food safety behaviors in various settings; however, none have studied GMPs interventions and college students. This study applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to evaluate the effects of a game‐based e‐learning module on undergraduate students’ planned behaviors concerning GMPs. Forty‐four participants were recruited from 42 food science clubs across the United States to complete a game‐based e‐learning module and pre‐ and posttest survey instruments. We compared changes in pre‐ and posttest scores using paired Wilcoxon signed rank tests and explored the role of GMP‐related knowledge and TPB constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral controls) in predicting students’ intentions to implement GMPs using multiple linear regression. We modeled pretest scores, posttest scores, and changes in scores while controlling for student demographic factors (for example, year in college, gender, and so on). Only participants’ knowledge and perceived behavioral controls significantly increased (P < 0.05) after completing the game‐based e‐learning module. Posttest regression models explained twice as much variance than pretest models (up to 54% total). Changes in intentions to implement GMPs were predicted by changes in subjective norms, perceived behavioral controls, and knowledge, as well as previous enrollment in food safety courses and interest in working in the food industry. The only predictive variables for both pre‐ and posttest scores were subjective norms, previous enrollment in food safety courses and interest in working in the food industry (P < 0.05). A discussion of how these results provide insights for food safety educators to optimize their teaching impacts was presented.     

Mastery Motivation in Deaf and Hearing Infants

The motivational characteristics of a small sample of normally developing deaf and hearing 12-month-old infants were assessed using procedures derived from Yarrow's work. The data supported the following conclusions: 1. Both deaf and hearing infants exhibit similar amounts of motivated behavior toward objects which suggests that auditory contact with their surroundings is not a determining factor in infants' attempts to master objects. 2. The deaf infants spent a longer period of time engaged in social behaviors than did the hearing infants and without any apparent sacrifice to the deployment of their task- and goal-directed activities. This finding implies that the deaf infants were more skillful at integrating the competing demands of social- and object-oriented endeavors than were their hearing peers. 3. The deaf infant engaged with the social environment and displayed a positive emotional response to the situation sooner than the hearing infants. Positive affect also was more likely to be followed by a social behavior for the deaf infants which indicates that the integration of social- and object-oriented activities serves either a different or more potent function in the early development of deaf infants. We believe that these data offer some preliminary, empirically based support for a developmental difference model when intervention strategies for deaf infants are contemplated. The policy implications for such a move may include a reduction in cognitively oriented activities and an increase in activities designed to capitalize on deaf infants' social and visual compensatory skills.     

Defensive Behaviors in Infant Rhesus Monkeys: Ontogeny and Context-dependent Selective Expression

We examined the ontogeny of the infant rhesus monkey's defensive behaviors and the ability to modulate them in response to specific environmental cues. Rhesus infants in 4 age groups (N = 8 per group) were briefly separated from their mothers and tested under 3 conditions: alone, in the presence of a human who averted his gaze, and in the presence of a human staring at them. Infants as young as 0 to 2 weeks displayed defensive behaviors but did not selectively respond to the human's presence or direction of gaze. By 9 to 12 weeks of age, infants modulated their responses in relation to the parameters of the threat. At this age, infant rhesus monkeys undergo cognitive and emotional changes associated with brain development similar to those in human infants 7 to 12 months old. This also is the time when human infants engage in complex emotional and behavioral responses to threatening situations. Understanding the development and expression of defensive behaviors in infant monkeys should be applicable to similar issues in emotional development of human infants.     

Early Childhood Behavioral Inhibition and Social and School Adjustment in Chinese Children: A 5‐Year Longitudinal Study

This study examined relations between early behavioral inhibition and social and school outcomes in Chinese children (N = 200). Data on behavioral inhibition were collected from a sample of 2‐year‐olds in China. Follow‐up data on social behaviors, peer relationships, and school performance were collected from multiple sources at 7 years of age. Behavioral inhibition was found to be positively associated with later cooperative behavior, peer liking, perceived social integration, positive school attitudes, and school competence, and negatively associated with later learning problems. Highly inhibited toddlers were generally better adjusted than others in social and school areas in middle childhood. The results indicate the distinct functional meaning of behavioral inhibition in Chinese children from a developmental perspective.     

Explaining Helping Behavior in a Cooperative Learning Classroom Setting Using Attribution Theory

This recently completed study examined whether attribution theory can explain helping behavior in an interdependent classroom environment that utilized a cooperative-learning model. The study focused on student participants enrolled in 6 community college communication classes taught by the same instructor. Three levels of cooperative-learning were employed. Survey data were collected from student participants presented with situations describing a group member who was not participating in the cooperative-learning process. Simulated scenarios, as well as “actual” experiences, were included for the purpose of analysis. Participant's emotional and behavioral responses were analyzed using independent–samples t tests, paired-samples t tests, and analysis of variance. Findings indicate that a student's willingness to help was influenced more positively when “uncontrollable” rather than “controllable” causes for nonparticipation were determined. Student in-class response to “actual” experiences differed from those reported in the simulated scenarios. The emotional and behavioral responses of students did not vary by age, gender, ethnicity, or level of cooperative learning employed in the class. Overall findings support attribution theory as a useful conceptual framework for explaining student responses regarding helping behavior in simulated situations. However, research results pose additional questions regarding the application of theory to practice and the implication for educators employing effective cooperative-learning activities in a classroom setting.     

Teacher attributions for children's attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder behaviors predict experiences with children and with classroom behavioral management in a summer program practicum

Elementary school teachers often implement classroom behavioral management systems to address student misbehavior. Common problems targeted by these systems are the inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors characteristic of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined teachers' attributions for why children display ADHD behaviors, and how such attributions affect their experiences with children in the context of interventions to manage these behaviors. Participants were 32 preservice teachers undertaking a practicum in a summer program for 137 children (Grades 1–3), some of whom had ADHD. Teachers were trained to implement classroom‐wide behavioral management. Teachers' attributions for children's ADHD behaviors were assessed using a vignette measure, before teachers had met their students or begun training on intervention techniques. When controlling for attributions regarding oppositional behavior, teachers' initial attributions for ADHD behaviors as less internal/controllable predicted children reporting more positive relationships with that teacher during the summer program. Teachers' initial attributions for ADHD behaviors as less stable predicted teachers' greater satisfaction with the intervention techniques during the summer program and their greater attunement to children's social networks. Cognitions about the causes of children's ADHD behaviors held by preservice teachers may relate to their subsequent experiences with children in the context of implementing classroom behavioral management.     

The Cultural Organization of Parenting: Change and Stability of Behavior Patterns During Feeding and Social Play Across the First Year of Life

Objective. This study explores the cultural patterning of maternal beliefs and practices across the first year of life among middle-class Anglo and Puerto Rican mother-infant dyads in two daily situations, feeding and social play. Design. Sixty middle-class mothers (32 Anglo from northeastern Connecticut, and 28 Puerto Rican from San Juan, Puerto Rico) were interviewed regarding their long-term socialization goals and videotaped in their homes during feeding and social play when their infants were 4-, 8-, and 12-months of age. Results. Group comparisons revealed that across time and contexts the Anglo mothers were more likely to show patterns of beliefs and behaviors that emphasized the infant's personal choice and mastery of the situation, whereas the Puerto Rican mothers were more likely to show patterns of beliefs and behaviors that emphasized the infant's interdependence on the mother. The groups did not differ in nurturant behaviors toward their infants. Conclusions. The organization of feeding and social play differs by culture. Within this larger cultural frame, mother-infant interactions differ by context and adjust to universal aspects of infant development.     

White children's empathy-related responding and prosocial behavior toward White and Black children

Relations among White (non-Latinx) children's empathy-related responding, prosocial behaviors, and racial attitudes toward White and Black peers were examined. In 2017, 190 (54% boys) White 5- to 9-year-old children (M = 7.09 years, SD = 0.94) watched a series of videos that depicted social rejection of either a White or Black child. Empathy-related responses, prosocial behaviors, and racial attitudes were measured using multiple methods. Results showed that younger children showed less facial concern toward Black than White peers and greater increases with age in concern and prosocial behaviors (sharing a desirable prize) for Black, compared to White, targets. Children's facial anger increased with age for White but not Black targets. The findings can extend our understanding children's anti-racism development.     

Are social competence difficulties caused by performance or acquisition deficits? The importance of self‐regulatory mechanisms

We conducted three studies which examined the performance vs. skill acquisition model of social skills deficits. In Study 1, baseline social behaviors for a random sample of 12 boys with comorbid emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), learning disabilities (LD), language delays, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) revealed that prosocial behaviors as well as inappropriate behaviors exist comorbidly in behavioral repertoires, supporting a performance rather than acquisition model of social competence difficulties. In Study 2, an ABAC design was used to examine the efficacy of a self‐management intervention with noncontingent (B) and contingent (C) reinforcement for three elementary aged boys with EBD. Generalization was demonstrated in natural settings for the contingent reinforcement phase only, but was not observed over time. Study 3 replicated Study 2's procedures using an ABAC multiple baseline across participants design with a sample of adolescents with varying degrees of mental retardation. Two of the three participants responded favorably to the self‐monitoring training and showed marked improvements in prosocial play skills during recess; for the third participant, no behavioral changes were observed. Results from all three studies are discussed from a social learning theory perspective. The efficacy of the data collecting procedure and implications of the results are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 351–372, 2007.     

Teachers’ Beliefs Regarding Subtypes of Socially Withdrawn and Aggressive Behaviors on the Playground Across the Early School Years

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ beliefs about and responses to children’s withdrawn behaviors (reticence and solitary-passive behavior) and aggressive behaviors (relational and physical aggression) on the playground across grades (preschool through 2nd grade) and by gender. Participants included 171 female teachers of preschool (n = 46), kindergarten (n = 45), 1st-grade (n = 41), and 2nd-grade (n = 39) classes from a Mountain West community. Overall, reticence was perceived as less appropriate than solitary-passive behavior, and physical aggression was perceived as less appropriate than relational aggression, although both forms of aggression were seen as less appropriate than both forms of withdrawal. Likewise, it was found that teachers do not take as proactive an approach to dealing with all withdrawn behaviors as they do in dealing with aggressive behaviors. Practice or Policy: Important gender differences were found and are discussed.     

Social gaze in preterm infants may act as an early indicator of atypical lateralization

Visual field biases have been identified as markers of atypical lateralization in children with developmental conditions, but this is the first investigation to consider early lateralized gaze behaviors for social stimuli in preterm infants. Eye-tracking methods with 51 preterm (33 male, 92.1% White) and 61 term-born (31 male, 90.1% White) infants aged 8–10 months from Edinburgh, UK, captured the development of visual field biases, comparing gaze behavior to social and non-social stimuli on the left versus right of the screen. Preterm infants showed a significantly reduced interest to social stimuli on the left versus right compared to term children (d = .58). Preterm children exhibit early differential orienting preferences that may be an early indicator of atypical lateralized function.     

Links Among Italian Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Competence,Teacher–Child Relationship Quality,and Peer Acceptance

Research Findings: The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations among teacher–child relationship quality (close, conflictive, and dependent), children's social behavior, and peer likability in a sample of Italian preschool-age children (46 boys, 42 girls). Preschool teachers evaluated the quality of the teacher–child relationship and children's social behaviors (i.e., social competence, anger-aggression, and anxiety-withdrawal). Peer-rated likability was measured using a sociometric procedure. Results indicated that conflictual teacher–child relationships were related to high aggressive behavior, and dependent teacher–child relationships were positively associated with children's anxiety-withdrawal. Moreover, we found an indirect association between close teacher–child relationship quality and peer likability through children's social competence. Practice or Policy: The findings provide evidence that the teacher–child relationship is critical for children's social behaviors and that social competence is uniquely related to peer likability.